Where Can ChE Take You?
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Chemical Engineering is among the broadest of all majors. Graduates with a degree in chemical engineering can work as engineers, scientists, managers, financiers, doctors, educators, lawyers and government officials. To be effective in these different environments, chemical engineers must have well-developed problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills in addition to their technical skills. While the chemist studies basic chemical reactions, the chemical engineer applies the results of chemical research to transform laboratory processes info efficient, full-scale processes or facilities.
Environment
How will we deal with global warming, smog, pollution of our lakes and rivers, loss of forests, extinction of plants and animals, and other environmental problems that accompany continued growth of our worldwide population? Chemical engineers are leaders in the pursuit of solutions for environmental problems. Chemical engineers develop technology to prevent the formation and release of pollutants during manufacturing, as well as the technology used to treat pollutants released into the environment.
Consumer Products
Ever wonder who develops the special materials that let clothes come out of the dryer without wrinkles, prevents your carpet from staining when someone spills a drink, or make your teeth cleaner and whiter while improving the health of your gums and preventing cavities? Advances in personal care products, home health products, and specialty chemicals for consumer and commercial use have long been driven by chemical engineers. In fact, it is hard to think of any part of your day when you are not using some product or material produced by a chemical engineer!
Energy
Worried about greenhouse gases, global warming, and sustainable energy sources? Chemical engineers are technical specialists, leading the current oil and gas industry, including petroleum, gasoline, and natural gas. We are developing new, sustainable energy sources such as solar, thermoelectrics, hydrogen fuels, and biofuels. We also develop the technologies to use these new sources to their maximum benefit, such as advanced batteries for energy storage, new fuel cell materials, and genetic engineering approaches to make energy-rich biological feedstocks. We develop and implement the processes that will allow these energy sources to become part of the energy menu of the future.
Food
As our population continues to grow and resources become more limited, how will we produce and deliver nutritious food to the worldwide community? Chemical engineers develop and produce the fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides that allow superior crop yields. Chemical engineers also develop the processing techniques that enhance the taste, shelf-life, and nutritional content of packaged foods.
Medicine
In a global community, the ability of society to deliver fast, affordable personalized therapy to treat disease is paramount. Who will lead the charge to develop the medicines of the future? With their work in genetic engineering, pharmaceutical engineering, protein engineering, metabolic engineering, and biomaterials, chemical engineers are leaders in the development of future medicines, as well as in the development of the processes that allow these medicines to be available at reasonable costs. In fact, Purdue Chemical Engineering is one of the leading participants in a more than $15 million research center focused on pharmaceuticals of the future!
High Performance Materials
How do we manufacture a computer chip having circuits with length scales nearly as small as atoms? Or specialty coatings to protect an HD television surface from contamination without compromising image clarity? Chemical engineers are developing high-performance molecules and the processes to manufacture them for thousands of applications. One of our strengths is the engineering of systems for cost-effective, reproducible fabrication of new chemical species, and in no application is this need more important than the production of high performance materials. We ensure that new products can be produced affordably, in a way that is safe, environmentally-sound, and energy-conscious.