Research and Development
esearch and Development engineers find new
Biomedical engineers apply basic chemical
engineering to the medical field, primarily artificial
WHAT IS
R uses for existing materials and processes; new
ways to design (mathematically model)
organs and limbs. Biochemical engineers use their
understanding of the chemical reactions in our CHEMICAL
chemical processes; and invent new products and bodies to identify/treat disease and reproduce some
ways to make products. Research is conducted in
universities (typically more fundamental and
of this chemistry on a very large scale.
ENGINEERING?
theoretical) and in industry (typically more Chemical engineers can move into non-engineering
practical). R&D engineers must test their ideas and jobs. Their problem solving skills and technical
designs; often in the laboratory, but increasingly on rigor have proved to be an excellent basis for going very day thousands of chemical engineers
the computer instead. Researchers must know the into patent law, medicine, and even investment help solve some of todays most difficult
basic subject matter, study all the results of other banking. problems: developing new sources of
researchers in the field, conceptualize an idea or a energy, reducing energy consumption,
process, plan the necessary experiments to prove WHO HIRES CHEMICAL ENGINEERS? producing new materials, reducing emissions and
their idea, then prepare their conclusions in a way any chemical engineers work in the chemical, cleaning up the environment, producing new drugs
that will be useful to others (define how this can be
used in the real world). As you can imagine, not
M petrochemical, food, pharmaceutical, pulp
and paper, electronics, and consumer
and drug delivery systems, producing fertilizers to
increase world food supplies, and finding ways to
every idea works. There is a lot of trial and error products industries. Some teach in universities, use recycled waste. They touch all our lives; our
in this field, and you often learn more from the and others work for the government (typically in
ideas that dont work than those that do. Usually a the environmental and energy areas).
Ph.D. degree is required to do research or teach in
a university. HOW DO YOU BECOME AN ENGINEER?
Researchers must learn from each other and share
what they learn with their colleagues. Whether in
Y ou should study as much math and science in
high school as possible; typically three years
of science and four of math are the minimum
industry or the university, they must convince requirement for acceptance into engineering
others of the value of their work. school. A Bachelors degree (BS) can be earned in
four years; five if you co-op (take paid assignments
Other Areas working in industry on alternate semesters). Most
here are many other roles that chemical positions in industry require only a BS degree.
T engineers play.
environmental
Some specialize in
engineering; monitoring/
Research and teaching positions typically require a
Ph.D. which takes about five more years of study.
modifying plant operations and becoming expert in
government regulations. Dont forget: air, water, Formal education is only the beginning. Engineers
and soil are all chemicals. Control engineers must always keep up with the latest technology and
specialize in developing the advanced computer learn new skills.
control systems and operator stations necessary to
run a plant efficiently. Engineers often become
managers (who would make a better plant manager AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF
CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
or engineering manager than a chemical engineer
CHICAGO SECTION
who has come up the ranks)? Technical sales is a
way for an engineer to help solve his customers
problems by matching the right process or product
to the customers needs. Of course, there would be
no chemical engineers without chemical
engineering professors.
food, gasoline, drinking water, clothes, even quality the customer wants, as efficiently as processes and equipment needed to make the
medical care. possible, as safely as possible. They change the product. In the process engineering stage,
WHAT DO CHEMICAL ENGINEERS way the plant operates to respond to changing operating conditions (temperatures, pressures,
DO? conditions, such as varying feed stock, varying compositions, flows) are selected and basic
hemical engineers are problem solvers who customer specifications, and changing costs of raw specifications(size, materials of construction) are
C combine the science of chemistry with the
discipline of engineering. They take
chemistry out of the laboratory, apply it on a large
materials. Since no product is made if the plant
shuts down, they spend a lot of time
troubleshooting their plant, trying to identify
problems before they cause trouble, or figure out
developed for the major equipment. Now a cost
estimate can be made. In the detailed engineering
stage, everything has to be specified exactly, and
bought. Once the plant layout is decided, every
scale, and bring it into the world around by
producing things we all use. what caused the problem when the plant does shut vessel, pump, pipe, valve, and controller must be
down unexpectedly. They are always looking for either bought or built. Safety systems, control
Chemical engineers help produce fertilizer, paper, ways to improve the way the plant operates, rooms, utilities (steam, cooling water, instrument
gasoline, natural gas, nylon , and plastics. Their especially ways to reduce unwanted byproducts, air) must also be considered.
expertise is also required to make coffee, Astroturf, reduce energy use, and reduce pollution. Everything comes together in the construction
electric cars, medicine, microchips, bioengineered phase. All this stuff must be installed, connected,
drugs, nicotine patches, and artificial hearts. They inspected, tested, and prepared for operation. The
design and run water treatment plants, plastics efforts of the design team are rewarded when the
recycling plants, and devices to control emissions
from power plants, and much more.
HAT KIND OF JOBS DO CHEMICAL
ENGINEERS HAVE?
B ecause chemical engineers are problem
solvers, and have such broad technical
training, they do an amazing variety of jobs. If
you wanted to make dual pane house windows that
dont fog up, who would you ask to do the design
and testing? A chemical engineer! If you wanted to
make billions of potato chips that were exactly the
same size, fit into a can, and didnt break, who
would develop the manufacturing process? A Operations engineers must work with plant
chemical engineer! If you wanted to manufacture management (to find out what the production goals
50,000 gallons/year of flu vaccine of the highest are for today), other operations engineers (to find
quality at the lowest possible cost, who would you out how the other part of the plant that supplies new plant starts up. Raw material is introduced ,
want supervising your plant? A chemical engineer! feed to their unit is doing), and the plant operators the equipment is slowly brought up to capacity,
If the State of Illinois needed someone to write a (to find out whats really going on in the controls are tuned, operating measurements are
computer program to predict where pollution from engineers unit). taken, process changes are made where necessary,
a leaking storage tank would go through the soil and the plant is in production!
into the ground water, who do they hire? A Design Obviously no one person can do all this alone.
Chemical engineers must work in teams with
chemical engineer!
Production
E ngineers must apply their knowledge of
chemistry, engineering principles, plant
operations, industry design standards,
chemical engineers and other disciplines. If they
dont work with customers, salespeople,
construction workers, and operators they
P roduction engineers are responsible for the day
to day operations in a manufacturing plant;
making sure that what it manufactures is the
economics, and people skills to build a new
facility. In the conceptual stage they select the
basic flow scheme. This identifies the types of
accomplish nothing.
