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Welcome to the web site for Vanderbilt University's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Chemical engineering has a long history at Vanderbilt, with the program first announced in 1903. A Department was initiated in the School of Engineering in 1939. The first M.S. and Ph.D. degrees awarded in the School went to chemical engineering students.
Today, chemical engineers play key roles in the development and production of pharmaceuticals and bioengineered materials, high strength composites and specialty polymers, semiconductors and microelectronic devices, a wide range of ultrapure fine chemicals, and so forth. Indeed, chemical engineering is essential for the operation of contemporary society. The solution of many of the problems facing society today - e.g., energy, the environment, development of high-performance materials - will involve chemical engineers.
Overall, the Department provides an intimate and supportive environment for undergraduate and graduate students. Each faculty member cares a great deal about education and student welfare. Classes are small. Advising is done face-to-face with faculty members. We have a high-bay undergraduate unit operations laboratory. The practice of technical communication has formally been part of our undergraduate program since 1982. Our faculty is well connected to industry, bringing considerable personal experience into the classroom.
Our students come from a variety of backgrounds, and we have many distinguished alumni. Our graduates hold positions of major responsibility in large corporations, in small entrepreneurial and consulting firms, and in federal and state government agencies. Some Ph.D.'s continue their research in post-doctoral positions or enter the teaching profession. We follow their progress with pride!
We have added many new faculty members over the last six years to support targeted research thrusts available to both undergraduate and graduate students. We have six main areas for research - advanced materials, biochemical engineering and biotechnology, the environment, adsorption and surface chemistry, chemical reaction engineering, and process modeling and control. Problems are approached through simulation at levels from molecular to process scales and through experiment.
Interdisciplinary research is also important at Vanderbilt. In addition to working with researchers in other departments in the School of Engineering, we collaborate outside the School with research groups in the natural sciences and medicine. Department faculty participate in University-supported interdisciplinary research initiatives such as the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) and the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Bioengineering Research and Education (VIIBRE).
Most of our graduate students are in our Ph.D. program. We have reduced coursework requirements to reasonably low levels to permit a greater concentration on the research experience. We have an active Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association (ChEGSA), which represents graduate student interests and sponsors a variety of social events.
The central part of the University campus is a beautiful, quiet arboretum located less than two miles from downtown Nashville, a great cultural center.
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Welcome and Overview
