Department of Chemical Engineering

A common question that many ask is, “How is chemical engineering different from chemistry?” Typically, chemists create new molecules via chemical reactions, examine the underlying mechanisms involved, and make precise chemical measurements on a bench scale in small volumes. Chemical engineers utilize the initial work of the chemists, but often need to modify the reactions themselves, as they can be too slow to be useful.  Additionally, chemical engineers examine how the size of a system affects the chemistry, as both heat transfer and mixing processes get more difficult with increased system size—and the scale needs to be larger to meet demand for chemicals.  The interaction between size and chemistry is non-trivial and requires bench top and larger scale experimentation in which key parameters are measured.  Such parameters are, in turn, inserted into mathematical models to predict larger scales.  This is an iterative process and requires the intensive training that RIT chemical engineering provides.

Accreditation

The BS degree in chemical engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org. For Enrollment and Graduations Data, Program Educational Objectives, and Student Outcomes, please visit the college’s Accreditation page.