Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering is concerned with the design, development, and management of facilities that convert raw materials into useful products. The engineer must assume responsibility for the economical use of the raw materials, preservation of the environment, and profitability of the operation. The chemical engineering program has been designed to provide both the engineering competence and the professional skills necessary to succeed in this endeavor. In order to achieve this objective, the curriculum incorporates coursework in both of these areas throughout the four-year duration of the program.
Coursework
The chemical engineering curriculum emphasizes basic knowledge and applications of transport processes, thermodynamics and kinetics of processes, automatic control, and design, as well as fundamental sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences. Design experience is spread across the curriculum, beginning with the Introduction to the Profession courses. Equipment design is emphasized in courses such as Fluid Mechanics, Heat and Mass-Transfer Operations, Thermodynamics, and Chemical Reaction Engineering. Control-system design is practiced in the Process Control course. Process modeling, simulations, and optimization are discussed and practiced in Transport Phenomena, Process Modeling and System Theory, Numerical and Data Analysis, Statistical Tools for Engineering, and Process Control courses. The capstone design courses (Chemical Process Design I & II) integrate these design concepts and practice process design and optimization. In addition to engineering competence, the program also examines the economic, environmental, and societal implications of chemical engineering.
Professional Training
Professional training is stressed in the design of the chemical engineering curriculum. Because engineering is largely a team effort, the department develops the individual’s ability to work effectively as a team member. Group projects are assigned starting with the Introduction to the Profession course. Laboratory course and capstone design course projects are conducted by teams of students. The laboratory work is designed to reinforce the concepts developed in the lectures and to show the application of chemical engineering principles to the solution of real-world problems.
Because individual attention is so important to the student’s growth, laboratory sections are small and a high-level of personal contact between student and instructor is maintained. Students are encouraged to become involved with state-of-the-art research projects at the undergraduate level. The industry/university co-op program is available to students who would like to use one or more extra semesters any time after their second year to work on an internship in industry.
Specialized Programs
In addition to the core curriculum, special programs exist to accommodate students who want to develop more extensive background in related areas. With their exposure to a wide range of industrial applications and problems, students are better equipped to make a decision to explore an area of interest in depth. Professional specializations are available in:
- Bioengineering
- Energy/Environment/Economics (E3)
- Environmental Engineering
- Polymer Science and Engineering
- Process Design and Operation
Students may also choose a minor program. All students must include in their minor program, or as a technical elective, CHE 426 or at least one three credit hour engineering science course. Students who plan to go to graduate school are advised to take CHE 535 as a technical elective.
Required Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Engineering Requirements | (47) | |
| CHE 100 | Introduction to the Profession I | 2 |
| CHE 101 | Introduction to the Profession II | 2 |
| CHE 202 | Material Energy Balances | 3 |
| CHE 239 | Mathematical and Computational Methods | 3 |
| CHE 301 | Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| CHE 302 | Heat and Mass Transfer Operations | 3 |
| CHE 311 | Foundations of Biological Science for Engineering | 3 |
| CHE 317 | Chemical and Biological Engineering Laboratory I | 2 |
| CHE 351 | Thermodynamics I | 3 |
| CHE 406 | Transport Phenomena | 3 |
| CHE 418 | Chemical and Biological Engineering Laboratory II | 2 |
| CHE 423 | Chemical Reaction Engineering | 3 |
| CHE 433 | Process Modeling and System Theory | 3 |
| CHE 435 | Process Control | 3 |
| CHE 451 | Thermodynamics II | 3 |
| CHE 494 | Process Design I | 3 |
| CHE 496 | Process Design II | 3 |
| Mathematics Requirements | (18) | |
| MATH 151 | Calculus I | 5 |
| MATH 152 | Calculus II | 5 |
| MATH 251 | Multivariate and Vector Calculus | 4 |
| MATH 252 | Introduction to Differential Equations | 4 |
| Physics Requirements | (8) | |
| PHYS 123 | General Physics I: Mechanics | 4 |
| PHYS 221 | General Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 |
| Chemistry Requirements | (18) | |
| CHEM 125 | Principles of Chemistry II with Laboratory 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 237 | Organic Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 239 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 343 | Physical Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 344 | Physical Chemistry II | 4 |
| or BIOL 403 | Biochemistry | |
| Computer Science Requirement | (2) | |
| CS 104 | Introduction to Computer Programming for Engineers | 2 |
| or CS 105 | Introduction to Computer Programming | |
| Electrical and Computer Engineering Requirement | (3-4) | |
| ECE 211 | Circuit Analysis I | 3-4 |
| or ECE 218 | Digital Systems | |
| Technical Electives | (9) | |
| Select nine credit hours 2 | 9 | |
| Humanities and Social Science Requirements | (21) | |
| See Illinois Tech Core Curriculum, sections B and C | 21 | |
| Interprofessional Projects (IPRO) | (6) | |
| See Illinois Tech Core Curriculum, section E | 6 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 132-133 | |
- 1
Initial placement in CHEM 125 requires consent of the chemistry department.
