Chemical Engineering, MS

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Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

Fenn Hall 455
(216) 687-2569/2571
E-mail: che@csuohio.edu
http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/chemical/chemical-and-biomedical

Joanne M. Belovich, Chair
Jorge E. Gatica, Graduate Program Director

Introduction

The graduate program in chemical engineering provides advanced training in core areas and allows the student to take courses on an advanced level in specific areas of interest.

The Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (MSChE) program is designed to meet the needs of both part-time and full-time students. It provides an opportunity for students to hold full-time employment and further their education on a part-time basis. Full-time students can complete the program in one year. The program meets the needs of students planning to continue their studies at the doctoral level, as well as students terminating their formal studies at the MS level.

Research activities of the faculty provide many opportunities for students to select projects applicable to a Master’s Thesis (CHE 699 ) or a Master’s Project (CHE 698 ). Research areas include reaction engineering, process modeling and control, tribology and surface phenomena, biochemical and biomedical engineering, material synthesis and processing, combustion, adsorption and diffusion in zeolites, transport phenomena, fluid mechanics, separation processes, statistical mechanics, glass forming, thermodynamics, and management of technology. The department is particularly strong in applications involving materials and biomedical engineering.

Faculty Research and Publications

Excellent facilities are available in support of student and faculty research. Faculty and students have local and remote access to personal and mainframe computer resources. Large-scale computational problems can be solved, via remote log-in, at national centers for supercomputer applications. The department has a number of new instruments and research units. These include a high-temperature TGA/DTA, two Cahn micro balances, two scanning electron microscopes with x-ray dispersion analysis capability, a laser doppler velocimeter, a high-performance Berthy reactor, a fully instrumented bioreactor, a wear-and-friction testing and analysis unit, a high-pressure liquid chromatographic unit, a mercury porosimeter, two surface-area analyzers, an FTIR spectrometer, and an atomic force microscope/scanning-tunneling microscope. In addition, each research laboratory has appropriate instrumentation specific to projects. The research equipment in the department, along with faculty activity, provides outstanding investigative opportunities for graduate students. Students specializing in biomedical engineering may perform their research at the world-class research laboratories of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Federal and industrial agencies provide funding to support faculty research activities. Past and present research support from various sponsoring agencies in different areas is indicated below:

Characterization of zeolites (Engelhard Corporation, BOC, Air Products and Chemicals)
Responsive Hydrogel Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Vehicles (NSF, DDREAP)
Miniaturized three-dimensional (3D) human cell cultures on a chip for predictive human toxicity assessment (NIH)
Bioreactors for mammalian cell culture (NASA)
Stem cell treatment for Neurodegenerative diseases and injury (NIH)
Thermodynamic and Transport Properties prediction by Molecular Simulation
Absorption and diffusion in zeolites (State of Ohio, National Science Foundation)
Advanced materials for fuel cell applications (U.S. Department of Energy)
Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging and blood flow mechanics (Siemens, State of Ohio)
Directional solidification and microsegregation phenomena under reduced gravity conditions (NASA-funded Space Station Experiments)
Influence of convection on solidification morphology (NASA)
Multi-functional reactors in the chemical process industry (State of Ohio)

Faculty members have presented their research at national and international conferences and have published in such prestigious journals as The American Institute of Chemical Engineers Journal, Chemical Engineering Science, Combustion Science and Technology, Zeolites, Metallurgical Transactions, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Lubrication Engineering, Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Computers and Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Education, Latin American Applied Research, HVAC&R Research, International Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and International Journal of Engineering Science. Detailed descriptions of ongoing research projects, as well as a list of recent faculty publications, are available from the department, on request, or from the department Internet home page: http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/chemical/

Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.

Financial Assistance

Graduate teaching and research assistantships are available to qualified students. Students receiving assistantships are required to complete a master’s thesis. International students who wish to be considered for teaching assistantships are encouraged to take the Internet-based TOEFL or the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Interested students should check the appropriate box on the Graduate Application form.

Career Information

The Chemical Engineering program prepares students for careers in design, operation, research, or management. While graduates of this program traditionally find employment in the chemical industry, more chemical engineering graduates are becoming employed in the areas of general manufacturing and computer engineering, including polymer and composite processing and materials engineering. Many companies seek graduate-level chemical engineers to work in the areas of bioengineering, energy management, and environmental engineering.

Admission Information

Admission to the graduate program in chemical engineering is open to qualified students with a baccalaureate degree in engineering or science, who present satisfactory evidence of the ability to pursue graduate studies. A minimum baccalaureate grade-point average of 2.75 usually is required. Programs of study may be developed for students with non-chemical engineering backgrounds. Such students are required to take prerequisite courses in chemical engineering, as described under the Preparatory Program section below.

Applicants should make arrangements to have official transcripts sent directly from their undergraduate institutions to the Graduate Admissions Office. Two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the student’s undergraduate or graduate work also are required.

If applicable, the applicant also should request that official test scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) be sent directly to the Graduate Admissions office by the testing agencies. The applicant must achieve satisfactory scores in these examinations.

