Chemical Engineering and Materials Science offers two excellent degree programs to transform Spartans into innovative engineers with a foundation of mathematics, physics, chemistry, life sciences, and engineering science. Students have access to outstanding laboratories for biochemical engineering, composite materials processing, and characterization of metals, ceramics, and polymers. New opportunities abound in microelectronics, biomaterials, environmentally friendly materials, and nanotechnology.
Undergraduates experience the integration of engineering science and process design. Complementary areas of study include bioprocess engineering, biomedical engineering, environmental engineering, fuels and energy, materials, and food engineering. Graduates are prepared for life-long opportunities to participate in diverse sectors of the economy and to assume leadership roles throughout their professional careers.
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Bernard A. (B.S. ChE, 1949) and Joan L. Paulson have endowed this scholarship to encourage scholastic achievement.
Carl M. Cooper was an MSU Professor of Chemical Engineering for 32 years (1949-1981) and Professor Emeritus from 1981 until his death in 1993. Donations are welcomed for this fund to honor Professor Cooper. This fund became an endowment in 2005.
This endowment was started in 1998 by Chemical Engineering faculty contributors. The purpose of the fund is to "benefit worthy and capable students enrolled within the Department of Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering at Michigan State University." This fund is being built to the endowment level.
The Johansen Crosby Endowment supports development of educational initiatives, such as the Johansen Crosby Lectureship and the Johansen Crosby Professorship. The Johansen Crosby endowment honors the parents of Professor Edwin Johansen Crosby. Professor Crosby received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State University in 1950 and continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin, completing the Ph.D. in 1955. (More information on Ed Crosby and this endowment).
This memorial was established by Mary Louise Gephart Donnell to honor John Washington Donnell, with the principal purpose of supporting graduate students in chemical engineering.
James E. Raymond (B.S. ChE 1971) was a very dedicated student and proud alumni of MSU. He continually strove for the best, operating with the highest of ethics, in his more than 25 years as a chemical engineer at the Dow Chemical Company. Jim was a student and teacher at heart and always had goals to further his knowledge throughout his life. He truly led by example and has passed on that legacy to those that loved him.
This scholarship was established in memory of Dr. Maurice G. Larian, Professor of Chemical Engineering at MSU from the 1930s until 1971. It is for the benefit of outstanding chemical engineering students at MSU. The endowment is the result of the empathy between Dr. Larian and his students, and he would be pleased could he know that his concern for students has been extended and perpetuated. The endowment has grown over the years, through gifts from Mrs. Larian, friends, and some successful chemical engineering graduates, particularly Michael Dennos, ChE, '43. More information on Professor Larian.
Each year the department awards scholarships made possible by alumni gifts designated for scholarships.
This award is intended to encourage chemical engineering students who have demonstrated the capacity to achieve educational and professional goals, the motivation to achieve these goals and the initiative to seek opportunities to further their progress. An important element of this scholarship is the recipients "best effort" (non-binding) pledge to replenish the awarded funds over his or her lifetime and perhaps become a future mentor. The name, "Lifeline Club," is used to describe the concept and spirit of giving back for the benefit of the whole.
After a career of forty-five years in businesses intrinsic to materials engineering, Wilfred G. Shedd (B.S. ME, 1950) established this materials science endowment with the conviction that future advancements in manufacturing will be largely made through the development and intelligent selection of materials from which things are made.
This fellowship endowed by William J. (B.S. ChE, 1946) and Julia L. Hargreaves encourages chemical engineering graduate students studying composite materials and polymers. Recipients have demonstrated the capacity to achieve educational and professional goals, the motivation to achieve these goals, and the initiative to seek opportunities to further their progress.
We have made every attempt to ensure the accuracy of this list, but despite our best intentions, human error does occasionally occur. If a mistake has been made, we apologize sincerely and encourage you to contact us at chems@egr.msu.edu or (517) 355-5135.
Thank you,
Professor Christina Chan, Chairperson
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Related contacts:
College of Engineering Development Office
428 S. Shaw Lane
3536 Engineering Building
East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1226
Phone: (517) 355-8339
Fax: 517-353-9405
egrdevel@egr.msu.edu
Michigan State University Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Alumni Advisory Board as of May 2019.
Steve Auvil
Air Products
Retired
auvilsr@earthlink.com
Randy Beals
Magna International
Global Engineering Specialist
randy.beals@magna.com
Joe Gentile
Amoco Corporation (now BP)
Retired
gr.j.f.gentile@gmail.com
Biman Ghosh
Rockwell Automation
Manager, Lean Six Sigma
bimghosh@aol.com
Gary Hockstra
Dow Chemical
Retired
glhockstra@gmail.com
Frank Jere
DTE Energy
General Manager
frank.jere@dteenergy.com
(313) 297-4261
Steve Klemm
Cure Technologies
President
srklemm@gmail.com
Linda Nartker
Dow Chemical
Associate Industry Scientist
linda.nartker@dupont.com
Matt Neurock
University of Minnesota - Engineering and Materials Science
Shell Professor of Chemical
mneurock@gmail.com
Adam Pilchak
Air Force Research Laboratory
Senior Materials Research Engineer
adam.pilchak.1@us.af.mil
Morris Place
Retired
mplacejr@aol.com
Craig Rogerson
Hexion Inc.
