From the ubiquitous water bottle to food packaging to Barbie, we live in a plastic world. While plastics provide benefits from safe food delivery to sterile healthcare products, only a small percentage is recycled. This course addresses the historical development of plastics and their impacts. We'll discuss the science of plastics and their lifecycle from sourcing through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. Topics will include microplastics, plastics in the ocean, and the impacts of additives (e.g. BPA). Finally, we'll examine solutions including recycling and bio-based plastics from scientific, behavioral, and economic perspectives.

Introduction to the principles underlying chemical and biochemical engineering. This course begins with the basics of engineering calculations, and continues on to the core subjects of material and energy balances in single and multi-phase systems; both with and without reactions. The topics in this course lay the bedrock for the remaining CBE curriculum, and students will see the subjects that they learn here time and again in their future CBE courses.

This course covers the theory and practice of separation technologies used in the chemical and biochemical industries. Both equilibrium and rate-based separations will be discussed including distillation, chromatography, and membrane processes.

How do you design a drug delivery system that will kill a tumor but not the patient? What are the major constraints in building a new artificial heart? Why are some cooling systems more efficient than others? A strong understanding of transport phenomena is essential for solving these and other grand challenges facing society. This course combines applied mathematics with fundamental physics to promote an intuitive understanding of steady and unsteady heat and mass transfer and fluid dynamics. We will focus on key applications in processes related to biology, energy, materials, and chemical synthesis.

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 15-20 hours per week on the independent project.

Broad introduction to polymer science and technology, including polymer chemistry (major synthetic routes to polymers), polymer physics (solution and melt behavior, solid-state morphology and properties), and polymer engineering (overview of reaction engineering, melt processing, and recycling methods).

This course will use green chemistry and engineering principles to assess the catalytic production of fuels and chemicals. Historical context for current processes will be given to contrast available routes for conversions using alternative, more sustainable feedstocks, and processes. These case studies will also serve as platforms for the fundamentals of heterogeneous acid and metal catalysis, including techniques of catalyst synthesis and characterization, as well as an understanding of how reactions occur on surfaces.

This course offers an introduction to computational chemistry and molecular simulation, which are essential components to modern-day science and engineering, as they can provide both mechanistic insights underlying observed phenomena and predictions on thermodynamic/kinetic properties. Through pedagogical treatment of essential background, basic algorithmic implementation, and applications, students will develop knowledge necessary to follow, appreciate, and devise computational 'experiments'. Topics of emphasis include quantum chemical solution methods, Monte Carlo & molecular dynamics, and free energy/enhanced sampling.

The course covers (1) conceptual process synthesis: reactor and separation network synthesis, and heat integration; (2) tools for process design (flowsheeting, simulation, and equipment sizing and costing); (3) basic principles underpinning safety, health, and environmental issues; (4) optimization methods; and (5) economic evaluation. A major design project allows students to apply their skills to design a complex system.

This course provides an graduate-level introduction to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics relevant to problems in biological, chemical, and materials science and engineering. Topics include: thermodynamic laws and transformations; microstates, macrostates, partition functions, and statistical ensembles; equilibrium, stability, and response of multicomponent systems; phase transitions; fluctuations; structure of classical fluids; viral expansion; computer simulation methods. Applications include polymer elasticity and phase separation, electrolytes, colloidal suspensions, protein folding, surface adsorption, crystal melting, magnets.

Molecular processes in chemical systems, reaction kinetics and catalysis. Interaction of mass and heat transfer in chemical processes. Performance of systems with chemical reactors.

A seminar course designed to acquaint first-year graduate students with the different research areas represented by the CBE department, as well as to train these students in the methodologies and practices used in chemical engineering research. Students learn how to read and evaluate the literature, and the techniques for formulating and developing an original research problem in the field. Each lecture is given by a different member of the CBE faculty (or associated faculty), who will review his or her field of research and discuss open questions for future investigation.

This course provides a theoretical and practical introduction to machine learning (ML) methods and their applications in chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science. After a survey of ML algorithms, we will delve into specific applications (e.g., QSPR modeling, materials design, molecular simulation, process control, synthesis) to ascertain how ML methods, which are commonplace in Big Tech, are used in engineering. Students will explore state-of-the-art approaches through topical literature reviews and case studies and develop proficiency with algorithms (as deployed in an engineering context) via programming assignments.

Amorphous polymers, including modulus-temperature behavior, and mechanical and dielectric measurements; crystallization and crystalline polymers, including X-ray diffraction; physics of other multiphase and multicomponent polymers, especially block and segmented copolymers, and including ionomers and polymer blends.

Prediction of the structure and properties of equilibrium and nonequilibrium states of matter. Topics include Gibbs ensembles; microscopic basis of thermodynamics; Boltzmann statistics; ideal gases; Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics; models of solids; blackbody radiation; Bose condensation; conduction in metals; virial expansion; distribution functions; liquids; structural glasses; sphere packings and jamming; computer simulation techniques; critical phenomena; percolation theory; Ising model; renormalization group methods; irreversible processes; Brownian motion; Fokker-Planck and Boltzmann equations.

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 standard problems in this field.

Methods of mathematical analysis for the solution of problems in physics and engineering. Topics include an introduction to linear algebra, matrices and their application, eigenvalue problems,ordinary differential equations (initial and boundary value, eigenvalue problems), nonlinear ordinary differential equations, stability, bifurcations, Sturm-Liouville theory, Green's functions, elements of series solutions and special functions, Laplace and Fourier transform methods, and solutions via perturbation methods, partial differential equation including self-similar solution, separation of variables and method of characteristics.

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

Emphasizes the connection between microstructure and properties in solid-state materials. Topics include crystallinity and defects, electronic and mechanical properties of materials, phase diagrams and transformations, and materials characterization techniques. Ties fundamental concepts in materials science to practical use cases with the goal of solving complex challenges in sustainability and healthcare, among others.