The GRE General section is required if one or more of the following conditions is true:

The undergraduate degree was awarded by a college or university outside of the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom.
An unaccredited college or university awarded the undergraduate degree.
The student’s undergraduate cumulative grade-point average is below 2.75.
The year of the baccalaureate degree precedes the date of application to the College of Graduate Studies by more than six years; however, in this case, the examination requirement may be waived, with program approval, if the applicant’s undergraduate grade-point average is 3.0 or above.

If the GRE is required, a minimum score at the 80th percentile on the Quantitative section, and a score of 3.5 or higher in the Analytical Writing Qualitative section, are typically required.

For applicants whose native language is not English, a TOEFL score of at least 550 on the paper-based exam, 78 on the internet exam (with at least 20 in reading, 21 in listening, 17 in writing, and 20 in speaking), 6.0 on the IELTS exam, 5.0 on the iTEP exam, or 213 on the computer-based exam, is required. Students who do not satisfy these requirements, but who do satisfy the University’s TOEFL requirements, will be tested upon arrival at CSU by the English as a Second Language Program. Depending on test results, students may be required to take a writing (ESL 502) and/or speaking (ESL 503) course.

The Masters in Chemical Engineering offers two tracks (i) a Chemical Engineering track (CHE track), or a (ii) Biomedical Engineering track (BME track). The CHE track is intended for students aiming for a professional career in the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) or interested in the application of chemical engineering principles to problems relevant to Materials Science, or Environmental Engineering. The BME track, on the other hand, is intended for those students seeking a terminal degree followed by employment in the biomedical industry, as well as those planning to continue doctoral studies in biomedical engineering.

There is a preparatory program designed for students without a sufficient background in chemical engineering. The program provides them with a common background in engineering science and mathematics.

Apply Now: http://www.csuohio.edu/graduate-admissions/how-apply

The Preparatory Program

Graduate students who have an undergraduate background in a field other than chemical engineering are required to enroll in the Preparatory Program. This program is intended to prepare students for graduate courses in chemical engineering.

The program consists of course work in the following areas:

CHE 300 Chemical Engineering Principles (4 credits) (Offered Spring semester only)
CHE 302 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (4 credits) (Offered fall semester only)
CHE 306 Transport Phenomena (4 credits) (Offered fall semester only)
CHE 404 Chemical Reactor Design (4 credits) Prerequisites: CHE 302 and CHE 306, or equivalents (Offered spring semester only)
CHE 408 Separation Processes (4 credits) Prerequisites: CHE 302 and CHE 306 (Offered spring semester only)

Note(s)

Depending on the student’s background, additional courses in engineering, mathematics, chemistry and physics may be required. Students should contact the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering to set up an appointment with the Graduate Program Coordinator prior to registering for classes.

Prior to satisfactory completion of the entire Preparatory Program, no course may be taken toward the fulfillment of the graduate degree program unless authorized by the academic/research advisor.

1. Core courses (12 credits):

and one of the following:

2. A minimum of nine credits of graduate elective courses, subject to advisor approval

A minimum of nine credits of graduate elective courses, subject to advisor approval. One of these courses may be in a technical discipline outside of chemical (CHE XXX) or biomedical (BME XXX) engineering. No courses required in the undergraduate chemical engineering program may be applied toward the graduate degree (consult the Accelerated BChE/MSCHE Program for alternative plans of study).

3. All students are required to present a department seminar on their research.

All students are required to present a department seminar on their research. This should occur, preferably, one semester prior to the thesis defense. For students in the project option, their “Masters Project Presentation” will fulfill this requirement. Presentations can be department seminars, or presentations at regional, national, or international symposia.

4. Students must select either a thesis option or a project option.

Students must select either a thesis option or a project option. The requirements for each option, in addition to those described above, are as follows:

Thesis option (9 credits)
The student plans and completes a research project, which may lead to publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, under the direction of a faculty advisor. This option is designed for the student who wants extensive research experience and a focus within a particular field. The student must complete a minimum of nine credits of CHE 699 Master’s Thesis . Three credits of ESC 720 Research Communications may be taken in lieu of 3 credits of CHE 699 . Three credits of CHE 698 Master’s Project may also be taken in lieu of 3 credits of CHE 699 .
Project option (9 credits)
The student completes a research project under the direction of a faculty advisor. The student must complete a three-credit project and six (6) additional credits of chemical (CHE XXX) and/or biomedical (BME XXX) engineering graduate electives. This option is designed to provide the student with a broader education in chemical and biomedical engineering, as well as to expose the student to modern research techniques in the discipline.

Exit Requirements

Students must achieve at least a 3.0 grade-point average to graduate. Thesis students must submit a thesis to their graduate committee that follows the Thesis and Dissertation Format Guidelines, available on the College of Graduate Studies web page: http://www.csuohio.edu/gradcollege/students/thesis/

In order to graduate, students’ theses must be accepted by the graduate committee, and students must pass an oral defense of the thesis. Non-thesis students must prepare and present a formal report of their research project and present their results in a public seminar.