Gordon A. and Mary Cain Department of Chemical Engineering

For information regarding the GRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.  

Chemical engineers apply scientific principles to the solution of problems involving chemical and physical change. They design, install, and operate complete processes for the efficient production of materials and tailor the properties of materials for specific applications. Chemical engineers today play a direct professional role in such diverse areas as chemical processing; petroleum refining; pollution control and abatement; materials processing; biochemical engineering; instrumentation; computer automation, control, and modeling; biomedical engineering; oceanography; energy; food processing; systems engineering; and manufacturing.

Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region lead the nation in growth of the chemical, petroleum, and materials industries. In these industries, about 40 percent of the professional staffs are chemical engineers. Besides providing technical leadership for these industries, chemical engineers are a major source of management personnel. Chemical engineering also offers many opportunities for independent enterprise.

Chemical engineers must combine many different abilities in their work. These include an aptitude for chemistry, computer science, physics, mathematics, and economics; the capability of presenting decisions to management in a lucid and concise manner; and the ability to bring scientifically oriented talents to bear on practical problems.

The undergraduate curriculum is concerned primarily with fundamentals, and basic courses in mathematics, chemistry, and chemical engineering are required. The curriculum requires liberal amounts of arts, humanities, and social sciences electives to satisfy the university’s general education and external accreditation requirements. These serve to prepare students for the responsibilities of citizenship, aside from a technical career. 

Chemical engineers are among the highest-salaried graduates in engineering across the nation. In the foreseeable future, it is predicted that the supply of chemical engineers available to industry will not match the demand; consequently, the salary and job opportunities should continue to be favorable.

The chemical engineering curriculum has been continuously accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

Following graduation our graduates are expected to:

• attain careers as engineering professionals in chemical, energy production, engineering design, biochemical or related industries;
• succeed in graduate programs in chemical and biomolecular engineering, medicine, business, law or other scientific/engineering disciplines;
• solve industrially relevant, open-ended engineering problems using appropriate tools and critical thinking capabilities; and
• succeed in leadership, management, and research roles in industry, academia, or government.

Student outcomes

• an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
• an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
• an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
• an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
• an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
• an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
• an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies

Residence Requirement • Students must complete at least 18 residence hours of required chemical engineering courses, including CHE 4172 , and exclusive of approved chemical engineering electives.

Prerequisite Requirement • Chemical Engineering majors must earn a grade of “C” or better in each of the basic sciences preparatory courses - BIOL 1201 , CHEM 1201 , CHEM 1202 , MATH 1550 , MATH 1552 , MATH 2090 , PHYS 2110 , and PHYS 2113  - before registering for any chemical engineering course other than CHE 1100  and CHE 2171 .

In addition, students must earn a “C” or better in CHE 2171 , CHE 2172 , CHE 2176 , CHE 3101 , CHE 3102 , CHE 3104 , CHE 3171 , CHE 3173 , and CHE 3190   before registering for any subsequent course that requires one or more of these as a prerequisite.

The list of General ChE Technical Electives is kept on file in the Chemical Engineering Department’s main office, 3307 Patrick Taylor Hall. It can also be found on ChE’s website www.lsu.edu/eng/che/.

3/2 Program in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

The Department of Chemistry at Southern University and the Gordon A. and Mary Cain Department of Chemical Engineering at LSU offer a dual degree in chemistry and chemical engineering. The student, after successful completion of the required courses in both curricula, will be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Southern University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering degree from LSU. The first three years of coursework are taken principally at Southern University and the last two years principally at LSU.

Programs

• Chemical Engineering, B.S.Ch.E.