Chemical Engineering

The faculty in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering offer graduate programs leading to the MS, MS in Engineering, and the PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering. Areas of research emphasis include biotechnology and biomaterials, chemical therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, adhesion in biological and inorganic systems, electronic materials processing, environmentally-benign manufacturing, process design and operations, water and air purification, surface and reaction engineering, and photocatalysis. Within the Engineering Science major, students may select materials science and engineering as the area of study (see Engineering Science, for program description).

The faculty also participate in offering the interdisciplinary program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major in Science and Engineering of Materials (see Science and Engineering of Materials, for program description). A Graduate Student Handbook, detailing information on graduate studies in Chemical Engineering, is available to admitted students. Students should contact the department.

The faculty also participate in the Arizona Master of Engineering partnership. See Master of Engineering, for the program description.

Graduate Record Examination. Graduate Record Examination scores are required from all applicants.

See Master’s Degrees, for general requirements.

Transition Program. Students applying for the program leading to a master’s degree with a major in Chemical Engineering, or in the area of study of materials science and engineering under the Engineering Science major, may have an undergraduate BS degree in a major field other than chemical engineering or materials science. The qualifications of transition students are reviewed by the department graduate committee, and a special program is designed for successful applicants. In general, applicants should have had, or should be prepared to take, calculus through differential equations and physics. Transition students are expected to complete the essential courses in their area of study from the undergraduate program to prepare themselves for the graduate courses. Other course work from the undergraduate program may be required depending upon the area of study selected by the student.

Transition students should contact the graduate coordinator for an evaluation of the undergraduate transcript.

Program of Study. All candidates for the MS in Engineering or MS in Chemical Engineering, or in the area of study of materials science and engineering under the Engineering Science major, are required to complete an approved program of study consisting of the minimum required semester hours, including research report (MSE) or thesis (MS). Special course requirements for the different areas of study are established by the faculty and are available from the departmental graduate coordinator. In addition to the course/thesis requirements, all full-time graduate students must successfully complete a seminar course during each semester of attendance; part-time students must enroll in a seminar course at least three times during the course of study. Candidates whose undergraduate degree was in a field other than chemical engineering or materials science may be required to complete more than 30 semester hours.

Thesis Requirements. A thesis or equivalent is required.

Final Examination. A final oral examination is required in defense of the thesis or equivalent.

See Master of Science in Engineering, for information on the Master of Science in Engineering degree.

The PhD degree in Chemical Engineering, or in the area of study of materials science and engineering under the Engineering Science major, is conferred upon evidence of excellence in research resulting in a scholarly dissertation that is a contribution to existing knowledge.

See Doctor of Philosophy, for general requirements.

Doctoral Program. Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, a research supervisory committee is formed and the doctoral student is required to submit a research proposal. Following the acceptance of the research proposal, the student is given a comprehensive examination to determine initiative, originality, breadth, and high level of professional commitment to the problem selected for investigation. Upon successful completion of the comprehensive examination, the student applies for admission to candidacy.

Master’s Degree in Passing. Students who are enrolled in the PhD degree program in Chemical Engineering, but who do not hold a previously earned master’s degree in chemical engineering, can obtain the MSE degree (the “Master’s in Passing”) upon completion of course requirements, the PhD qualifying examination, prospectus, and the comprehensive examination.

As this degree is only available to students who are enrolled as regular students in the PhD program in Chemical Engineering, all of the above requirements (including course work) can be applied toward the PhD requirements.

Foreign Language Requirements. Candidates in the program leading to the PhD degree in Chemical Engineering, or in the area of study of materials science and engineering under the Engineering Science major, normally are not required to pass an examination showing reading competency of a foreign language. However, the supervisory committee may establish such a requirement in special cases depending upon the research interests of the candidate. If the foreign language is required, the student must successfully fulfill the requirement before taking the comprehensive examination.

Dissertation Requirements. A dissertation based on original work demonstrating creativity in research and scholarly proficiency in the subject area is required.

Final Examination. A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation is required.

Atmospheric Aerosols. Chemistry and physics of aerosols, visibility degradation, climatological effects, human health impacts, atmosphere-biosphere interactions, novel aerosol instrumentation, ultrafine particle characterization, sources of atmospheric particles, environmental fate of pollutants.

Biochemical Engineering. Biological colloids, bioadhesion, biofilms, biochips, protein engineering, enzyme kinetics, biomedical engineering, antibody-based therapeutics, neurogenerative diseases, atomic force microscopy, protein-protein interactions, coagulation.

Chemical Process Control. Advanced process identification and control. Control oriented approaches to supply chain management. Application to chemical, petroleum, and semiconductor manufacturing industries.

Chemical Process Engineering. Chemical process design fundamentals, optimization techniques and applications, process modeling, simulation, dynamics and control, and applied statistics.

Electronic Materials. Adsorption, catalysis, solid-state materials processing for control of properties, adhesion, surface cleaning, plasma etching, physical vapor deposition, polymer processing, photolithography, semiconductor materials processing, chemical vapor deposition, surface reactions, electrochemical reactions, optimization of electroplating processing, and surface analysis.

Environmental Analysis. Energy and environmental design considerations, purification of effluent streams, water reclamation and purification, sea water desalination, CMP effluent recovery, analysis of air and water pollution, modeling of pollution systems, and recycling for pollution control.

Materials Science and Engineering. Semiconductor processing and characterization, polymeric and ceramic composites, materials for high critical temperature superconductor applications, ferritic thin films for capacitor and memory applications, high temperature materials for space applications, mechanical behavior of high-strength Al-Li alloys, environmentally influenced mechanical effects, and microbiologically influenced corrosion reactions.

In addition to the strong core programs, the department emphasizes multidisciplinary research at the leading edge of science, where departmental strengths interface with materials and solid-state research, life sciences, bioengineering, atmospheric sciences, and environmental studies.

Faculty in chemical engineering are also involved in numerous research centers and programs across campus, including the Center for Solid State Science, the Molecular and Cellular Biology master’s degree program, and the Atmospheric Sciences certificate program.

For more information, access the department Web site at fulton.asu.edu/~cme.