Chemical Engineering Master’s program at Rice University

The Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department programs provide with a sound scientific and technical grounding for further development in a variety of professional environments. Courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and computational engineering provide the background for the chemical engineering core, which introduces students to chemical process fundamentals, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, kinetics, reactor design, process control, product and process design. Upon completing either the flexible BA requirements or the scientific and professional BSChE requirements, students may for a fifth year of study leading to the nonthesis Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE) degree.

Students admitted for graduate studies leading to the MS or PhD degrees must complete a rigorous program combining advanced course work and original research that must be formalized in an approved thesis. Graduate research is possible in a number of areas, including catalysis and nanotechnology, thermodynamics and phase equilibria, interfacial phenomena, colloids, microemulsions, rheology and fluid mechanics, biosystems engineering, biocatalysis and metabolic engineering, cell population heterogeneity and biological pattern formation, cellular and tissue engineering, sustainability and energy, gas hydrates, enhanced oil recovery, reservoir characterization, and pollution control.

A coordinated MBA MChE degrees program is also offered in conjunction with the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business.

Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree with a Major in Chemical Engineering.

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (BSChE) Degree.

And a Major Concentration in Materials Science and Engineering.

And a Major Concentration in Sustainability and Energy Engineering.

Master of Science (MS) Degree in the field of Chemical Engineering.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in the field of Chemical Engineering.

Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE) Degree Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree.

Prospective students must receive permission from the graduate program to directly to the Master of Science (MS) degree program.

For Rice University degree-granting programs: To view the list of official course offerings, please see Rice’s Course Catalog To view the most recent semester’s course schedule, please see Rice Course Schedule.

CHBE 100 INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING.

Description: A series of lectures for freshman that outline how chemical and biomolecular engineers tackle today major energy, health, environmental and economic challenges by working to provide sustainable and affordable energy, by designing new materials, biological products or medical therapeutics, and by developing production methods that are friendly to our environment.

Description: Students will work in teams to develop sustainable solutions for energy or environmental problems affecting our Houston and Rice communities. Emphasis will be placed on the integration of engineering fundamentals with societal issues, environmental and safety considerations, sustainability and professional communications. Prerequisites: Introductory Engineering Courses, or Permission of Instructor. Cross-list: ENST 281.

Description: Use of basic mathematical concepts and computer tools, physical laws, stoichiometry and the thermodynamic properties of matter to obtain material and energy balances for steady and unsteady state systems. Required for sopho s intending to major in chemical engineering.

CHBE 303 COMPUTER PROGRAMMING IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.

Description: An introduction to structured programming and computation taught by solving real-world chemical engineering problems.

CHBE 305 COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.

Description: Introduction to modern practice and chemical engineering applications of scientific computing: approximations and round-off errors solution of n ar algebraic equations solution of systems of linear equations unconstrained and constrained optimization least squares regression interpolation numerical solution of ordinary differential equations chaos boundary value problems. Principles illustrated through chemical engineering examples. Instructor Permission Required.

Description: Molecular biology fundamentals: DNA replication, transcription, and translation regulation. Biochemical engineering: cellular metabolism, enzyme kinetics and bioreactor design. Recombinant DNA technologies and genetic engineering: manipulation of gene expression and protein production molecular diagnostics and therapeutics.

Description: Experiments demonstrating principles presented in core chemical engineering courses.

CHBE 350 PROCESS SAFETY IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.

Description: Examination of principles of chemical process safety through case studies and group discussions.

Description: Topics in development and environmental economics focusing on how innovation can improve underdeveloped economies and our environment. Introduction to a general framework for assessing the impact of humans on the environment. Environmental consequences of increasing energy use. Case studies showing how innovation information technologies can provide alternatives for sustainable growth. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 582. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 382 and CHBE 582.

CHBE 390 CHEMICAL KINETICS AND REACTOR DESIGN.

Description: General areas that are covered in this course are (1) principles of chemical kinetics (2) analysis of reaction rate data (3) heterogeneous catalysis (4) ideal reactor design and sizing and (5) heat effects in reactor designs.

Description: Fundamental principles of energy, mass, and momentum transport applied to the continuum analysis of macroscopic physical systems based on the continuum equations applications in chemical engineering practice.

