Graduate Studies
Research Focus Areas
The faculty in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering have diverse research interests as summarized on the linked table. Our four focus areas are:
The advent of molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, and related technology has spawned a revolution in biology and offers numerous opportunities for new commercial developments. Increasingly, the biotechnology industry is turning to chemical engineers to bring promising research to market. To bridge this gap, a subset of chemical engineering known as biomolecular engineering has emerged that reflects the interface between biology and chemical engineering. Biomolecular engineering focuses on the molecular length scale, and seeks to convert molecular-level knowledge of biological phenomena into potentially useful biochemical and chemical products and processes that are derived from living cells or their components. Further, biomolecular engineers are adept at integrating descriptions of molecular-level events into a systems-level understanding of complex biological systems and at creating the next generation of tools necessary for rapid, accurate and cost-effective analysis of biomolecules. Read more.
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Understanding the structure, rheology, interfacial and transport behaviors of complex fluids and polymers is among the foremost challenges of chemical engineering science. Faculty at Cornell are addressing this challenge through analytical theory, numerical simulation and experiments that span length scales from nanometers to meters. Inspired by the success of integrated electronics, scientists and engineers have initiated an effort to miniaturize chemical processes. This scaling down exaggerates the importance of interfacial forces and inspires studies of a rich set of transport processes. Read more.
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Chemical engineers have traditionally adopted an integrated approach to problem solving, applying their specialized knowledge in chemistry, kinetics, transport phenomena, reactor design and thermodynamics to the study of dynamic systems and processes. Therefore, it is only natural, for chemical engineers to apply their expertise to develop new processes for the next generation of electronic materials. For example, the processing of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices, traditionally the domain of electrical engineers, has been enriched by chemical process analyses that describe the underlying physico-chemical phenomena at the molecular level. In fact, much of the tremendous success of modern electronics is based on processing technologies such as plasma etching and chemical vapor deposition. Chemical engineers have played a lead role in this development and continue to push the frontiers of this field with the introduction of new technologies such as laser processing and atomic layer deposition. The success of these technologies builds on the chemical engineers integrated understanding of fundamental physical and chemical materials properties. Read more.
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Growth in world population and continual improvements in living standards in many developing countries will dramatically increase demands for energy in the next 40 years, posing tremendous challenges for providing affordable energy. Together with the economic and geopolitical issues surrounding energy security, there is a compelling need to minimize the environmental consequences that accompany supplying energy globally. Alternative methods of generating and converting energy with reduced greenhouse gas emissions are required. Although the scope and urgency of these tasks are daunting, new technologies and materials present chemical engineers and scientists with exciting opportunities to participate in discovering and developing sustainable solutions.
Cornell University is committed to being a leading institution in the field of sustainable development. In addition to the Cornell Energy Institute, several Cornell Centers coordinate efforts in related research and including the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future, and the Cornell Fuel Cell Institute. The School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is a key part of these efforts. With a framework that includes physical, chemical and biological energy transformations, transport of heat and mass in fluids and solids, materials for energy capture and storage, process analysis, design, and simulation, and full life cycle analysis of energy and mass flows, a chemical engineering education provides the ideal skill set ideal for tackling a wide range of energy problems. Read more.
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Click here to go to College of Engineering energy site.
A new PhD program in Earth-Energy Systems will be introduced in fall 2010.
See Also
