Chemical Engineering – A Profession Worth Celebrating

Chemical engineers are the ones who will have a hand in solving them. The problem solving and critical thinking skills gained through our rigorous curriculum prepare graduates for a wide range of careers spanning the gamut from research and development, process design, project management, and manufacturing to sales and marketing, in sectors as diverse as energy, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, polymers, electronic materials, and public service. Some say that we are entering a new “Golden Age” of chemical engineering in which our discipline is key to creating and delivering the world’s most wanted and most needed technological advances. The development of new energy sources, the emergence of biotechnology to complement traditional chemical engineering manufacturing, the capacity to generate and analyze “big data”, a renewed focus on manufacturing, and our natural “systems approach” all position chemical engineers to assume a leadership role in the future. As faculty, it is essential that we engage students early in the curriculum to recognize the applications of what they are learning. Training the next generation of chemical engineers requires us to recognize that we cannot even imagine the career paths they may pursue in the future. As a result, we need to equip them with the tools to succeed in a changing economy – an entrepreneurial spirit that responds to society’s challenges, problem solving and synthesis skills, creativity, and the capacity for lifelong learning.