Welcome to the Department

The Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006. Before the department formally existed in 1956, it was part of the chemistry department as an industrial chemistry program. Although the first four BSChE degrees were awarded in August 1959, many prominent chemical engineers graduated from the University prior to that date. Among them are William Henry McAdams (author of Heat Transmission in 1933) and Eger Vaughn Murphree, who was well known for the “Murphree Efficiency" in distillation and later became president of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.

In 1994, the Chemical Engineering Department merged with the Materials Science Department to form the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. The department has grown to 19 faculty who are actively involved in teaching and research, generating nearly $4 million in external research funding in FY 2008. Over the last several years, a number of our senior faculty have retired after long and distinguished academic careers (Professors Hamrin and Schrodt; Gillis, Morris, Okazaki, Reucroft). However, we have had the privilege of hiring many outstanding young faculty, most recently Profs. Dziubla, Eitel and Beck. In addition, Dr. Y.T. Cheng joined us as a senior faculty in Materials Engineering in 2008. We are mindful that one of our most important responsibilities in the department is to hire highly talented and productive faculty for research and education.

The Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering offers two distinct academic programs - Chemical Engineering, and Materials Engineering. Students can earn a B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. degree in either of these two programs. We continue to place our graduates in the top graduate programs, medical and pharmacy schools, and chemical, material and pharmaceutical industries. Development of the individual student is an important feature of education in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. Close faculty-student relationships are an essential part of the educational process. The faculty, in addition to their duties related to instruction and research, advise students regarding their curriculum, so that each student's choices best reflect his or her strengths, interests, and career goals.

The Department is grateful to Ashland Inc. for the establishment of the Ashland Inc. Chair in Chemical Engineering and the Ashland Inc. Distinguished Lecture Series. Both the Chair and Lecture Series are made possible by an endowment from Ashland Inc., with matching contributions from the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Research Challenge Trust Fund (RCTF). In November, 2009, we’ll host our Fourth Annual Ashland Distinguished Lecture Series, featuring outstanding scientists and engineers working at the interface of chemical engineering and biology.

We strongly believe that graduate research and undergraduate education must go hand in hand. To meet the future needs and challenges of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the chemical engineering faculty, in collaboration with the College of Pharmacy, recently created a distinct “Chemical and Biopharmaceutical Engineering" track as part of our chemical engineering undergraduate program. In addition, we offer undergraduate certificates in Nanotechnology, as well as Environmental Systems.

A key priority for the department is to maintain strong connections with our chemical and materials engineering students after graduation. We believe that an active alumni base is very important for the department and the educational opportunities that we are able to provide our current students. We encourage all alumni to stay in touch, and to please visit the Department when you are in the Lexington area.

Doug Kalika, Professor and Chair