Chemical Engineering

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Chair: Richard L. Rowley
Graduate Coordinator: William G. Pitt
350 CB
Provo, UT 84602-4100
(801) 378-2589

THE PROGRAM OF STUDIES

The Department of Chemical Engineering at BYU is housed in the five-story Clyde Building, a multimillion dollar, 176,000-square-foot engineering center of classrooms, office space, and laboratories. State-of-the-art equipment, modern labs, and many support facilities help achieve the growing recognition the department receives from around the country. The department prides itself on the level and quality of cutting-edge research with which its faculty members are involved. Funding for departmental research is over $3 million per year, with faculty and graduate students publishing results of technically innovative and scientific research in a multitude of reviewed journal articles and books each year. This department is the home of an NSF Engineering Research Center focusing on the area of combustion. There are also strong research programs in catalysis, thermodynamics, and bioengineering.

The Department of Chemical Engineering offers two degrees: Chemical Engineering—MS and Chemical Engineering—PhD. The department also offers an integrated master's program.

The department has approximately forty graduate students. The typical length of study in the department is two and a half years for an MS degree and four and a half years for a PhD degree.

Chemical Engineering—MS

An MS in chemical engineering prepares the student for a wide variety of employment experiences in industry, all the way from plant operation to plant design. Employment opportunities in research may also be available to qualified MS graduates. Usually employment is readily available, and starting salaries are slightly higher than for BS graduates. The MS degree is designed to give the student a solid foundation in chemical engineering principles and a strong research experience. For students desiring design experience rather than research experience, the MS degree with design emphasis is available. See the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for details.

Admission and Entry.

• Semesters of entry and application deadlines for U.S. and Canadian students seeking financial aid and for international students: fall, February 15; winter, June 15; spring, October 15. For U.S. or Canadian students not seeking financial aid, later deadlines apply, but the applicant should contact the department as soon as possible. For applicants with a BS in a major other than chemical engineering, application for spring term is recommended.
• Entrance examinations: there is no entrance examination for applicants who hold a BS from U.S. or Canadian schools. However, international applicants must submit general GRE and TOEFL scores. The GRE advanced engineering subject test is encouraged.
• Prerequisite: BS degree (or equivalent) in chemical engineering from a school accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), with a minimum 3.0 GPA in upper-division chemical engineering courses and a minimum 3.3 GPA in all courses. A BS degree in other engineering fields, chemistry, physics, materials science, or metallurgy requires provisional admission.

Requirements for Degree.

• Credit hours: minimum 34 hours including 6-9 thesis hours (ChEn 699R). No more than 9 hours of 300-499 level course work will apply toward the master's degree.
• Required courses: ChEn 501, 531, 533, 535, 691R (every semester) and electives (13-15 hours). For requirements of special programs, see the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Handbook.
• Residency requirement: residency is required for the major part of the work toward the master of science thesis. This work must be completed under the specific direction of a graduate faculty member while the student is in residence at BYU (at least two consecutive full-time semesters). “In residence” is defined as (1) being registered for credit as a graduate student and (2) living and conducting research in the general vicinity of the university, where the student has ready access to research facilities and consultation with the faculty. Further, all work applying toward any master's project or thesis must be completely open for university review and publication. Any exceptions to the above must be supported by written approval from the department and college and obtained in advance of any work being performed.
• Prospectus: each student must submit a written prospectus on his or her proposed thesis topic during the first year of study.
• Thesis.
• Examinations: a comprehensive qualifying examination on graduate engineering course work must be taken and passed generally at the middle of the second semester of the graduate program (see the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Handbook). The examination is offered once a year.
• Oral defense of thesis.
• Cumulative GPA: 3.0 or above in all MS degree classes.

Engineering Management—Minor

Offered to MS students in the College of Engineering and Technology, the engineering management minor provides a way to include some elements of modern management in a technical graduate program.

Requirements.

