What Is Chemical and Biological Engineering?

Chemical and biological engineering involves the implementation of the theories and principles of biological science in creating and innovating pharmaceuticals and biomaterials. This field of expertise is dominantly proving itself as an engineering domain with unarguably bright future prospects. This is due to the fact that scientists and researchers are always facing new challenges in both the medical and chemical sciences.

The core principles of chemical engineering are intertwined with the theories and observations of biological engineering,thus making this branch of engineering a ray of hope to decipher the biological challenges that could surround the life on the earth and the entire humanity in the future.

The medical field has witnessed many key developments over the past decade including and not limited to human genome studies, artificial limbs, stem cell research, and targeted cancer therapies. Graduates who have pursued this branch of engineering have also grown into professionals in various allied domains such as renewable energy, and food security research and development.

Objectives of Chemical and Biological Engineering

The course is targeted to imbibe the following abilities in the students:

1. Solid understanding of chemical and biological phenomena and ability to apply it.
2. The potential to identify and solve the pressing issues underlying in global chemical and biological fields.
3. Deeper coverage on mathematical aspects, software and computer programming techniques.

4. Adaptability to new technologies in the field and challenging work cultures and environments.

5. Thrive as an inspiring entrepreneur addressing the challenges that emerge constantly in this field.

Scope of Chemical and Biological Engineering

The scope of this field of engineering is vast. This specialization leads to design many chemical and biological solutions and inventions that were never heard of decades ago. There is also a need for working towards formulating cost-effective biological inventions that would answer the concerns that may arise out of increased longevity and thus old age, surmounting population and new viruses that keep challenging the mankind from time to time.

The following are the fields of study from a bigger gamut of this engineering:

1. Artificial body parts
2. Biodegradable solutions design
3. Bioenergy studies
4. Bionanotechnology
5. Biopharmaceuticals
6. Biopolymer research
7. Cell culture and tissue engineering
8. Drug design and inventions
9. Food processing
10. Gene studies and therapies
11. Microbial Studies
12. Sustainable energy solutions

What would a student of Chemical and Biological Engineering study?

Various aspects of mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, and computer courses are inherent subjects of this field.

1. In-depth coverage on thermodynamics, heat transfer and chemical reactions at the molecular level, biomedical engineering, energy technologies, environmental studies, and sustainable energy design will also be present in the syllabus.
2. Specifically, students will learn and understand and be able to apply microbiology, biochemistry and enzyme engineering.
3. Students will also have options to pursue various electives that suit their interests. Some of them are polymer engineering, business and marketing, and petroleum engineering.

Scope for Further Studies and Research

Graduates in chemical and biological engineering have a wide range of specializations to choose either for pursuing post-graduation or research and Ph.D.

Specializations

Most post-graduation courses have at least one course related to technology management and business studies to boost their entrepreneur skills. Interesting and rewarding opportunities await students who have done their specialization in the following fields of study:

1. Nanotechnology
2. Polymer Science and Advanced Material Design
3. Renewable Energy for Sustainable Growth and Development
4. Biotechnology and Bioprocessing
5. Molecular Studies and Designing

Areas of Research

It is preferable that a student opting for research in chemical and biological engineering has a graduate degree in core chemical engineering, besides elective courses in biological engineering. This would ease working on various research areas such as biomaterials, polymer studies, and engineering, nanomaterials and devices, microfluidic devices, etc.

Besides, research grant would be provided from many reputed foundations and companies too.

Career Prospects in Chemical and Biological Engineering

Chemical and biological engineers play a key role in tackling many major medical challenges such as cancer research, vaccination and drug design and development, genetic studies, food safety, and processing, agro-based and animal fodder research and development, the design of artificial limbs and tissue engineering.

Most entry-level jobs in this field need graduation; while research and development opportunities are always welcome for those students who have successfully done their Master’s or doctorate (Ph.D.).

Teaching jobs are one of the lucrative options for those who have a Doctorate degree. Students done with their Ph.D. from this field also opt for starting their own pharma-based research companies. For such entrepreneurship minded research scholars, additional graduate degrees in business administration is a plus point too.

There exist many career paths for chemical and biological engineers. Vast scope for diversified research, products, industries and employment sectors make this stream of study a good option for a good career.

Industries employing Chemical and Biological Engineering Graduates

1. Industrial Plants
2. Agricultural based companies
3. Renewable Energy Industry
4. Environmental Studies
5. Biomedical Companies
6. Chemical Industry
7. Pharmaceutical Industry
8. Bio-polymer industries
9. Accordingly, some typical job roles and titles are:
10. Biomedical Engineer
11. Project Engineer
12. Research and Development Associate
13. Technical Engineer
14. Quality Control Associate
15. Computational Biology Programmer

Salary range

The biochemical professionals work in hugely diversified roles across many industries. The work may be confined to lab or can involve supervising the maintenance and operation of the entire plant. The industries can range from working in research and development companies to food safety industries, agriculture research scientists, food production companies and wine manufacturers. Besides, the salary ranges also vary with qualifications, experience, and specialization.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), biochemical engineers are getting paid more than the national annual median. On average, their salaries start from $97,300 and is far more compared to the national median of $37,040 for the rest of the occupations.

Future Prospects

The face of biochemical engineering is changing for good. The domain which was previously restricted and misconceived to be useful only for medical care is expanding its presence across many diversified domains. The world is currently influenced in a lot way across various domains such as food, medicines, health care, animal studies, green energy and sustainable growth, biofuels, and genetic developments.

Besides these areas, there definitely lies a brighter scope ahead and much research in the area of biochemical engineering in new fields such as research on crops and foods, tackling environment pollution and waste, oil and petrol engineering, cheaper and efficient biofuels as a sustainable alternative, and genetic studies in inding and fighting chronic diseases.

To grab such bright opportunities, biochemical engineers should be ready to update and upgrade their skills on pace with emerging technologies and market needs. A strong grasp on data analysis and software-based process controls would pave way for better career prospects.