Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering

Our graduate program in chemical engineering has two primary goals: to train students to be leaders in research and development in industry or government, and to be faculty members at colleges and universities.

We strive to develop innovative strategies and techniques in the fields of chemical and biological engineering. Relative to many peer institutions, Northwestern places a great deal of emphasis on interdisciplinary and cross-school research interactions. Of the research-active faculty in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, over half have formal associations with other departments through full, joint or courtesy appointments, and half of these advise graduate students from other departments.

Additionally, the majority of graduate students in the department participate in interdisciplinary programs, such as the Molecular Biophysics Training Program and the Integrated Biological Sciences (IBiS) program, or in cross-disciplinary research groups in the Center for Catalysis and Surface Science, the Institute for Environmental Catalysis, the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Self-Assembly, the Lurie Cancer Center, and the Materials Research Center. These interdisciplinary efforts have been successful in allowing the department to attain a high national ranking and to attract a strong graduate pool.
Our graduate students have degrees from some of the most competitive institutions in the United States and around the world, including top universities in China, India, Korea, and Europe.

Research Details:
Catalysis and reaction engineering
Biochemical and biomedical engineering
Polymer science, fluid mechanics and transport
Process systems research