University of Iowa

Chemical and biochemical engineers combine engineering principles with knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, biological sciences, and physics to develop and operate processes that convert raw materials into products that benefit the global community.

Chemical engineering relies on chemical reactions and physicochemical transformations to produce a wide variety of important materials and products. For example, biochemical engineers might develop and operate processes to mass-produce an antibiotic or generate products ranging from high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks to recombinant human insulin.

Chemical and biochemical engineers learn ethical design and a respect for the larger issues in any design, such as community health, employee safety, and global implications of the design. Iowa's curriculum emphasizes chemical process safety and environmentally conscious chemical engineering design.