• The minor requires 9 hours selected from the following courses: Mgt 501, 511, 541, 561, 562, 580, 565. Students should carefully plan how they will meet the requirements of the minor since these courses are taught only once a year.
• This minor should be declared as part of a student's graduate study list. Admittance approval to enroll in class will be derived from approved graduate study lists.

Chemical Engineering—PhD

A PhD in chemical engineering indicates that the graduate is capable of and qualified to conduct independent and original research in the chemical industries and other related fields. A PhD is nearly always required for someone seeking an academic career. Employment in industry is always available, and starting salaries are considerably higher than for BS or MS graduates. The doctoral program is designed to prepare the student for a lifetime of intellectual inquiry and research and is therefore more rigorous and demanding than the MS program. Students who are dedicated, diligent, and thoughtful and who can work independently are most suited for a PhD in chemical engineering at BYU.

Admission and Entry.

• Semesters of entry and application deadlines for U.S. and Canadian students seeking financial aid and for international students: fall, February 15; winter, June 15; spring, October 15. For U.S. or Canadian students not seeking financial aid, later deadlines apply, but the applicant should contact the department as soon as possible. For applicants with a BS in a major other than chemical engineering, application for spring term is recommended.
• Entrance examinations: there is no entrance examination for applicants who hold a BS or MS degree from U.S. or Canadian schools. However, international applicants must submit general GRE and TOEFL scores. The GRE advanced engineering subject test is recommended.
• Prerequisite: BS degree (or equivalent) in chemical engineering from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), with a minimum 3.0 GPA in upper- division chemical engineering courses and a minimum 3.3 GPA in all courses.

Requirements for Degree.

• Credit hours: minimum 68 semester hours, at least 50 of which must be course work beyond the baccalaureate degree, plus 18 hours of dissertation (ChEn 799R).

Candidates Without a Master's Degree: 50 hours, a minimum 38 of them in graduate-level courses. At least 12 hours of the 50 must be in advanced mathematics, statistics, or computer science (a portion of which may be upper-division undergraduate level, with specific departmental approval) and a minimum 18 hours of dissertation (ChEn 799R).

Candidates with a Master's Degree: with committee approval, up to 20 hours of previous graduate work, including 4 hours of thesis, may apply toward the doctorate. In addition, other courses taken in the master's program may apply toward the required 12 hours of advanced mathematics, statistics, or computer science. No more than 12 hours of  300-499 level course work will apply toward the doctorate.

• Required courses: ChEn 501, 531, 533, 535, 791R (every semester), 12 hours of advanced mathematics, statistics, or computer science, and 25 hours of elective courses.
• Study list: the graduate study list must be submitted during the first semester of doctoral study.
• Residency: see residence requirements listed in the preceding Chemical Engineering—MS section.
• Comprehensive qualifying examination: during the second semester students must take and pass a written comprehensive qualifying examination based on graduate course work. The results of this examination are considered together with other performance criteria in evaluating the student for admission to candidacy.
• Prospectus: each student must submit and successfully defend a written prospectus on his or her proposed dissertation research topic during the second year of study. The quality of the prospectus is considered together with other performance criteria in evaluating the students for admission to candidacy.
• Dissertation.
• Oral defense of dissertation.
• Cumulative GPA: 3.0 or above in all PhD courses.

Integrated Master's Program—BS/MS

Students who desire to obtain a master's degree in engineering, and who have been accepted to a department professional program, may elect to enter the integrated master's program at the end of the sophomore year or during the junior year of the engineering curriculum. The purpose of the program is to afford greater flexibility in scheduling course work than is normally available through a traditional BS degree followed by an MS degree program.

In this program the BS degree may be received before or simultaneously with the MS degree (normally five years from freshman matriculation). Specific requirements are the same as those listed for the chemical engineering MS but include the following:

Admission and Entry.

Application requirements: formal application for admission submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies (B-356 ASB) before completion of final 34 hours of combined graduate and undergraduate course work. Applicants must have a cumulative 3.3 or higher GPA and a 3.0 GPA in all chemical engineering classes.