Description: Design principles as applied to chemical engineering systems. Engineering economic principles. Costs of equipment, feedstocks, and utilities. Equipment design. Use of modern simulation tools. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 503. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 403 and CHBE 503.

Description: Strategies for conceptual design of complex chemical engineering systems. Components include sustainability, heat and power integration, Students tackle engineering design projects in small groups. Instructor Permission Required.

CHBE 405 DECISION TOOLS FOR CHEMICAL ENGINEERS.

Description: Use of concepts from economics, accounting, and finance in making design and operating decisions in the field of chemical engineering. Introduction to use of life-cycle analysis in decision-making. Appropriate for juniors and higher. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 506. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 405 and CHBE 506.

Description: Advanced treatment of chemical and phase equilibria in multicomponent systems. Includes a detailed study of nonideal solutions. Instructor Permission Required.

Description: This course covers general separation principles by equilibrium, diffusion and convective mass transport. Topics covered mass transport, distillation, solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction, crystallization, absorption, adsorption, stripping and membrane processes. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 515. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 415 and CHBE 515.

Description: This graduate level course addresses the fundamental structures and properties of polymers and other forms of soft matter (gels, colloids, nanoparticles, etc.) and their many roles as technologically important materials. The electrical, optical, transport, acoustic and mechanical properties are presented with respect to the underlying physics and engineering. Prereqs are concurrent except for MSNE 301. Cross-list: MSNE 416. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 516. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 416 and CHBE 516.

Description: This course is designed to understand how charge and energy flow in basic semiconductor devices. First or second year graduate students from different disciplines and backgrounds will learn fundamental concepts that describe the physics of semiconductors all the way from atoms and crystal structure to the workings of solar cells and light emitting diodes.

Description: Experiments demonstrating principles presented in core chemical engineering courses including transport phenomena, thermodynamics, and process control professionalism and engineering ethics.

Description: Reviews fundamentals of phase and chemical equalibria thermodynamics focusing on the application of experimental and advanced modeling techniques to characterize reservoir fluids and predict their phase behavior and thermo-physical properties. Intended for students who wish to develop expertise on PVT modeling and gain understanding of common petroleum flow assurance problems. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 550. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 450 and CHBE 550.

Description: This course addresses the basics concepts, fundamentals, mathematical modeling and practical issues in multiphase fluid flow containing oil, water, gas and suspended solid particles in the oil and gas well columns, offshore and onshore production systems and pipelines. This course will have both an and graduate level. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 555. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 455 and CHBE 555.

Description: This course explains the foundations of modern statistical physics, including the renormalization group theory, and describes applications to phenomena at the molecular ( nano ) scale in various disciplines including chemical engineering, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and material science. No knowledge of statistical physics is required, but fundamentals of thermodynamics are useful. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 565. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 465 and CHBE 565.

Description: Modeling of dynamic processes. Response of uncontrolled systems. Transfer functions. Feedback controllers response and stability of controlled systems frequency response. Design of feedback controllers. Cascade, feed forward and multivariable control systems. Introduction to computer control. Use of simulators to design feedback controllers. Required for B.S. majors in chemical engineering.

CHBE 490 CHEMICAL CAR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN.

Description: An engineering design course focused on the design and fabrication of a car powered by a chemical reaction. Repeatable for Credit.

Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Description: Design principles as applied to chemical engineering systems. Engineering economic principles. Costs of equipment, feedstocks, and utilities. Equipment design. Use of modern simulation tools. Graduate level course will include an advanced project as a separate requirement. Department Permission Required. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 403. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 503 and CHBE 403.

Description: This course will introduce students to advanced numerical methods in chemical engineering. Topics include: systems of linear and n ar equations, quadratures, ODEs and PDEs. Monte Carlo methods, optimization, fast Fourier transforms and statistical description of data Students will be expected to learn and use a high-level programming language as MATLAB or Python.

CHBE 506 DECISION TOOLS FOR CHEMICAL ENGINEERS.

Description: Use of concepts from economics, accounting, and finance in making design and operating decisions in the field of chemical engineering. Introduction to use of life-cycle analysis in decision-making. Appropriate for juniors and higher. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 405. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 506 and CHBE 405.