Chairman, President and CEO
craig.rogerson@hexion.com
Stacie Santhany
Dow Chemical, Dow Performance Silicones Process,R&D
Associate R&D Director
slsanthany@dow.com
Linsey Seitz
Northwestern University - Engineering
Assistant Professor of Chemical
linsey.seitz@northwestern.edu
Martin Toomajian
Ventech Solutions
Chief Strategy Officer
toomajianm@gmail.com
Andy Wisniowiecki
Albemarle Corporation
Operations Engineer
wsnwck@gmail.com
(313) 655-2260
Kevin Zhou
General Motors Research and Development - Manufacturing Systems Research Laboratory
Senior Researcher
chen.1.zhou@gm.com
Visit our college Alumni awards page for information on awardees.
The chemical engineering facilities consist of three undergraduate teaching laboratories, numerous research laboratories, several storerooms, and office space for faculty, staff, and graduate students. The laboratory space located in the Engineering Building (EB) is devoted to the Unit Operations Laboratory, ChE 316 (EB 1273 and 2265), the Polymer/Composites Laboratory, ChE 472 (EB 1254), and the Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, ChE 481 (EB 3262 and 3269).
The unit operations course, ChE 316, is a required course in the curriculum and thus must accommodate up to 140 students per year. The laboratory consists of four rooms on two floors, encompassing a total of approximately 2500 ft2. The course may be taken in either the junior or senior year. Chemical engineering principles, including material and energy balances and momentum, heat and mass transfer, are investigated via hands-on experiments. In the lab, students work in groups of three on an experiment for five laboratory periods of three hours each; students conduct four or five experiments over the course of the semester.
The course includes an emphasis on the practice of engineering statistics by applying material taught in the lecture section of the course to analysis of data generated in laboratory experiments. Upon completion of the course, students are able to operate chemical engineering process equipment, collect, model, and analyze engineering data, work in teams, write clear, concise laboratory reports, and make oral presentations of their work. There are currently 15 active equipment stations in the unit operations laboratory:
The Polymers and Composites Processing Laboratory, ChE 472, is an optional undergraduate course offered each fall semester to approximately 70 students. It may be taken in either the junior or senior year. This course is designed to teach students the relationships among processing variables, microstructure and mechanical performance of molded polymer products. Lecture topics are supplemented by laboratory experiments that demonstrate manufacturing processes for thermoset and thermoplastic matrix composites. Students also investigate mechanical, thermal and optical properties of composites along with transport properties, including the melt rheology and barrier properties of nanocomposites.
This lab and the bioprocessing lab (described below) serve as important links between our undergraduate program and research activities. The Polymers and Composites Processing Laboratory houses the following major pieces of equipment:
The first three pieces of equipment serve to illustrate different types of molding or manufacturing methods. The next three are used to illustrate the characterization of thermal and rheological behavior of the materials used. The optical microscope is used to illustrate comparisons of microstructure obtained with different molding methods and processing conditions. The test frame is used to illustrate the effect of process induced microstructure on the mechanical performance of the product. The prism coupler enhances our ability to analyze the orientation state in transparent polymers and polymer nanocomposites through refractive index measurements. In addition, the students have access to MOCON units in the Composite Materials and Structures Center for measuring oxygen permeability of polymer films.
The Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, ChE 481, is an optional undergraduate course offered each fall semester to approximately 50 students. It may be taken in either the junior or senior year. The lecture component of this course emphasizes the application of traditional chemical engineering concepts to interdisciplinary technology areas that involve biological cells or their components. Lecture topics are supplemented by laboratory experiments that demonstrate applications of microbiology and biochemistry to biochemical engineering processes that are commonly used in the food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries, but are not included in unit operations laboratory. Students investigate the kinetics and thermodynamics of biochemical reactors, and explore transport phenomena in biological systems. They also consider elements of bioreactor design and scale-up.
The Biochemical Engineering Teaching Laboratory (BETL) gives chemical engineering students hands-on experience with biochemical processes. The 2300 ft2 BETL was the result of capital-campaign investment by the MSU Engineering College and Chemical Engineering Department, as well as matching equipment donations from several companies and the State of Michigan vaccine production facility. The BETL allows students to gain hands on practice with the following experimental techniques:
These experimental techniques reinforce student outcomes in the understanding, design, and analysis of biochemical processes, proficiency in the use of modern engineering tools, laboratory skills and data analysis, and the ability to work in teams on multidisciplinary problems.
Students in the College of Engineering also utilize the beautiful, 21st-century classrooms and laboratory spaces in the STEM building.