Requirements for Degree.

• Maintenance requirements: cumulative 3.0 GPA or above in upper-
  division and graduate chemical engineering courses and satisfactory performance evaluation by the research advisor.
• Degree requirements: same as MS degree including a cumulative 3.0 GPA or above in all master's degree courses and, during first semester of registration as a graduate student, submission of a final study list that specifies all technical elective courses.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Through support from the Key Industries Program, the university, and faculty research contracts, many scholarships, fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships are available to chemical engineering students. The department also has a few prestigious fellowships in excess of $10,000 for qualifying students:

• Dupont/Conoco Incorporated Fellowship.
• Huntsman Chemical Corporation Fellowship.

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Department of Chemical Engineering utilizes many facilities. The Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center (ACERC) is nationally recognized as a leading center for interdisciplinary combustion research. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as an engineering research center, ACERC has secured significant additional financial support from U.S. corporations. Students and faculty associated with the center pursue experimentation, analysis, computer modeling, and design of combustion systems. The center is designated as a state Center of Excellence and as such has received additional financial support from the state of Utah.

Advanced Composites Manufacturing and Engineering Center (ACME). This center was established to promote the use and understanding of advanced materials, largely in support of the existing composite and plastic material companies operating in the state of Utah. ACME has extensive test equipment for determining physical, mechanical, chemical, and in-use properties of composites and plastic materials.

Catalysis Laboratory. The lab has a fourteen-year history of productive research in heterogeneous catalysis. Highly interdisciplinary in nature, this research applies principles of kinetics, chemistry, materials science, surface science, and chemical engineering to the understanding of catalyst properties and catalytic reactions.

All of the faculty actively participate in research endeavors, and a number have gained international recognition for their work. Faculty research is particularly strong in the following areas: biomedical engineering; chemical propulsion; coal combustion and gasification; computer simulation; thermodynamics; kinetics and catalysis; materials; process design and control; statistical mechanics; transport phenomena.

For a more detailed description of the graduate program requirements, send for a copy of the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Handbook.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Class Schedule

500. Creative Skills in Chemical Engineering. (1)

Application of creativity and technical knowledge from prior course work to solution of relevant, open-ended problems.

501. Directed Graduate Studies. (2)

Guided preparation for  department's comprehensive exams and for formulation of research prospectus.

510. Principles of Reservoir Engineering. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 373.

Reservoir and hydrocarbon classification; fluid flow; primary oil and gas recovery mechanisms; enhanced oil recovery.

518. Biomedical Engineering Principles. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 376, Math 215.

Application of chemical engineering principles to model physiologic systems and to solve medical problems.

531. Thermodynamics of Multicomponent Systems. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 373 or 461.

Fundamental concepts and applications in first and second laws, equilibrium and stability, phase equilibrium, and homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical equilibrium.

533. Transport Phenomena. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 476 or concurrent registration. Recommended: Math 323.

Transport mechanisms and coefficients and fundamental field equations for momentum, heat, and mass transport, with application to system design.

534. Advanced Separations. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 533, Math 321.

General theory of differential and stagewise diffusional and separation operations, multicomponent distillation, extraction, and absorption; application of this theory to solution of complex problems, including column design and instrumentation.

535. Kinetics and Catalysis. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 478.

Theories and principles of chemical kinetics, including heterogeneous catalysis and reactor design.

536. Digital Process Control. (2)

Prerequisite: ChEn 436.

Computer application of advanced control algorithms to chemical processes.

541. Computer Design Methods. (2)

Prerequisite: Math 311, ChEn 376.

Computer-aided design and numerical methods of chemical engineering processes.

578. Polymer Science and Engineering. (3)

Prerequisite: introductory materials engineering course.

Fundamentals of polymer chemistry and physics and their implications in engineering applications. Topics include polymerization chemistry, structure-property relationships, polymer physics, and transport properties.