- 2
One technical elective must be CHE 426 or an engineering science elective (CHE 400+ level).
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering Curriculum
| Year 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Credit Hours | Semester 2 | Credit Hours |
| CHE 100 | 2 | CHE 101 | 2 |
| MATH 151 | 5 | MATH 152 | 5 |
| CHEM 1251 | 4 | PHYS 123 | 4 |
| CS 104 or 105 | 2 | Social Sciences Elective | 3 |
| Humanities 200-level Course | 3 | Humanities or Social Sciences Elective | 3 |
| 16 | 17 | ||
| Year 2 | |||
| Semester 1 | Credit Hours | Semester 2 | Credit Hours |
| CHE 202 | 3 | CHE 239 | 3 |
| MATH 252 | 4 | CHE 301 | 3 |
| CHEM 237 | 4 | MATH 251 | 4 |
| PHYS 221 | 4 | CHEM 239 | 3 |
| Humanities Elective (300+) | 3 | CHEM 343 | 3 |
| 18 | 16 | ||
| Year 3 | |||
| Semester 1 | Credit Hours | Semester 2 | Credit Hours |
| CHE 302 | 3 | CHE 317 | 2 |
| CHE 311 | 3 | CHE 433 | 3 |
| CHE 351 | 3 | CHE 451 | 3 |
| ECE 211 or 218 | 3-4 | CHEM 344 or BIOL 403 | 4 |
| Humanities Elective (300+) | 3 | IPRO Elective I | 3 |
| Technical Elective2 | 3 | ||
| 15-16 | 18 | ||
| Year 4 | |||
| Semester 1 | Credit Hours | Semester 2 | Credit Hours |
| CHE 418 | 2 | CHE 406 | 3 |
| CHE 423 | 3 | CHE 496 | 3 |
| CHE 435 | 3 | IPRO Elective II | 3 |
| CHE 494 | 3 | Technical Elective2 | 3 |
| Technical Elective2 | 3 | Social Sciences Elective (300+) | 3 |
| Social Sciences Elective (300+) | 3 | ||
| 17 | 15 | ||
| Total Credit Hours: 132-133 | |||
- 1
Initial placement in CHEM 125 requires the consent of the chemistry department.
- 2
One technical elective must be CHE 426 or an engineering science elective (CHE 400+ level).
This program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
Professional Specializations
Students choosing one of the professional specializations should take a total of three courses in the specialization area.
Appropriate substitutions may be made with the approval of the program adviser.
