Graduate Course Descriptions
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Polarized light microscopy is used to observe the liquid crystalline nature of the asthmatic drug cromolyn in the Complex Fluids and Nanomaterials Lab. When dissolved in water, the rigid and plate-like cromolyn molecules arrange into stacks that can then organize into a nematic phase. The stacks can be aligned when exposed to electric or magnetic fields. In this example, the cromolyn solution is exposed to a magnetic field, resulting in the formation of large aligned domains. After the sample is removed from the field, many smaller circular domains appear. The domains are identified by sharp disclination lines characteristic of nematic liquid crystals. |
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The graduate faculty in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering are continually developing and offering new special topic graduate courses. Topics under development include environmental and surface science courses. Current information on new courses can be obtained by contacting the graduate director, Dr. Evanghelos Zafiriou. A listing of currently available graduate-level courses is provided below.
Core Courses
ENCH 609: Chemical Engineering Graduate Seminar
Most recently offered in: F02, S03, F03, S04, F04, S05, F05, S06, F06
Students are exposed to current research topics in Chemical
Engineering through the Department Seminar Series. Also provides
general information on lab safety, ethics, and the Research
Aptitude Exam for incoming graduate students.
ENCH 610: Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
Most recently offered in: F01, F02, F03, F04, F05, F06
Advanced application of the general thermodynamic methods to
chemical engineering problems. First and second law consequences;
estimation and correlation of thermodynamic properties; phase
and chemical reaction equilibria.
ENCH 620: Methods of Engineering Analysis
Most recently offered in: F01, F02, F03, F04, F05, F06
Application of selected mathematical techniques to the analysis
and solution of engineering problems; included are the applications
of matrices, vectors, tensors, differential equations, integral
transforms, and probability methods to such problems as unsteady
heat transfer, transient phenomena in mass transfer operations,
stagewise processes chemical reactors, process control, and
nuclear reactor physics.
ENCH 630: Transport Phenomena
Most recently offered in: S02, S03, S04, S05, S06
Momentum, heat and mass transfer theory at both the continuum
and microscopic levels. Steady and unsteady state; creeping
and laminar flows; viscous and inviscid flows; transport at
interfaces; lubrication theory; boundary layer theory; forced
and natural convection; with specific application to complex
and biological chemical engineering processes.
ENCH 640: Advanced Chemical Reaction Engineering
Most recently offered in: S02, S03, S04, S05, S06
The theory and application of chemical reaction kinetics to
the design of "real" chemical reactors, including:
(a) non-isothermal reactors: simultaneous solution of molar
and energy balances, reactor stability and multiple steady
states; (b) non-ideal reactors: residence time distributions
and reactor flow models; (c) heterogeneous reactors: simultaneous
mass transfer and reaction in porous catalysts, overall effectiveness
factors. In addition, kinetics and reactor design in biochemical
engineering, polymerization processes, and chemical vapor deposition
processes will be introduced.
Special-Problems Lecture Classes and Approved Electives
ENCH 648A: Advanced Topics in Bioseparations
Most recently offered in: S02
Instructor: Pulliam Holoman
ENCH 648B: Advanced Biochemical Engineering
Most recently offered in: F01, F02, F03, F04, F05
Instructors: Wang, Bentley
ENCH 648C: The Science and Technology of Colloids and Nanostructures
Most recently offered in: F02, F03, F04
Instructor: Raghavan
A broad perspective encompassing colloidal, polymeric, and
self-assembled systems is presented; the properties of these
complex fluids and soft materials will be described in terms
of their underlying nanostructure, providing students with
an understanding of the science behind nanotechnology and microfluidics.
Fundamental concepts to be discussed include intermolecular
and surface forces, DLVO theory, Flory-Huggins theory, self-assembly
and micellization, interactions with electric fields, light
an neutron scattering, and rheology.
ENCH 648D: Environmental Aspects of Biochemical Engineering
Instructor: Pulliam Holoman
ENCH 648F: Distributed Parameter Systems
Most recently offered in: F01, F02
Instructor: Adomaitis
This class focuses on developing numerical solution and rigorous
error analysis methods applied to chemical engineering modeling
problems. Emphasis is placed on developing models in the form
of boundary-value problems and object-oriented computational
implementation of spectral-method based solution approaches.