Description: This course covers general separation principles by equilibrium, diffusion and convective mass transport. Topics covered mass transport, distillation, solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction, crystallization, absorption, adsorption, stripping and membrane processes. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 415. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 515 and CHBE 415.

Description: This graduate level course addresses the fundamental structures and properties of polymers and other forms of soft matter (gels, colloids, nanoparticles, etc.) and their many roles as technologically important materials. The electrical, optical, transport, acoustic and mechanical properties are presented with respect to the underlying physics and engineering. Cross-list: MSNE 516. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 416. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 516 and CHBE 416.

Description: This course is designed to understand how change and energy flow in basic semiconductor devices. First or second year graduate students from different disciplines and backgrounds will learn fundamental concepts that describe the physics of semiconductors all the way from atoms and crystal structure to the workings of solar cells and light emitting diodes.

CHBE 519 ATOMISTIC SIMULATION METHODS AND ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS.

Description: This course will provide students with an introduction to atomistic-scale simulation methods ranging from empirical force fields to electronic structure theory, as well as concepts underlying energy minimization, molecular dynamics, and monte carlo simulations. The course will demonstrate the utilization of these methods for predicting chemical and material properties.

Description: Reviews fundamentals of phase and chemical equilibria thermodynamics focusing on the application of experimental and advanced modeling techniques to characterize reservoir fluids and predict their phase behavior and thermo-physical properties. Intended for students who wish to develop expertise on PVT modeling and gain understanding of common petroleum flow assurance problems. At the graduate level (CHBE 550), a final project will be required. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 450. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 550 and CHBE 450.

Description: This course addresses the basics concepts, fundamentals, mathematical modeling and practical issues in multiphase fluid flow containing oil, water, gas and suspended solid particles in the oil and gas well columns, offshore and onshore production systems and pipelines. This course will have both an and graduate level. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 455. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 555 and CHBE 455.

CHBE 557 DISCOVERY AND ENGINEERING OF BIOACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS.

Description: The course surveys the discovery and biosynthesis of natural products and engineering approaches to modify and optimize production of natural products. Topics include: Mechanistic enzymology. Biosynthetic gene clusters and pathways. Bioinformatic analysis and genome mining. Engineering of enzymes for biocatalysis. Metabolic engineering for natural and non-natural products.

CHBE 558 ADVANCES IN NUCLEASE-MEDIATED GENOME ENGINEERING.

Description: This course provides a comprehensive understanding of advances in the nuclease-mediated genome engineering field. Past and current stages of genome-editing technologies, the fundamental mechanisms of different classes of genome-editing nucleases, and cutting-edge strategies for engineering novel genome-editing agents and their applications in synthetic biology and therapeutics. Cross-list: BIOC 558.

Description: This course explains the foundations of modern statistical physics, including the renormalization group theory, and describes applications to phenomena at the molecular ( nano ) scale in various disciplines including chemical engineering, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and material science. No knowledge of statistical physics is required, but fundamentals of thermodynamics are useful. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 465. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 565 and CHBE 465.

Description: This course covers industrial applications of catalysis and petrochemical processes. It intends to bridge the gap between the fundamentals and theories of heterogeneous catalysis and the practical applications in petrochemical industries. It is suitable for graduate students and advanced students with permission. Repeatable for Credit.

Description: Manipulation of gene expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Rational design and directed solutions for cell and protein engineering. Selection and screening technologies and process optimization. Synthetic Biology: engineering and application of gene circuits. Molecular biotechnology applications: Diagnosis, Therapeutics and Vaccines. Cross-list: BIOC 580, BIOE 580. Recommended Prerequisite(s): CHBE 310 510 or equivalent is highly recommended.

Description: Topics in development and environmental economics focusing on how innovation can improve underdeveloped economies and our environment. Introduction to a general framework for assessing the impact of humans on the environment. Environmental consequences of increasing energy use. Case studies showing how innovation information technologies can provide alternatives for sustainable growth. NOTE: Graduate students taking this course will have to write and present a term paper on sustainability, economics and environmental costs, or IT innovation. Graduate Equivalency: CHBE 382. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CHBE 582 and CHBE 382.

CHBE 590 KINETICS, CATALYSIS, AND REACTION ENGINEERING.

