Chemical and Biological Engineering

Chemical and Biological Engineering
Name	Chemical and Biological Engineering
Fields	Chemical engineering, Biological engineering, Biotechnology
Institutions	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Tsinghua University, National University of Singapore, University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, Peking University, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Delft University of Technology, Technical University of Munich, Kyoto University, McGill University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong, KU Leuven, University of Amsterdam, Karolinska Institutet, École Polytechnique, Sorbonne University, University of Copenhagen, Utrecht University, RWTH Aachen University, University of São Paulo, University of Buenos Aires, Moscow State University, Sechenov University, Aarhus University, University of Helsinki, University of Oslo

Chemical and Biological Engineering Chemical and Biological Engineering integrates principles from Newtonian mechanics through Maxwellian electromagnetism to manipulate matter and life at molecular and process scales, linking laboratories to industries such as Pfizer, Merck & Co., Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson. Practitioners draw on traditions established at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and Imperial College London to advance technologies used by organizations including DuPont, BASF, Dow Chemical Company, 3M, and ABB Group. The field intersects with breakthroughs associated with figures and entities such as Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Rosalind Franklin, Kary Mullis, Jennifer Doudna, Frances Arnold, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, and with applied projects at agencies like National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health, and European Space Agency.

Overview

Chemical and Biological Engineering synthesizes the approaches of Navier-era continuum modeling, Boltzmann statistical mechanics, and Pauling structural chemistry to design processes implemented at firms including ExxonMobil, Chevron Corporation, TotalEnergies, BP, and Shell plc. Its scope spans unit operations codified in texts influenced by scholars affiliated with University of Michigan, University of California, Berkeley, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, and Princeton University, and feeds into sectors led by Siemens, Bayer, Roche, Amgen, and Biogen.

History

The discipline grew from industrial practices at entities such as Royal Society, Society of Chemical Industry, BASF, and DuPont and from academic programs inaugurated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, and ETH Zurich. Milestones include process intensification paralleling developments at Bell Labs, biochemical revolutions echoing achievements at Rockefeller University and Pasteur Institute, and genetic engineering advances at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Salk Institute, and Max Planck Society. Key historical figures and institutions—Antoine Lavoisier, Dmitri Mendeleev, Joseph Priestley, Michael Faraday, Edward Jenner, Alexander Fleming, Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Thomas H. Morgan, and Barbara McClintock—shaped laboratory and industrial practices that later influenced corporate research at Eli Lilly and Company and governmental laboratories such as National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Core principles and disciplines

Core theory integrates Navier–Stokes fluid dynamics used in projects at NASA and Rolls-Royce, Fick's laws of diffusion applied in Roche pharmaceutical transport, Arrhenius equation kinetics central to DuPont process safety, and Gibbs free energy thermodynamics underlying catalysis developed at Max Planck Society and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Disciplines include reaction engineering traced to work at University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, transport phenomena cultivated at MIT and Princeton University, biochemical engineering linked to Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University, and biomaterials science advanced at Caltech and Stanford University.

Research areas and applications

Active research spans bioprocessing exemplified in collaborations with Genentech, Amgen, Moderna, and BioNTech; metabolic engineering influenced by labs at University of California, San Diego and ETH Zurich; synthetic biology prominent at MIT's Synthetic Biology Center and Harvard's Wyss Institute; tissue engineering pursued at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Karolinska Institutet; drug delivery systems relevant to Pfizer and Moderna; vaccine platform development used by GSK and AstraZeneca; and environmental engineering addressing challenges tackled by UN Environment Programme, World Health Organization, and International Energy Agency. Applications include catalysis research at Johnson Matthey, separations technology at Sulzer, membrane science at DuPont, and process control methods developed alongside Siemens and Honeywell.

Education and professional practice

Academic pathways are offered at universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, Tsinghua University, National University of Singapore, and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and lead to licensure or certification via organizations like American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Institution of Chemical Engineers, Society of Chemical Industry, and professional societies including American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Biochemical Society. Graduates enter roles in companies such as BASF, Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Novartis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Agilent Technologies, and regulatory bodies such as Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.

Industry and economic impact

The field underpins value chains across corporations like Bayer, Roche, Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, GSK, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge Limited, Syngenta, Monsanto (now part of Bayer), and Yara International. It drives innovation in startups spun out of MIT, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, and UC Berkeley and attracts investment from venture capital firms and initiatives associated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Horizon 2020, and Innovate UK.

Ethics, safety, and regulation

Ethical frameworks and safety standards reference historical events like controversies surrounding experiments at Tuskegee Syphilis Study and regulatory responses shaped by Nuremberg trials-era principles and legislation enforced by Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and international agreements brokered through World Health Organization and United Nations. Biosafety and biosecurity practices draw on guidelines from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Organisation for Animal Health, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and national agencies including Public Health England and National Institutes of Health.

Category:Engineering disciplines