There are a number of options available to undergraduate students in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.  Students can choose technical elective plans that emphasize the biomolecular aspects of Chemical Engineering or the environmental aspects of Chemical Engineering.  The department also has a recommended technical elective plan for students interested in attending medical school.  The department encourages undergraduates to conduct research with faculty as part of their technical elective plan.  To learn more about these options, please click on the links below:

The Biomolecular Option
The Environmental Option
The Polymer Option
Planning for Medical School
Undergraduate Research

Environmental Option

The Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department currently offers two courses in this area: Air Pollution (ChE 771) and Industrial Ecology - Chemical Engineering Perspectives (currently ChBE 694i) Students wishing to complete the "Environmental Option" must take ChBE 771 and 694, plus two other courses from the following list:

• CE 714 - Hazardous Waste Management
• CE 520 - Design of Water Treatment Facilities
• CE 610 - Analysis of Natural and Polluted Waters
• CE 618 - Environmental Pollution
• CE 711 - Biological Processes for Used Water Treatment
• CE 717 - Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste Management
• CE 719 - Water Quality Monitoring
• CE 760 - Civil and Environmental Engineering Planning
• Geol 651 - Hydrogeology
• NE 771 - Radioactive Waste Management
• PrevMed 731 - Environmental Health

Once completed, you will receive a certificate from the department stating that you successfully fulfilled requirements for the Environmental Option in Chemical Engineering. Students planning to pursue the environmental certificate should make their intentions known to Dr. Tomasko. Please note that completing the minimum requirements for the environmental option does NOT complete the technical elective plan requirements for Chemical Engineering majors. Students must have 18 hours of technical elective credit and can choose to take the remaining hours in non-environmental courses.

Polymer Option
The polymer and plastics industry plays a large role in Ohio’s economy. Often referred to as “soft materials,” polymers play a vital role in manufactured products from car bumpers to biomedical devices. The polymer option in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering can be obtained by taking four of a student’s technical electives in the area of polymers and plastics. A typical technical elective program will consist of the courses coded P. Once completed, you will receive a certificate from the department stating that you successfully fulfilled requirements for the Polymer Option in Chemical Engineering.

To complete the option, students are required to take the following three courses:

1. Chemical Eng 773 (Introduction to High Polymer Engineering)
2. Chemical Eng 775 (Rheology of Fluids)
3.Chemical Eng 776 (Principles of Polymer Conversion Operations)

Additionally, students must complete one of the following courses:

• Chemical Eng 694 (Polymer Membranes)
• Chemical Eng 694 (Nanotechnology)
• Chemical Eng 717 (Colloids & Surfaces)
• Materials Science & Engineering 642 (Polymer Science & Engineering)
• Biomedical Engineering 739 (Biopolymer Structure and Function)
•  Materials Science & Engineering 645 (Materials in Medicine I)
•  Materials Science & Engineering 646 (Materials in Medicine II)

Please note that completing the minimum requirements for the polymer option does NOT complete the technical elective plan requirements for Chemical Engineering majors. Students must have 18 hours of technical elective credit and can choose to take the remaining hours in non-polymer courses.

Planning for Medical School
For those students wishing to go to medical school after graduation with a B.S. degree, the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering curriculum offers an excellent opportunity to build a base of knowledge useful to practicing physicians. Students interested in attending medical school are strongly encouraged to see Dr. Chalmers during their freshman or sophomore year to obtain more personal and explicit advice. Students interested in medicine should strongly consider completing the biomolecular option.  This option is an effective preparation strategy for the MCAT and meets the requirements for pre-med students.

Undergraduate Research
Under the direction of a faculty member, students work on a research problem that may involve laboratory work, computer programming and data analysis, and literature searching. This provides students with experience solving open-ended research problems and is ideal for students who enjoy working in the lab or on the computer, or those who are interested in graduate school. Course work in undergraduate research may count for up to six hours of technical elective credit under the course Chem Eng 693.

Honors research projects also require students to prepare a written final report and oral presentation to ChE faculty. Before beginning the project, students have the option of writing a research proposal; the College of Engineering evaluates these proposals and a significant number of applicants receive fellowship awards. Students interested in ChE H783 should contact Dr. Koelling for more information. Course work in undergraduate honors research may count for up to nine hours of technical elective credit under the course Chem Eng H783.

Students interested in undergraduate research opportunities should consult the faculty web pages and resource groups listing to see which professors are interested in which research areas. Students should contact the professor that they are interested in working with to inquire about research opportunities.  For more information on areas of research, please visit the Faculty webpages.