What Is Chemical Engineering?

See the video above for Key Impacts of Chemical Engineering in Energy, Materials, and Health.

What Is Chemical Engineering?

Chemical engineers use chemistry, math, physics, and sometimes biology to improve the quality of life by inventing, optimizing, and economizing new technologies and products. Chemical engineering is the analysis or design of chemical processes to effectively convert materials into more useful materials or into energy. It is a broad reaching field impacting everything we touch, feel, breath, eat, and do. Just a few examples include clothing (fabric and dyes), paint, paper, plastics, soaps, cosmetics, food products, medications, and semiconductors.

A Versatile Degree

A Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from BYU is a great degree to have to stay competitive in the 21st century.

Energy, Materials and Health

Energy is one of the greatest challenges our world faces. Chemical engineers continue to invent and optimize methods for cleaner and more efficient energy usage. Chemical Engineers also engineer and produce new materials - from a complex computer processor/memory chip to the chair you are sitting on. Life is made of complex chemicals pathways working in concert and under exquisite control. Chemical engineers are working to understand these pathways and develop new life-saving drugs, diagnostics, and prosthetics.

Global Engineering

Chemical engineering is a global profession and we are all working on solving the worlds grand engineering challenges. Our Global Engineering Outreach (GEO) club travels to developing countries each year working on projects to improve their quality of life.

Undergraduate Research

91% of our undergraduate students work on cutting edge research in faculty labs. ~30% of our students are coauthors on peer-reviewed publications that advance science and ~25% of our students continue their studies in graduate school.

Join us

Learn more about Chemical Engineering here at BYU and come be a part of our team.