Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering

About Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering

Our department focuses on environmental engineering, energy systems engineering and chemical engineering. We provide integrated and multidisciplinary programs of scientific education. Our mission is accomplished by instilling a tradition of lifelong learning; offering a curriculum of fundamental education coupled with applications in advanced focal areas and strengthened by our breadth in other disciplinary areas; participating in cutting-edge research with faculty and industrial partners; and providing access to state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation. Most undergraduate students in the department will pursue the BS in Chemical Engineering degree, accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, or the BS in Environmental Engineering degree (launched spring 2019). Other students may pursue the BS in Applied Science degree with a major in chemical engineering. The department offers a minor in environmental engineering science, and, in collaboration with other engineering departments, we co-sponsor a minor in energy engineering and a minor in nanoscale science and engineering. Graduate degrees (Master of Engineering, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy) in Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering are also offered by the department.

Chemical engineers are involved in the transfer of scientific discoveries to modern technologies and novel products that benefit society and minimize the impact on the environment. They deal with multiscale aspects of generating clean energy, producing novel and superior materials, and utilizing the biological revolution to manufacture new products. They are involved in the development and manufacture of consumer products as well as in the design, operation and control of processes in a variety of industries (e.g., petroleum, petrochemical, chemical, consumer products, food, feed, pharmaceuticals). Their broad training in basic sciences (e.g., chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics) coupled with a strong foundation in chemical engineering principles (e.g., thermodynamics, mass and energy balances, transport phenomena, kinetics, separations, reaction engineering, control, product development, process design) makes them invaluable team members and leaders in any engineering enterprise. It also prepares them well for graduate studies in biochemical, biomedical, chemical, environmental and materials engineering. In addition, the BS in Chemical Engineering is a great starting point for pursuing a degree in business, law or medicine.

Environmental engineers apply scientific and engineering principles to assess, manage and design sustainable systems for the protection of human and ecological health. The designs and technologies that they develop provide safe and sufficient public water supplies, enable effective and efficient treatment and resource recovery from wastewater and other wastes, and control pollutant releases that protect water, soil and air quality. Environmental engineers also seek to understand the effect of technological advances on the environment and to identify opportunities to improve the environmental sustainability of new technologies. Environmental engineers have broad training in basic sciences, mathematics and computational approaches as well as an engineering foundation that includes mass and energy balances, thermodynamics, transport phenomena, and chemical, physical and biological treatment processes. The training of environmental engineers also includes natural science and environmental social science and the humanities. This training prepares environmental engineers to apply technological solutions within specific environmental and societal contexts. Environmental engineering graduates are prepared to enter professional practice and to pursue graduate study in environmental engineering and allied fields.

The curricula are planned to provide students with a strong background in basic engineering concepts while allowing students individual latitude to emphasize study in a specialized area or to obtain added breadth both within and outside of chemical or environmental engineering.

Mission Statement

The mission of the department is to teach energy, environmental and chemical engineering principles and their application in an inspiring learning environment; to prepare students for engineering careers by developing the skills of critical thinking, analysis and communication proficiency; and to instill a sense of professional ethics and societal responsibility.

Advising

The department takes pride in its mentoring of undergraduate students. Each student who declares chemical or environmental engineering as a (potential) major is assigned an academic adviser from the full-time department faculty. Typically, the same adviser follows the student's academic progress and serves as a mentor from the first year through graduation.

Phone:	314-935-5545
Website:	https://eece.wustl.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/index.html

Chair and Endowed Professor

Pratim Biswas
Lucy and Stanley Lopata Professor
PhD, California Institute of Technology
Aerosol science and engineering, air quality and pollution control, nanotechnology, environmentally benign energy production

Endowed Professors

Richard L. Axelbaum
Stifel and Quinette Jens Professor
PhD, University of California, Davis
Combustion, advanced energy systems, clean coal, aerosols, nanoparticle synthesis, rechargeable battery materials, thermal science

Daniel E. Giammar
Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering
PhD, California Institute of Technology
Aquatic chemistry, environmental engineering, water quality, water treatment

Vijay Ramani
Director of Graduate Studies
Roma B. and Raymond H. Wittcoff Distinguished University Professor
PhD, University of Connecticut
Electrochemical engineering, energy conversion

Professors

Zhen (Jason) He
PhD, Washington University
Environmental biotechnology, bioenergy production, biological wastewater treatment, resource recovery, bioelectrochemical systems, sustainable desalination technology, anaerobic digestion, forward osmosis, membrane bioreactors