631. Applied Statistical Mechanics. (3)

Prerequisite: Chem 461; ChEn 531 or equivalent.

Fundamentals of statistical mechanics and their application to calculating thermodynamic and transport properties of fluids and fluid mixtures.

633. Combustion Processes. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 533 or equivalent.

Fundamentals of transport processes in reacting flow systems with specific applications of various combustion processes.

635. Advanced Topics in Catalysis and Kinetics. (1-3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 535, Math 321.

Specialty topics in catalysis and kinetics, including catalyst deactivation, catalyst characterization, reactor design, and reaction modeling.

641. Combustion Modeling. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 633; Math 311 or ChEn 541.

Theory of combustion systems and quantitative procedures for computing performance of combustion chambers. Applications include turbulent combustion of gases, sprays, and particulates.

674. Advanced Thermodynamics. (2)

Prerequisite: ChEn 531 or equivalent.

Advanced topics in thermodynamics, including electrolytes, phase equilibrium modeling, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and calorimetry.

678. Colloid and Surface Phenomena. (3)

Prerequisite: ChEn 578 or instructor's consent.

Introduction to the theory and applications of colloid and surface science. Topics include sedimentation, diffusion, colloid thermodynamics, viscosity, surface energy, adsorption, and flocculation.

685. Chemical Engineering for Chemistry Students. (6)

Intensive treatment of fundamentals of material and energy balances, fluid flow, and heat and mass transfer, with application to design and analysis of engineering systems.

691R. Seminar for Master's Students. (0.5)

Technical presentations by graduate students, faculty members, and guests.

693R. Special Topics—Graduate. (1-6)

697R. Special Problems— Graduate. (2-6)

698R. Master's Project. (1-6)

699R. Master's Thesis. (1-6)

733. Coal Combustion. (3)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

Fundamentals of coal combustion and gasification processes, including particle mechanics, devolatilization, heterogeneous oxidation, radiative heat transfer, and combustion of coal in practical flames.

791R. Seminar for Doctoral Students. (0.5)

793R. Selected Topics in Chemical Engineering. (1-3)

Topics vary according to student-faculty research interests.

799R. Doctoral Dissertation. (1-9)

FACULTY 

BARTHOLOMEW, CALVIN H., Professor. PhD, Stanford University, 1972. Catalysis.

BECKSTEAD, MERRILL W., Professor. PhD, University of Utah, 1965. Combustion of Solid Propellants.

FLETCHER, THOMAS H., Associate Professor. PhD, Brigham Young University, 1983. Combustion and Transport Processes in Reacting Flow Systems.

HALES, HUGH B., Research Professor. PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1967. Petroleum Engineering; Reservoir Simulation.

HARB, JOHN N., Associate Professor. PhD, University of Illinois, 1988. Electrochemical Engineering; Coal Combustion.

HECKER, WILLIAM C., Associate Professor. PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 1982. Catalysis; Chemical Kinetics.

HEDMAN, PAUL O'DELL, Professor. PhD, Brigham Young University, 1973. Combustion/Gasification; Fossil Energy.

OSCARSON, JOHN L., Associate Professor. PhD, University of Michigan, 1985. Vapor-Liquid Equilibria; Separation Processes.

PITT, WILLIAM G., Associate Professor. PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1987. Surface Chemistry; Biomedical Polymers.

ROWLEY, RICHARD L., Professor. PhD, Michigan State University, 1978. Liquid-Mixture Transport Properties; Thermodynamics.

SMOOT, L. DOUGLAS, Professor. PhD, University of Washington, 1960. Combustion, Coal Gasification.

SOLEN, KENNETH A., Professor. PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1974. Blood-Material Interactions; Blood Filtration.

TERRY, RONALD E., Professor. PhD, Brigham Young University, 1976. Enhanced Oil Recovery; Thermodynamics.

WILDING, W. VINCENT, Associate Professor. PhD, Rice University, 1985. Applied Thermodynamics.

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