Chemical and Biological Engineering

PhD

Chemical & Biological Engineering is a discipline that integrates chemistry and biology at the molecular level and uses this broad foundation along with engineering fundamentals to study the synthesis of new processes and products. Our graduate program in Chemical and Biological Engineering is an interdisciplinary program that combines chemical engineering fundamentals and systems biology to meet the research challenges of the future.

Degree Requirements

Applicants can apply to our PhD programs with a BS or MS degree.  PhD students admitted with a BS degree must be completed at least 14 courses and 42 credits, as well as the seminar course, by the end of the sixth semester and take the qualifying exam no later than the seventh semester.  PhD students admitted with a MS degree must be completed at least 7 courses and 21 credits, as well as the seminar course, by the end of the fourth semester and take the qualifying exam no later than the fifth semester.  

In addition to the credit courses, students must complete the non-credit courses; CHBI 695 – PhD Thesis, CHBI 590 Seminar, ETHR 500 –  Scientific Research Methods and Research and Publication Ethics, ENGL 500 – Academic Writing, TEAC 500 – Teaching Experience, KOLT 500 -Teaching in Higher Education and LIBR 500 – Library Researcher Development.

Curriculum

Required core courses (3 credit each):

CHBI 501 Transport Phenomena
CHBI 502 Reaction Engineering
CHBI 503 Thermodynamics


Elective courses (3 credit each):

CHBI 504  Advanced Thermodynamics
CHBI 505  Polymer Engineering
CHBI 506  Bioinformatics
CHBI 507  Advanced Mass transfer
CHBI 509  Fundamentals of Environmental Technologies
CHBI 510  Industrial Microbiology
CHBI 511  Sustainable Energy
CHBI 516  Biotechnology
CHBI 521/MECH 521 Advanced Fluid Dynamics
CHBI 522 Computational Structural Biology
CHBI 530  Systems Biology
CHBI 584  Tissue Engineering
CMSE 520  Biomolecular Structure, Function and Dynamics
ENGR 500  Applied Optimal Control
INDR 501  Optimization Models and Algorithms
MASE 501  Structure of Materials (1,5 credits)
MASE 502  Electrical & Optical Properties of Materials (1,5 credits)
MASE 504  Thermal Properties of Materials (1,5 credits)
MASE 505  Mechanical Properties of Materials (1,5 credits)
MASE 506  Synthesis, Characterization & Processing of Materials
MASE 538  Intermolecular and Surface Forces
MASE 540  Surface & Interface Properties of Materials
MASE 542  Biomaterials
MASE 570  Micro and Nanofabrication
MATH 503 Applied Mathematics

Courses are selected by the students from the above list and from other courses not listed here in accordance with their areas of specialization and subject to the approval of their advisors. In addition, each student has to take a seminar course, CHBI 590 Seminar. Students also register for the thesis course.

CHBI 590
Seminar

CHBI 695
PhD Thesis

Students who have TA assignments  must take TEAC 500: Teaching Experience during the semesters of their assignments.  Students must also take ENGL 500: Graduate Writing course.

Students who do not have a formal degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering are encouraged to apply. Once they are admitted, their course program is designed to make up for any lack of background. These students will attend our undergraduate courses in fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, if they have not taken such courses earlier. With this additional course work they will be able to take the graduate required courses and obtain a strong educational background. For these students the course schedule will be tailored but a typical coarse load includes:

YEAR 1
Fall Semester

CHBI 301 Fluid Mechanics
MATH 503 Applied Math
CHBI 503 Thermodynamics

Spring Semester

CHBI 302 Heat and Mass Transfer
Graduate Electives (1 or 2)

YEAR 2
Fall Semester

CHBI 501 Transport Phenomena
Graduate Electives (1 or none)