Young-Shin Jun
PhD, Harvard University
Aquatic processes, molecular issues in chemical kinetics, environmental chemistry, surface/physical chemistry, environmental engineering, biogeochemistry, nanotechnology

Randall Martin
PhD, Harvard University
Characterizing atmospheric composition to inform effective policies surrounding major environmental and public health challenges ranging from air quality to climate change

Palghat A. Ramachandran
PhD, University of Bombay
Chemical reaction engineering, applied mathematics, process modeling, waste minimization, environmentally benign processing

Yinjie Tang
PhD, University of Washington, Seattle
Metabolic engineering, bioremediation

Jay R. Turner
Vice Dean for Education
DSc, Washington University
Air quality planning and management; aerosol science and engineering, green engineering

Jian Wang
PhD, California Institute of Technology
Aerosol properties and processes, nucleation and new particle formation, aerosols in the marine environment, effects of aerosols on cloud microphysical properties and macrophysical struct

Associate Professors

Rajan Chakrabarty
PhD, University of Nevada, Reno
Characterizing the radiative properties of carbonaceous aerosols in the atmosphere; and researching gas phase aggregation of aerosols in cluster-dense conditions

Marcus Foston
PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology
Utilization of biomass resources for fuel and chemical production, renewable synthetic polymersure, and development of advanced aerosol instruments

Tae Seok Moon
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology

Brent Williams
Raymond R. Tucker Distinguished InCEES Career Development Associate Professor
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
Aerosols, global climate issues, atmospheric sciences

Fuzhong Zhang
PhD, University of Toronto
Metabolic engineering, protein engineering, synthetic and chemical biology

Assistant Professors

Peng Bai
PhD, Tsinghua University, China
Develop next-generation batteries, probe the in situ electrochemical dynamics of miniature electrodes down to nanoscales, capture the heterogeneous and stochastic nature of advanced electrodes, and identify the theoretical pathways and boundaries for the rational design of materials, electrodes and batteries through physics-based mathematical modeling and simulation

Fangqiong Ling
PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Microbial ecosystem analysis and modelling, process modelling, machine learning, NextGen sequencing bioinformatics, environmental microbiology, and bioreactor design

Kimberly M. Parker
PhD, Stanford University
Investigation of environmental organic chemistry in natural and engineered systems

Elijah Thimsen
PhD, Washington University
Gas-phase synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials for energy applications, and novel plasma synthesis approaches

Research Assistant Professor

Benjamin Kumfer
DSc, Washington University
Advanced coal technologies, biomass combustion, aerosol processes and health effects of combustion-generated particles

Professor of Practice

John Reardon
MS, University of New Mexico
Entrepreneurial engineering

Senior Lecturers

Janie Brennan
Director of Undergraduate Studies
PhD, Purdue University
Biomaterials, chemical engineering, engineering education

Raymond Ehrhard
BS, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Water and wastewater treatment technologies, process energy management

Lecturers

Trent Silbaugh
PhD, University of Washington
Chemical engineering

Avni Solanki
PhD, University of Florida
Wastewater, sustainable development, environmental engineering, and engineering education

Joint Faculty

Doug Allen
PhD, Purdue University
USDA Research Scientist, Danforth Plant Sciences Center
Metabolic networks of oilseed plants

Nathan Ravi
PhD, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Cataract, ocular biomaterials

Adjunct Faculty

Gary Moore
MS, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Environmental management

Keith Tomazi
PhD, University of Missouri-Rolla
Process development engineering

Grigoriy Yablonsky
PhD, Boreskov Institute of Catalysis
Chemical reaction engineering and heterogeneous catalysis

Senior Professor

Milorad P. Dudukovic
Laura and William Jens Professor
PhD, Illinois Institute of Technology
Chemical reaction engineering, multiphase reactors, visualization of multiphase flows, tracer methods, environmentally benign processing

Rudolf B. Husar
PhD, University of Minnesota
Environmental informatics, aerosol science and engineering

Visit online course listings to view semester offerings for E44 EECE.

E44 EECE 100 Independent Study

Independent investigation on topic of special interest. Interested students are encouraged to approach and engage faculty to develop a topic of interest. A form declaring the agreement must be filed in the departmental office. Petitions are generally considered in the semester preceding the independent study experience. Prerequisite: freshman standing.

Credit variable, maximum 3 units.

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