Doctor of philosophy in Chemical Engineering - Biotechnology and Human Health

The doctoral (Ph.D.) degree prepares students to solve complex, long-term research problems. You can expect to graduate in four to five years and to work on a large research project, culminating in a dissertation. The majority of our doctoral graduates end up in industry careers, usually in research and product development positions. Others go on to careers in academia, either as a postdoctoral researcher or an assistant professor. The Chemical Engineering program provides a strong grounding in the fundamentals and explores critical applications in a wide range of process systems. Students gain advanced knowledge of chemical engineering theory and its relationship to related engineering processes, including biochemical, biomolecular, biomedical, biotechnology, catalysis, colloid and surface science, computational modeling, environmental, fluid mechanics and rheology, materials processing, nanotechnology, polymers, thin films, process control, process design, separations, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, and modeling. Students graduate with the qualitative and quantitative skills necessary for professional research and teaching in chemical engineering.

We aim to understand the fundamentals of how biological and biomimetic systems function and create tools, methods and processes that provide new functionality or scale. Recent research efforts by our faculty include synthetic biology and bioprocess design of plant-based biopharmaceuticals, energy and materials (Jeoh, McDonald, Nandi, Sun), formation, mechanics, adsorption and rheology of biological membranes and cells (Heinrich, Kuhl, Longo, Parikh), transport related to viruses, blood cells, the brain and food surfactants (Dungan, Ristenpart, Wan), development of systems that enable measurement and control of proteins, membranes, cells, tissues, organs and plants (Block, George, Kuhl, Longo, Marcu, McDonald, Nandi, Seker, Shah, Silva, Tan, Wan), large-scale and high-throughput characterization of host-pathogen interactions (Shah), modeling of biological and biomimetic systems on the molecular and larger scales (Block, Boulton, Faller, Ristenpart, Tan), optimization of cultured meat processing (Block, McDonald), and coffee and wine process modeling, optimization and sustainability (Block, Boulton, Ristenpart, Runnebaum).