These are some of the questions the answers to which prospective students of chemical engineering, their parents, and, more broadly, an informed public should have some knowledge. What follows is an attempt to provide these answers, at least in brief. Further information can be found in other parts of this webpage.

What is Chemical Engineering?
If one wants to define what chemical engineering is about, the phrase “transformations of matter” sums it up. Chemical engineers seek to convert compounds of lesser utility or value to others more useful or more valuable. Many compounds, such as hydrocarbons, can, in the process of being transformed, release considerable amounts of energy. So, chemical engineers are concerned with the production of energy as well as the manufacture of useful chemical products.

Many of these products are well known to all of us, for instance:

Nylon
Aspirin
Teflon
Gasoline
Detergents
Penicillin
Plexiglas

Others are intermediates and solvents that are used in the manufacture of end-use products. Ethylene, chlorobenzene and chlorine are typical intermediates (although the use of the latter is being phased out wherever possible). Water is the most widely used solvent but when it cannot do the job, organics such as acetone and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) are used instead.

Not all chemical transformations produce products of value. Many produce intermediate compounds or byproducts that are hazardous or otherwise environmentally undesirable. So, chemical engineers also have to be involved in pollution control and environmental remediation.

The key to most of what has been described above is the choice of the appropriate chemical reactions. But many useful transformations can be achieved simply by separation of the desired components in a mixture from whatever else is present in it. Separation of potable water from seawater is one such example.

The Chemical Enterprise
There is a wide range of industries that taken together comprise what is known as the chemical enterprise. Some of the major segments of this enterprise are:

• Petroleum refining (gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, asphalt)
• Commodity chemicals (sulfuric acid, oxygen, ammonia, caustic soda)
• Petrochemicals (methanol, acetone, ethylene glycol)
• Polymers and plastics (nylon, polyethylene, polyurthethane foam, synthetic rubber, Plexiglas)
• Pharmaceuticals (antibiotics, analgesics, antidepressants)
• Electronic materials (high-purity silicon, photovoltaics)
• Processed foods (sugar, instant coffee, frozen orange juice)
• Paints and pigments
• Agricultural chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, crop sterilants)
• Personal care products (toothpaste, cosmetics, deodorants)
• Inks and dyes
• Environmental remediation and hazardous waste disposal
• Energy production (fuel cells, nuclear fuel processing, thermal solar power)

What Do Chemical Engineers Do?
What first come to mind are those activities traditionally associated with the production of chemicals. These include process research and development, plant design, plant operation, and sales. Many, many chemical engineers have enjoyed productive careers in this type of work. Many careers have also let to positions in technical and corporate management.

But over the years not a few chemical engineers have found other career paths for which their education prepared them. Some have become medical doctors, others patent lawyers, still others have gone into specialized areas such as computer applications and environmental protection. Chemical engineers are also found at all levels of government.

Times change however and we must change with them. More and more emphasis is being placed on the manufacture of chemicals by biological means. This has created opportunities for chemical engineers with a background in biology and biotechnology. Exciting new discoveries and developments are occurring in materials science, particularly at the nanotechnology level, leading to more opportunities for chemical engineers. Finally, an energy crisis is looming that will require considerable effort and ingenuity on the part of chemical engineers among others, if acceptable solutions are to be found.

Career Prospects for Chemical Engineers
Chemical engineering differs from most professions in that anyone graduating with a bachelor’s degree in it from an accredited institution (City College is one) is considered to be a member of the profession. This is not so in many other professions for which many years of advanced education are required to achieve professional status. However, as the scope and depth of chemical engineering continue to grow, so will the benefits of advanced education, be it at the master’s level, the PhD level, or in related areas such as management.

Chemical engineers have and continue to receive starting salaries at the bachelor’s level that are at the top or near the top of all of the professions. Will this continue to be the case? Who knows?

The future presents both opportunities and challenges. The opportunities are discussed above. So what are the challenges? One is competition. Chemical engineering is an attractive profession. Many have taken up its study and some have had to struggle to find good jobs. Chemical engineering is not unique in this; it is true of almost all of the professions.

Globalization is another challenge, not just to chemical engineering, but to all jobs any many professions. Historically the chemical enterprise was situated primarily in the industrially advanced nations: the U.S., Europe, and Japan. But this is changing rapidly. Nations such as Saudi Arabia who have plentiful sources of cheap petrochemical feed stocks have a competitive advantage that they are pursuing quite vigorously. Other nations such as China are rapidly expanding their abilities in low-cost manufacturing but also their technological and scientific capabilities in providing contract services in research and development. So, one must be flexible and be willing to go where the challenging and rewarding career prospects are.

SUSTAINABILITY
The Challenge for Chemical Engineers in the 21st Century
By far the greatest challenge for chemical engineers is sustainability. Civilization is facing two interrelated crises. One is the rapidly approaching end of cheap energy; the other the consequences of global warming as well as other forms of environmental degradation. Solving the energy problem without worsening that of global warming will require both great ingenuity and significant social change.

The chemical industry and government are already moving to deal with these crises. There are programs for dealing with energy conservation. The concepts of Green Chemistry and Green Engineering are becoming part of research and development practice. But most of what needs to be done is still before us. And no small part of what needs to be done is in the hands of the coming generation of chemical engineers.