Department of Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering involves applying fundamental principles of chemistry, physics, and biology to the engineering of processes - the transformation of a "thing" to some other "thing" -- and products -- the things themselves. What makes chemical engineering so exciting nowadays is that the same underlying concepts and approaches can be applied to such a wide variety of problems:
| Biological processes Fuel cells Colloids Corrosion Environmental protection Pollution prevention |
Polymers Process engineering Nanotechnology Process safety and efficiency Surfaces and sensors Thermodynamics |
How much reacts, and how quickly? How much moves in response to a natural or imposed gradient? What does this mean on the molecular level? While a cell, an oil refinery, and a semiconductor surface seem very different from one another, and in many ways they are, chemical engineers focus on the similarities in order to improve how each one transforms raw ingredients into desirable products.
The department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Chemical Engineering, as well as a unique undergraduate program in Chemical and Ocean Engineering. Several undergraduates participate in the International Engineering Program, working and taking certain core courses overseas at partner universities. In all these programs we strive to achieve a detailed set of overall program educational objectives. The Chemical Engineering undergraduate program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.
Research in the department is sponsored by Federal and State agencies, private foundations, and industry. University partnerships help to provide multidisciplinary opportunities for faculty and students whose interests fall at the boundaries of chemical engineering.
For more information, we invite you to browse our web pages or to contact the department directly.
Tracks
Biology Track in Chemical Engineering
The popular biology track was first available to undergraduate chemical engineering students in Fall 2005 and is continuing to attract new interest to the department. Its curriculum combines chemical engineering and biology courses, forming a major that combines the quantitative nature of chemical engineering with the concepts and ideas of biology and molecular biology.
Visit the biology track web page for additional information, or compare it with the other programs offered in the department.
Pharmaceutical Track in Chemical Engineering
A Pharmaceutical track in the Chemical Engineering major is now available at URI. See the Curriculum page for a list of courses in this program, or compare it with the other programs offered in the department. The program had also been promoted in the URI Facts about Fall 2007.
Five Year MS in Chemical Engineering
Undergraduate students at URI can obtain an MS degree in the "five year program". Students will use two summer sessions, one straight after completing their undergraduate degree and the summer following the next academic year to enable them to complete their MS degree. A typical fifth year program can be viewed at Five Year MS Program-Web.
Application Procedures
Applications must meet the same standards as other candidates for Graduate programs at URI and will apply using the normal URI graduate student application procedure for the MS degree, with application in the Fall semester of their senior year encouraged. A minimum overall GPA of 3.0 is required. Student applicants will be notified of their admission during the second semester of their senior year.
News
 |
The CHE Dept has an opening for an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering specializing in Pharmaceutical Engineering. Read more... |
Congratulations to John Adley and Farid Topchiev who has been awarded the Beatrice S. Demers Foreign Language Fellowship!
| Congratulations to Amitesh Saha who has been awarded a University of Rhode Island Graduate School Fellowship for the 2012 - 2013 academic year. |  |
CHE 2012 Goldwater Scholars
Congratulations to the winners in Chemical Engineering:
* Scholar - Christopher Boba
* Honorable Mention - Farid Topchiev
Additional News of our Faculty and Students
RECENT RESEARCH AWARDS
Professor Michael Greenfield wins a Global Road Achievement Award while Professor Arijit Bose wins a grant to build a better battery. Read more about these and other Faculty Awards.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Research projects from our students. Read more
FUN & GAMES
Faculty & Students honor our Goldwater Scholars on April 24, 2012.
Pictures from CHE celebrations and more...
Interesting Projects
Student Profiles
Eily Cournoyer is a chemical engineering major from Portsmouth RI, who also has a minor in biology
and mathematics. She is actively involved in various engineering pre-professional societies as well
as honor societies...
Read more...
Nichole is graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in May 2011, and will be entering the Chemical
Engineering Ph. D. program at Carnegie Mellon University in the fall...
Read more...
Brian has been working with Professor Lucia performing molecular-level computer simulations of fluid properties...
Read more...
Most of the research groups at URI are small, which means there are a lot of great opportunities for
undergraduate research...
Read more...
URI afforded me amazing opportunities to better myself professionally, academically, and personally.
During the semesters I researched under several professors, while my summers were
spent interning at Teknor Apex and studying in China...
Read more...
My 4th year I traveled abroad to Germany to study for a semester and then to fulfill a six month
internship with a company. This experience and many other opportunities I have had at URI have helped
establish my background in engineering...
Read more...
More...
Rhode Island Consortium for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Center of Excellence in Undersea Technology
