Summary

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is the only engineering field that connects "chemical science" and "nano science" to the existing field of chemical engineering, which is mainly concerned with the development of life sciences related products/technology/information technology and energy related technology, and with related academic fundamental technology. In an era of cooperative research with other academic subjects, the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering aims to nurture qualified life science engineers with practical knowledge of chemical science and nano science. Our achievements in research and education have been recognized domestically and internationally. Also, an excellent research infrastructure has now been established in the department. Six engineering research centers on bioprocesses, bioinformatics, energy & environment, systems & synthetic biotechnology, integrated optofluidic systems and advanced biomass currently active.

Curriculum

Udergraduate Program

The Department offers a four-year undergraduate program leading to the academic degree, Bachelor of Science. Rigorous design and selection of coursework provide undergraduate students with excellent opportunities to pursue wide variety of intellectual exploration. In addition, our students are encouraged to participate in research, in an endeavor to cultivate engineers ready to tackle important societal problems in creative ways.

Our undergraduate educational program has currently had a change towards fortifying itself in order to discipline our students to develop more specialties in CBE. At the same time, a course guideline is provided to help students on long-term course planning, regarding the different field of students' interest. Undergraduate students who enrolled in 2011 and after are required to take 18 credits of mandatory major courses and 23 credits of elective major courses. (Students who enrolled in 2010 or before may comply to the former requirement: mandatory major 6, elective major 35 at least)

Graduate Program

The Department aspires to developing a world-best research program. Prerequisite to achieving the goal is a strong graduate program. The Department houses remarkable research facilities and availability, with which we provide graduate students with the opportunity to develop advanced competence in a wide spectrum of fields ranging from traditional chemical engineering to evolving areas of study. Each graduate student in the Department is expected to acquire the tools to develop and transmit new knowledge in a focused area of chemical and biomolecular engineering. The focused research areas include biotechnology, nanomaterials, catalysis, soft materials, and energy/environment/systems.

The Department offers several programs designed to confer academic degrees on graduate students. The students who meet the respective degree requirements will receive the Master of Science (M.S.) or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. In both cases, they are asked to undergo formal coursework and mentoring. Course requirements vary between M.S. and Ph.D. programs; therefore, the students are advised to consult with degree requirements. All graduate students will select thesis advisor from the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering faculty and must submit dissertation, in order to receive the degree.

Research Program

Chemical and biomolecular engineering is a discipline of paramount importance that can apply into various areas. Evolving from traditional chemical engineering principles, e.g., mass and energy balance, reaction engineering, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena, the engineering knowledge underscores development and production of new chemical materials, electronic components, biological and biomolecular materials, and medical products. In order to fulfill the mission of addressing the scientific and technological challenges, it is required that engineers need to work closely with other disciplines and chemical and biomolecular engineers are capable of foster the cooperative and collaborative research environment as the underlying principle of chemical engineering is based upon design and control of "processes," which can extend into a number of scopes of research area. Current research topics covered by the department are described in the following lists. We recommend direct contact with individual faculty members for more detailed information concerning their research.

Synthetic/Systems Biotechnology, BioRefinery, Nanobiotechnology, Protein Engineering, Molecular & Interface Engineering, Superlattice Nanomaterials, Microfluidic Systems and Lab-On-A-Chip, Functional Nano-Coatings, Semiconductor and Metal Nanocrystals, Nano Catalysis, Chemical Product Design, Green Catalysis, Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes (LED), Secondary Battery, Organic Solar Cells, Polymer Functional Nanomaterials, Hydrogen Storage, Gas Hydrates, Fuel Cells, Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration, Wastewater Treatment, Biofuel, Energy System Modeling and Optimization, Process Design and Control, Molecular and Multi-Scale Simulations, Big Data Analysis and Modeling.

After graduation

Our graduates will be in charge of technical applications of chemical science and nano science in a wide variety of fields such as chemical engineering and electronic information related industries. Also, they will take leading roles in nano technology related industries and energy and environment fields, which will be the foundation of future industry.