Bioengineering
Program advisers: S. Parulekar and V. Pérez-Luna
Bioengineering has two career specializations:
Biomedical Engineering
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 107 | General Biology Lectures | 3 |
| BIOL 115 | Human Biology | 3 |
| Select one elective from the following: | 3 | |
| Genetics | 3 | |
or BIOL 414 | Genetics for Engineering Scientists | |
| Introductory Biochemistry | 3 | |
| Human Physiology | 3 | |
| Cell Biology | 3 | |
| Undergraduate Research | 1-6 | |
| Bioprocess Engineering | 3 | |
Biotechnology
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select three electives from the following: | 9 | |
| General Biology Lectures | 3 | |
| Genetics | 3 | |
or BIOL 414 | Genetics for Engineering Scientists | |
| Introductory Biochemistry | 3 | |
| Cell Biology | 3 | |
| Bioprocess Engineering | 3 | |
Energy/Environment/Economics (E3)
Program adviser: H. Arastoopour
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHE 543 | Energy, Environment, and Economics | 3 |
| Energy Sources, Conversion, Utilization, and Distribution | (3) | |
| Select at least one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Electrochemical Energy Conversion | 3 | |
| Fuel Cell System Design | 3 | |
| Fluidization | 3 | |
| Undergraduate Research | 1-6 | |
| Renewable Energy Technologies | 3 | |
| Fluidization and Gas-Solids Flow Systems | 3 | |
| Fundamentals of Electrochemistry | 3 | |
| Fuel Cell Fundamentals | 3 | |
| Interfacial and Colloidal Phenomena with Applications | 3 | |
| Fundamentals of Power Engineering | 4 | |
| Power Electronics | 4 | |
| Power Systems Analysis with Laboratory | 4 | |
| Analytical Methods for Power System Economics and Cybersecurity | 3 | |
| Control Systems | 3 | |
| Direct Energy Conversion | 3 | |
| Nuclear, Fossil-Fuel, and Sustainable Energy Systems | 3 | |
| Fundamentals of Combustion | 3 | |
| Fundamentals of Heat Transfer | 3 | |
| Energy and Environment, System Analysis, and Special Problems | (3) | |
| Select at least one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Statistical Tools for Engineers | 3 | |
| Undergraduate Research | 1-3 | |
| Economics of Capital Investments | 3 | |
| Water and Wastewater Engineering | 3 | |
| Introduction to Air Pollution Control | 3 | |
| Industrial Ecology | 3 | |
| Interprofessional Project (IPRO) | 3 | |
| Undergraduate Research | 1-6 | |
| Undergraduate Design Project | 1-3 | |
| Undergraduate Special Topics | 1-6 | |
| Energy Policy | 3 | |
Environmental Engineering
Program adviser: B. Stephens
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Engineering | (3) | |
| Select at least one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Statistical Tools for Engineers | 3 | |
| Water and Wastewater Engineering | 3 | |
| Introduction to Air Pollution Control | 3 | |
| Industrial Ecology | 3 | |
| Civil Engineering | (3) | |
| Select at least one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Risk Assessment Engineering | 3 | |
| Hydraulic Design of Open Channel Systems | 3 | |
| Interprofessional Project (IPRO) | 3 | |
Polymer Science and Engineering
Program advisers: J. Schieber and F. Teymour
The program embraces polymer chemistry, characterization, structure and properties, as well as the manufacture of polymeric raw materials and their processing into finished products.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Polymer Science | 3 | |
| Introduction to Polymers | 3 | |
| Introduction to Polymer Science | 3 | |
| Select at least one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Polymerization Reaction Engineering | 3 | |
| Polymer Processing | 3 | |
| Polymer Rheology | 3 | |
| Polymer Synthesis | 3 | |
| Polymer Chemistry Laboratory | 3 | |
| Polymer Characterization and Analysis | 3 | |
| Advanced Materials Processing | 3 | |
| Students may take up to one of the following courses: | 3 | |
| Statistical Tools for Engineers | 3 | |
| Fluidization | 3 | |
| Undergraduate Research | 1-6 | |
| Interfacial and Colloidal Phenomena with Applications | 3 | |
| Finite Element Methods in Engineering | 3 | |
| Manufacturing Processes | 3 | |
Process Design and Operation
Program adviser: D. Chmielewski
For students interested in design, operation, monitoring, optimization, and control of chemical processes.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select at least one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Statistical Tools for Engineers | 3 | |
| Process Design Optimization | 3 | |
| Advanced Process Control | 3 | |
| Statistical Quality and Process Control | 3 | |
| Select at least one course from the following: 1 | 3 | |
| Electrochemical Energy Conversion | 3 | |
| Fluidization | 3 | |
| Undergraduate Research | 1-6 | |
| Introduction to Air Pollution Control | 3 | |
| Engineering Control of Industrial Hazards | 3 | |
| Industrial Ecology | 3 | |
| Physical and Chemical Processes for Industrial Gas Cleaning | 3 | |
| Hazardous Waste Engineering | 3 | |
- 1
Only one course selection may be an ENVE course.
