This is the first course of a two-course sequence that provides the foundation for success in the chemical engineering program at RIT and the field of chemical engineering. This course provides a historical perspective on the origin of the discipline and an overview of the traditional and contemporary issues that chemical engineers address. Within this context, the course compares and contrasts the differing roles of chemical engineers and chemists in society. Additionally the course introduces the methodology chemical engineers use to solve problems, engineering ethics, and career options in chemical engineering.

A first course for chemical engineers, introducing units, dimensions and dimensional analysis, simple material balances for batch and continuous systems in steady and unsteady states with and without chemical reaction, and elementary phase equilibrium in multiple component systems. Energy balances on non-reactive systems in open and closed systems are introduced.

This course focuses on an introduction both fluid flow and heat transfer. In the first two thirds of the course, mass and force balances on control volumes are considered in both static and dynamic situations. Hydrostatic effects in manometers and static forces are calculated. Bernoulli’s Equation and applications are considered. Head losses and pumping requirements are considered in piping systems with laminar and turbulent flow. Friction factors for internal flows are also studied. In the last third of the course, fundamentals of heat transfer are introduced from a point-wise yet continuum perspective involving conduction, convection, and radiation. Simplifying approximations of conduction, convection, and radiation dominated heat transfer are introduced, and combined modes of transfer are analyzed.

Students are introduced to basic equipment and methodologies for designing laboratory experiments, measuring results, interpreting data, and drawing objective conclusions. Students work in teams to design experimental procedures, identify lab equipment, and assemble simple apparatus to achieve specific experimental goals.

This course examines typical constraints on design and their integration with technology. Economics, environmental considerations, hazards analysis, ethics, and globalization and supply chain management ideas are among the concepts introduced. Modern examples that integrate knowledge of unit operations and processes with design constraints are examined.

One semester of paid work experience in chemical engineering.

This course is an elective designed to give a broad overview of some topics in the biological engineering field, with emphasis on chemical engineering applications in the biological products industry. The course will be divided into an introductory unit involving the drug development process followed by four separate units. The next unit will focus on enzyme and cell growth kinetics in batch systems. The next part of the class will focus on bioreactor development for cellular products in batch, fed-batch, and continuous systems, and several downstream bioseparation processes, including centrifugation, chromatography and filtration. The final unit will focus on assay development strategies and targeted pathways, including cell death, drug metabolism and toxicity, and cancer.

This course is an elective designed to give a broad overview of some topics in the biological engineering field, with emphasis on chemical engineering applications in the biological products industry. The course will be divided into an introductory unit involving the drug development process followed by four separate units. The next unit will focus on enzyme and cell growth kinetics in batch systems. The next part of the class will focus on bioreactor development for cellular products in batch, fed-batch, and continuous systems, and several downstream bioseparation processes, including centrifugation, chromatography and filtration. The final unit will focus on assay development strategies and targeted pathways, including cell death, drug metabolism and toxicity, and cancer.