Chemical and Biological Engineering

Important concepts and elements of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology, are examined in an experimental context. This course fulfills the requirement for students majoring in the biological sciences and satisfies the biology requirement for entrance into medical school. Two 90-minute lectures, one three-hour laboratory.

Central concepts and experiments in cellular, molecular, and developmental biology with an emphasis on underlying physical and engineering principles. Topics include the genetic code; energetics and cellular organization; communication, feeding, and signaling between cells; feedback loops and cellular organization; problems and solutions in development; the organization of large cellular systems, such as the nervous and immune systems. Satisfies the biology requirement for entrance into medical school. Prerequisites: AP biology, physics, and calculus. Three lectures, one three-hour laboratory.

Addresses issues of regional and global energy demands, including sources, carriers, storage, current and future technologies, costs for energy conversion, and their impact on climate and the environment. Also focuses on emissions and regulations for transportation. Students will perform cost-efficiency and environmental impact analyses from source to end-user on both fossil fuels and alternative energy sources. Designed for both engineering and non-engineering concentrators. Two 90-minute lectures, one preceptorial.

Application of the principles of conservation of mass and energy to the design and analysis of chemical processes. Elementary treatment of single and multiphase systems. First law of thermodynamics for closed and open systems. Steady state and transient analysis of reacting and nonreacting systems. Three lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: CHM 201.

Basic concepts governing the equilibrium behavior of macroscopic fluid and solid systems of interest in modern chemical engineering. Applications of the first law (energy conservation) and second law (temperature, entropy, reversibility) to open and closed systems. Thermodynamic properties of pure substances and mixtures. Phase equilibrium and introduction to reaction equilibrium. Introduction to the molecular basis of thermodynamics. Applications include thermodynamics of protein stability, the Earth's energy balance, energy conversion schemes, and the binding of ligands to proteins. Prerequisites: CBE 245 and MAT 201.

Fundamental thermodynamic principles and transport processes that govern separations in biotechnology and chemical processing. Staged operations, such as distillation and chromatography, are developed based on coupling phase equilibrium with mass balances. Transport processes driven by electric fields, centrifugal fields, or hydrodynamics provide the basis for understanding ultracentrifugation, membrane process, and electrophoresis. Three lectures. Prerequisites: CBE 245 and CBE 246. MAE 305 and CHM 301 may be taken concurrently.

An examination of engineering as a profession and the professional responsibilities of engineers. The ethics of engineering will be considered through case studies (e.g., automobile safety, pollution control), and the social responsibilities of engineering will be distinguished from those of science and business. Quantitative decision-making concepts, including risk-benefit analysis, are introduced and weighed against ethical considerations to compare technology options. Ethical conflicts between utilitarian theories and duty theories will be debated. Two lectures and one preceptorial.

An introduction to ordinary differential equations. Use of numerical methods. Equations of a single variable and systems of linear equations. Method of undermined coefficients and method of variation of parameters. Series solutions. Use of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Laplace transforms. Nonlinear equations and stability; phase portraits. Partial differential equations via separation of variables. Sturm-Liouville theory. Three lectures. Prerequisites: MAT 201 or 203, and MAT 202 or 204, or MAE 303.

Survey of modeling and solution methods for the transport of fluids, heat, and chemical species in response to differences in pressure, temperature, and concentration. Steady state and transient behavior will be examined. Topics include fluid statics; conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy; dimensional analysis; viscous flow at high and low Reynolds number; thermal conduction; convective heat and mass transfer, correlations; diffusion and interphase mass transfer. Working knowledge of calculus, linear algebra and ordinary differential equations is assumed. Prerequisites: CBE 245, CBE 246 & MAE 305. Can take MAE 305 concurrently.

Elements of fluid mechanics relevant to simple and complex fluids. Topics include macroscopic balances; derivation of differential balance equations and applications to unidirectional flows; treatment of nearly unidirectional flows through the lubrication approximation; introduction to turbulent flow; flow through porous media; capillary flows; dispersed two-phase flows; and hydrodynamic stability. Three lectures. Prerequisite: CBE 341.

An intensive hands-on practice of engineering. Experimental work in the areas of separations, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, process dynamics and control, materials processing and characterization, chemical reactors. Development of written and oral technical communication skills. One lecture, two three-hour laboratories. Prerequisites: CBE 246 and CBE 341 or equivalents.

