UB - University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Chemical and Biological Engineering

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

We pursue integrative research and offer graduate training at the frontiers of chemical engineering in these main areas:

  • nanoscale science and engineering
  • computational science and engineering
  • biochemical and biomedical engineering

We added “biological” to our name in 2004 to better describe our commitment to this branch of engineering. We expect that a quantitative, mathematical, chemical-engineering approach will prove most effective for the modeling and manipulation of complex biological systems from individual cells, to tissues, to organs.

Ranking

In 2010 the National Research Council released an assessment of doctoral programs in the US. The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo placed in the top 10 nationally in several key research measures. The report is arguably the most comprehensive and objective analysis of quality of graduate programs ever produced. It is based on information gathered from departments, individual faculty, students, administrators, and public sources. The data included information on faculty research productivity, institutional support for students, diversity of faculty and students, and more. Twenty specific characteristics were identified, and a rating for each was reported for every program.

In the important objective statistics of publications per faculty, and awards per faculty, our program ranked 8th and 9th, respectively, out of a total of 106 measured programs.

More information about the NRC assessment can be found at National Academies Press, or at PhDs.org, which has compiled the data in a form for easy review.

Research

Our department encourages and supports research in:

  • core chemical engineering disciplines—molecular transformations, multiscale processes, and chemical systems engineering
  • emerging areas—biochemical, biomedical and metabolic engineering, nanotechnology, and advanced polymeric, electronic and optical materials

We maintain vigorous research programs in the variety of areas. See research areas.

Our research projects are generously supported by federal and state funding agencies and by industry.

Faculty

Our faculty includes a National Medal of Science awardee and three members of the National Academy of Engineering, three former National Science Foundation presidential young investigators, and several recipients of national, international, and regional research and teaching awards from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemical Society, the Electrochemical Society, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the American Society for Engineering Education, Tau Beta Pi, and the State University of New York system, among others. See faculty.

Students

Within the past year, students in the department have won:

  • 3rd place nationally in the AIChE Environmental Design Competition

  • 1st and 2nd places in the regional Chem. E. Car Competition, qualifying for the national competition

  • 3rd place nationally in the AIChE Materials Science and Engineering Poster Competition

Programs of Study

Undergraduate/Combined Study
Graduate Study