Description: Review of kinetics and reactor design equations steady state multiplicity and stability heterogeneous catalysis catalyst preparation, characterization, testing catalytic reaction mechanisms diffusion and reaction in catalyst pellets conservation equations reactor analysis fixed bed reactor design reactions of solids mixing in chemical reactors parameter estimation for reactor models.

CHBE 593 INTRODUCTION TO POLYMER PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING.

Description: The course will introduce basic concepts in polymer science including the synthesis and chemical modification of polymers as well as physical properties of polymers. Topics include approaches to polymer synthesis, processing and characterization of polymer materials, and an introduction to mathematical models applied to describe the structure and dynamics of polymeric materials. NOTE: Offered in alternative year with MSNE 560 CHBE 560. Cross-list: MSNE 594. Repeatable for Credit.

CHBE 600 MASTER OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH.

Description: Registration for this class is required for all graduate students assigned as teaching assistants within the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Repeatable for Credit.

Description: Registration for this class is required for all graduate students assigned as Dean teaching assistants within the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Repeatable for Credit.

CHBE 610 THERMODYNAMICS AND APPLICATIONS TO HYDROCARBON PRODUCTION AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PHENOMENA.

Description: Introduction to molecular simulation techniques and applications of statistical mechanics-based theory to engineering problems. Projects involve topics of current research interest. Students are expected to know thermodynamics and to have had some introduction to statistical mechanics.

CHBE 630 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING OF NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS.

CHBE 634 SURFACE ANALYSIS METHODS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE.

Description: This course covers the theory and practice of modern surface analysis methods, including secondary ion mass spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The theory and example application of each technique will be presented, and prior experience with surface analysis is not required. This course may be taken concurrently with the Surface Science Lab, CHBE 636.

Description: Surface science laboratory course for surface analysis techniques including time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy. Must be taken concurrently with CHBE 634. Instructor Permission Required.

Description: Principles of metabolic engineering: of biochemical pathways kinetics and thermodynamics of metabolic networks genetic engineering and molecular biology tools metabolic flux analysis using stoichiometric and labeling techniques metabolic control analysis. Metabolic engineering in the postgenomic er functional genomics and systems biology. Emerging applications: chemicals from biorenewables food ingredients health and disease. Cross-list: BIOC 540.

CHBE 655 THERMODYNAMICS AND APPLICATIONS TO HYDROCARBON PRODUCTION AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PHENO.

Description: Introduction to concepts necessary for application of systems Biology Approaches to Human Diseases. Topics include transcriptional and metabolic design principles, introduction to various regulatory network motifs in diseases and potential treatments using embryonic stem cells. Analysis of complex diseases using engineering concepts such as optimality, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, multiscale analysis and spatiotemporal transport. Cross-list: BIOE 682.

CHBE 692 APPLIED MATHEMATICS FOR CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.

Description: The class focuses on the numerical analysis of various times integration techniques for ordinary differential equations, as well as spatial and temporal discretization methods for hyperbolic and parabolic partial differential equations that describe processes in engineering and biology. Recommended prerequisite(s): Knowledge of a programming language (Fortran preferably) elementary P.D.E. basic concepts of calculus.

CHBE 720 SPECIAL TOPICS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING I.

Description: A course which covers various special topics in chemical engineering. Offered at irregular intervals on demand. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

CHBE 801 SPECIAL TOPICS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING II.

Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Engineering degree: BSCHE.

Major in Chemical Engineering (both BA and BSCE degrees) code: CENG.

Major concentration in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (BSCHE degree only): CEBB.

Major concentration in Computational Engineering (BSCHE degree only): CECE.

Major concentration in Environmental Engineering (BSCHE degree only): CEEE.

Major concentration in Materials Science and Engineering (BSCHE degree only): CEMS.

Major concentration in Sustainable and Energy Engineering (BSCHE degree only): CESE.

Major concentration in Engineering Breadth (BSCHE degree only): CEBR.

CEBB Major Concentration: CIP Code Title: 14.0501 Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering.

CEBR Major Concentration: CIP Code Title: 14.0799 Chemical Engineering, Other.

CECE Major Concentration: CIP Code Title: 14.0799 Chemical Engineering, Other.

CEMS Major Concentration: CIP Code Title: 14.1801 Materials Engineering.

CESE Major Concentration: CIP Code Title: 14.0799 Chemical Engineering, Other.