ENCH 648G: Statistics and Design of Experiments
Most recently offered in: S03
Instructor: Greer
ENCH 648I: Particle Science and Technology
Most recently offered in: S02, F05
Instructor: Erhman
ENCH 648N: Polymer Synthesis
Instructor: Kofinas
ENCH 648Q: Mesoscopic and Nanoscale Thermodynamics
Most recently offered in: S03, S04, S05, S06
Instructor: Anisimov
This course will address thermodyamics issues associated with
such emerging technologies as bio-membrane and gene engineering,
micro-reactor chemistry and microcapsule drug delivery, micro-fluids
and porous media, nanoparticles and nanostructures, supercritical
extraction and artificial organs. Self-organized criticality,
thermodynamics of pattern formation and fractals, finite-size
and fluctuation thermodynamics, critical phenomena in soft-matter
materials, such as complex fluids, are examples of the topics
to be addressed in this course.
ENCH 648T: Tissue Engineering
Most recently offered in: S05, S06
Instructor: Fisher
A review of the fundamental principles involved in the design of engineered
tissues and organs. Both biological and engineering fundamentals will be
considered. Specific tissue systems will be emphasized at the end of the course.
ENCH 735: Chemical Process Dynamics and Control
Most recently offered in: S02
Dynamic response of continuous and sampled-data processes;
feedback and feedforward control; model uncertainty; Internal
Model Control structure; robustness with respect to modeling
error; control of multi-input multi-output processes; decentralized
control; Relative gain array; Process Resiliency.
ENCH 736: Model Based Process Control
Step and impulse response models; state space models; model predictive control formulation; on-line optimization; state feedback; Kalman filter; disturbance estimation; constrained processes; nonlinear process models.
ENCH 737: Chemical Process Optimization
Most recently offered in: S05, S06
Techniques of modern optimization theory as applied to chemical
engineering problems. Optimization of single and multivariable
systems with and without constraints. Application of partial
optimization techniques to complex chemical engineering processes.
ENCH 751: Turbulent and Multiphase Transport Phenomena
Basic equations and statistical theories for transport of heat, mass, and momentum in turbulent fluids with applications to processing equipment. Fundamental equations of multiphase flow for dilute systems with applications to particles, drops, and bubbles. Current approaches for analysis of concentrated suspensions including deterministic models and population balance approaches.
ENCH 762: Advanced Topics in Biochemical Engineering: Advances in Metabolic Engineering
Most recently offered in: S03
Instructor: KlapaMetabolic engineering (ME) strives to systematically induce
biological changes that will produce desired cellular properties.
As such it favors the analysis of integrated metabolic networks
and the use of fluxes to obtain a detailed picture of cellular
physiology. The development of technologies for the measurement
of genome-wide gene expression (DNA microarrays) and cell-wide
protein production (2-dimensional gels and protein chips) data
have introduced a new dimension in biological and biotechnological
research. For the first time, physiological data are complemented
to such large extent by information from both the genomic and
proteomic level. The integration of such diverse information
is required for the determination of gene regulation and cellular
physiology. Metabolic engineering can play a key role towards
this direction by providing the framework for the systematic
and combined application of the available methodologies in
the elucidation of biological systems in their entirety. In
this course, the principles of ME and the main concepts and
methodologies in the metabolic engineering toolbox in the post-genomic
era will be presented. How flux quantification and gene expression
analysis, along with sophisticated experimental techniques,
can be combined to upgrade the content of information in the
physiological and genomic/proteomic data towards the unraveling
of cellular function and regulation will also be discussed.
Students will be exposed to the main challenges of the metabolic
engineering science today and the ongoing discussion on the
re-definition of the role of ME 11 years after its official
birth.
ENCH 781: Polymer Reaction Engineering
Most recently offered in: F01
Advanced topics in polymerization kinetics, reactor design
and analysis; addition to step-growth polymerization; homogeneous
and heterogeneous polymerization; photopolymerization; reactor
dynamics; optimal operation and control of industrial polymerization
reactors.
ENCH 784: Polymer Physics
Application and correlation of mechanical and dielectric relaxation, NMR, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, diffusion, and electrical properties in the solid state.
ENCH 786: Polymer Processing and Application
Application of theoretical knowledge of polymers to industrial processes. An analysis of polymerization, stabilization, electrical, rheological, thermal, mechanical, and optical properties and their influence on processing conditions and end use applications.
ENCH 858. Advanced Topics in Process Control
Most recently offered in: F02
Advanced topics in chemical process control - robust control,
model based process control, process sensing, fault detection,
expert systems, neural networks, and integration of design
and control.
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