Subjects chosen by the student with the approval of the faculty for independent study. A written report, examination, or other evidence of accomplishment will be required.

Subjects chosen by the student with the approval of the faculty for independent study. A written report, examination, or other evidence of accomplishment will be required.

Broad introduction to polymer science and technology, including polymer chemistry (major synthetic routes to polymers), polymer physics (solution and melt behavior, solid-state morphology and properties), and polymer engineering (overview of reaction engineering and melt processing methods). Two lectures. Prerequisites: CHM 301, which may be taken concurrently, and MAT 104, or permission of the instructor.

Concepts of heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis applied to industrial processes associated with fuel refining and manufacturing of commodity chemicals and petrochemicals. Available routes for similar conversions using alternative, more sustainable feedstocks and processes will be discussed in the context of green chemistry and engineering principles. These case studies will serve as platforms to the fundamentals of heterogeneous acid and metal catalysis, including techniques of catalyst synthesis and characterization, as well as understanding of how reactions occur on surfaces. Two lectures. Prerequisite: CHM 301 organic chemistry.

Presents a framework for the analysis of cellular responses, such as proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Emphasis on mechanistic models of biotransformation, signal transduction, and cell-cell communication in tissues. Focuses first on unit operations of cell physiology transcription, translation, and signal transduction. Models of these processes will rely on tools of reaction engineering and transport. Process dynamics and control will then be used to analyze the regulatory structure of networks of interacting genes and proteins. Prerequisites: MOL 214 and MAE 305 or their equivalents.

This course will consider the principles, development, outcomes and future directions of therapeutic applications of biotechnology, with particular emphasis on the interplay between basic research and clinical experience. Topics to be discussed include production of hormones and other therapeutic proteins, gene therapy, oncolytic viruses, and stem cells. Reading will be from the primary literature. Prerequisite: MOL 214.

This course will focus on the design and engineering of biomacromolecules. After a brief review of protein and nucleic acid chemistry and structure, we will delve into rational, evolutionary, and computational methods for the design of these molecules. Specific topics to be covered include aptamers, protein and RNA-based switches and sensors, unnatural amino acids and nucleotides, enzyme engineering, and the integration of these parts via synthetic biology efforts. Two lectures.

Stoichiometry and mechanisms of chemical reaction rates, both homogeneous and catalytic; adsorption, batch, continuous flow, and staged reactors; coupling between chemical reaction rates and mass, momentum, and energy transport; stability; optimization of reactor design. Application to environmental and industrial problems. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisites: CBE 246 and CBE 341.

Introduction to chemical process flow-sheeting; process design, sizing and cost estimation of total processes; process economics; introduction to optimization, linear programming, integer programming, and nonlinear programming; heat integration methods, minimum utility cost, minimum number of units, network optimization. Two lectures, one laboratory. Prerequisites: CBE 341, CBE 346, and CBE 441.

A quantitative study of the principles of process dynamics and control. Dynamic behavior of chemical process elements; analysis and synthesis of linear feedback control systems with special emphasis on frequency response techniques and scalar systems. Two lectures. Prerequisite: MAE 305, which may be taken concurrently.

Introduction to engineering metabolism. The objective of this course is to introduce students to current techniques and challenges within the field of metabolic engineering. Specific topics include introduction to metabolism, transcriptional regulation, signal transduction, flux balance analysis, and metabolic flux analysis. Designed for upper division students in engineering, chemistry, and molecular biology. Two lectures. Prerequisites: MOL 214 or MOL 215, or equivalent.

A one semester study of an important problem or topic in chemical and biological engineering. Projects may be experimental, computational, or theoretical. Topics selected by the students from suggestions by the faculty. Written report required.

A one semester study of an important problem or topic in chemical and biological engineering. Projects may be experimental, computational, or theoretical. Topics selected by the students from suggestions by the faculty. Written report required.

A full year study of an important problem or topic in chemical and biological engineering culminating in a senior thesis. Projects may be experimental, computational, or theoretical. Topics selected by the students from suggestions by the faculty. Written thesis, poster presentation, and oral defense required. The senior thesis is recorded as a double course in the spring. Departmental permission required.