Chemical & Biological Engineering

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How to Make Industrial Biotechnology Commercially Viable

Professor Keith Tyo co-authored a perspective in the academic journal Science highlighting three areas that can be improved, listing policy, infrastructure, and education.Read more

New Tool to Guide Sustainable Building Design and Construction

Northwestern University and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have partnered to develop an international tool that supports construction industry professionals in making environmentally responsible decisions as they select, source, use, and dispose of construction materials.Read more

Understanding Cobalt’s Human Cost

After studying the impacts of mining cobalt communities in Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo, an interdisciplinary team of researchers is calling for more data into how emerging technologies affect human health and livelihoods.Read more

CESR Symposium Highlights Links With Climate Research

Northwestern Engineering’s Jennifer Dunn, Bill Miller, and Jeff Richards moderated sessions during the conference that linked scientific investigation to policy and business.Read more

About the Department

Pioneering transformational discoveries to tackle global challenges

Our internationally recognized Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern University prepares the next generation of engineers by fostering their growth in a collaborative, multidisciplinary community built on excellence in research and education.

We impact and shape the world through inventions and innovations in soft materials, complex systems, synthetic biology, biotechnology, and catalysis and use them to tackle global challenges in renewable energy, biomanufacturing, clean water, sustainability, and human health.

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Facts and Figures

Setting ourselves apart

10

NSF CAREER awards

12

interdisciplinary research centers, institutes, and programs

13

startup companies

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Research Areas

From transformational discoveries to impactful solutions

Our department combines the fundamentals of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics with technology development to drive discoveries in our core research areas.

Programs

Fostering growth in a collaborative, multidisciplinary community built on excellence in research and education

Undergraduate

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Combined BS/MS Degree Program

Minor in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering

Explore special programs in this department and across McCormick

Graduate

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering

PhD in Chemical Engineering

Learn more about interdisciplinary programs and research groups for graduate students

Affiliated

Master of Science in Biotechnology

Department News

  • Trustee, Alumnus, and Benefactor Louis Simpson Dies

    Simpson, one of Northwestern’s ‘foremost champions’ and his wife, Kimberly Querrey, have provided support to the University in countless ways, including gifting funding to create the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics.

    Northwestern Engineering News

  • How to Make Industrial Biotechnology Commercially Viable

    Professor Keith Tyo co-authored a perspective in the academic journal Science highlighting three areas that can be improved, listing policy, infrastructure, and education.

    Northwestern Engineering News

  • Machine Learning Used to Predict Synthesis of Complex Novel Materials

    Researchers at Northwestern University and the Toyota Research Institute have successfully applied machine learning to guide the synthesis of new nanomaterials, eliminating barriers associated with materials discovery.

    Northwestern Engineering News

  • Understanding Cobalt’s Human Cost

    After studying the impacts of mining cobalt communities in Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo, an interdisciplinary team of researchers is calling for more data into how emerging technologies affect human health and livelihoods.

    Northwestern Engineering News

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Discover Our Whole-Brain Engineering Philosophy

We augment the analytical core of engineering with design, entrepreneurship, leadership, personal development, and unusual collaborations to imagine what's next and take the world in a whole new direction.

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