What is Chemical Engineering?
Chemical Engineering is about changing raw materials into valuable everyday products in a cost-effective and safe manner (think of ice-cream, food/drink, clothing, pharmaceuticals, artificial limbs, cell-phones, pet foods, fuel - the list is endless!).
Society needs chemical engineers, to develop safe new processes and products in such a way that they will help to manage resources in such a way as to protect the environment.
What do we look for in students and What'should students consider if they think chemical engineering will be of interest :
- able to work on their own or in a team
- a good communicator
- Able to take on a challenge
- An emphasis on skills in Maths & Chemistry
- Looking for career that involves Chemistry but is not laboratory based
- Offers a wide range of career opportunities
Chemical engineers are sought after by a wide range of employers, so our students work in large multinational companies such as :
- the oil & gas giants Exxon and BP
- major pharmaceutical companies such as GSK, and Pfizer
- intermediate chemical manufacturers including Rohm & Haas
- food companies such as Nestle, General Foods
- specialists companies making paper, whisky, cosmetics
- management consultancies
They are amongst the highest paid graduates in their first posts and remain so during their working life. The nature of the chemical and process industries is such that many graduates will work overseas on short and long term secondments or move overseas permanently.
They would expect to work on problems associated with :
- environmental protection
- process design
- safety
- advanced chemical processes
Or may have an involvement in the type of research interests are at the forefront of chemical engineering technologies. For instance we are actively involved in the areas of :
- Energy
- Hydrogen
- Electrochemical energy storage in batteries and supercapacitors
- Novel fuel cells
- Carbon loss in refinery operations
- CO2 sequestration in coal
- Chemicals production
- Micro reactors
- Low flow measurement
- Separations processes
- Flow properties at high pressures
- Nano materials production, characterisation and handling
Chemical Engineering at Strathclyde was rated the best in Scotland in the last Scottish Higher Education Funding Council Teaching Quality Assessment and is amongst the best in the UK and we are amongst the few departments in the UK to offer fully accredited full and part time courses at BEng, MEng and postgraduate MSc level. (Read about our Admission Requirements)