The course focuses on basic principles governing the equilibrium behavior of macroscopic systems and their applications to materials and processes of interest in modern chemical engineering. We introduce the fundamental thermodynamic concepts: energy conservation (First Law); temperature and entropy (Second Law); thermodynamic potentials; equilibrium and stability. These ideas are applied to problems such as calculating the equilibrium compositions of coexisting phases or reacting mixtures, as well as analyzing the thermodynamic efficiency of power generation and refrigeration cycles.

This course examines engineering as a profession and the responsibilities of that profession to society. Professional responsibilities of engineers are compared to those of lawyers, doctors, scientists and business leaders. Ethical theories are introduced as frameworks to guide ethical decisions on technology implementation. Simple quantitative decision making concepts, including risk-benefit analysis, are introduced as a method for engineers to make ethically optimal choices. A wide range of technologies are discussed and ethical issues facing engineers in maintaining existing technologies and implementing new technologies are examined.

An intensive hands-on practice of engineering. Experimental work in the areas of separations, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, process dynamics and control, materials processing and characterization, chemical reactors. Development of written and oral technical communication skills.

Subjects chosen by the student with the approval of the faculty for independent study. A written report, and an oral presentation will be required. Students generally spend about 15 hours per week on the independent project.

This course introduces the concepts of soft condensed matter and their use in understanding the mechanical properties, dynamic behavior, and self-assembly of living biological materials. We will take an engineering approach that emphasizes the application of fundamental physical concepts to a diverse set of problems taken from the literature, including mechanical properties of biopolymers and the cytoskeleton, directed and random molecular motion within cells, aggregation and collective movement of cells, and phase transitions and critical behavior in the self-assembly of lipid membranes and intracellular structures.

This course will focus on the structure, function, design and engineering of biomacromolecules and their use in modern biotechnologies. After a brief review of protein and nucleic acid chemistry and structure, we will delve into rational, evolutionary, and computational methods for the design and engineering of these biomolecules. Then we will review applications in the primary literature including: protein and RNA-based switches and sensors, unnatural amino acids and nucleotides, enzyme engineering, integration of these parts via synthetic biology, and metabolic engineering.

This course covers major diseases (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, infectious diseases), the physical changes that inflict morbidity and mortality, the design constraints for treatment, and emerging technologies that take into account these physical hurdles. Taking the perspective of the design constraints on the system (that is, the mass transport and biophysical limitations of the human body), we will survey recent innovations from the fields of drug delivery, gene therapy, tissue engineering, and nanotechnology.

Introduction to chemical reaction engineering and reactor design in chemical and biological processes. Concepts of chemical kinetics for both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions. Coupled transport and chemical/biological rate processes.

A full year study of an important problem or topic in chemical and biological engineering culminating in a senior thesis. Projects may be experimental, computational, or theoretical. Topics selected by the students from suggestions by the faculty. Written thesis, poster presentation, and oral defense required. The senior thesis is recorded as a double course in the spring. Departmental permission required.

A survey of modeling and solutions methods for problems involving heat, mass and momentum transport. Topics include conservation equations, conductive heat transfer, species diffusion, kinematics and dynamics of viscous flows, the Navier-Stokes equations, scaling principles and approximation techniques, boundary layer theory, convective heat and mass transfer, multi-component energy and mass transfer, buoyancy-driven convection, transport in ionic solutions, introduction to instability and turbulence.

A treatment of the theory and applications of ordinary differential equations with an introduction to partial differential equations. The objective is to provide the student with an ability to solve problems in this field.

An introduction to the mechanics of viscous flows. The kinematics and dynamics of viscous flows. Exact solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations. Lubrication theory. The behavior of vorticity. The boundary layer approximation. Laminar boundary layers with and without pressure gradients. Introduction to stability. Introduction to turbulence. Several case studies will be introduced to expose students to fluid mechanics themes in biology, polymer processing, complex fluids and reacting flows.

'Life finds a way.' to quote Jurassic Park, and understanding how Life does things can help us not only better understand it, but also better build, heal, and design our own living systems. This course focuses on the intersection of mechanics, materials science, and biology and focuses on two themes. (1) We use special engineering principles from different disciplines to understand how mechanics and material properties enable cells to make everything from beating hearts to velociraptors. (2) We apply this knowledge to learn how to design new biomedical devices and biomaterials while considering regulatory and bioethics guidelines.

Important concepts and elements of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology, are examined in an experimental context. This course fulfills the basic biology requirement for students majoring in the biological sciences and satisfies the basic biology requirement for entrance into medical school and most other health professions schools.

This course will consider the principles, development, outcomes and future directions of therapeutic applications of biotechnology, with particular emphasis on the interplay between basic research and clinical experience. Topics to be discussed include production of hormones and other protein drugs, nucleic acid drugs and vaccines, gene therapy and gene editing, and molecular diagnostics. Reading will largely be from the primary literature.

This course examines methods for simulating matter at the atomistic scale with emphasis on the concepts that underline modern computational methodologies for classical many-body systems at or near statistical equilibrium. The course covers Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics (from basics to advanced techniques), and includes an introduction to ab-initio Molecular Dynamics and the use of Machine Learning techniques in molecular simulations.