Chemical Engineering

Both current students and graduates are able to work for a wide range of employers. Some of the biggest employers of UBC Chemical Engineering students over the past several years include Shell Canada LTD, Canfor Corporation, FortisBC, and Syncrude. 

Alumni

• Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering:  
  • The resources available to the department and UBC allows our student researchers to develop a systems-level understanding of the complex interplay between the genome, proteome and metabolome, and to investigate biological processes at unprecedented rates and scales. Many of our current researchers’ focus include bioenergy, biomanufacturing, pharmaceutical synthesis, environmental remediation, biomedical engineering, tissue engineering and synthetic biology. 
     
• Environmental Engineering:

  • Department researchers are working on innovative ways to re-mediate polluted sites, to reduce and prevent pollution, to develop cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, and to treat water. Some areas of focus includes: Bio-remediation of contaminated industrial sites, carbon dioxide mitigation, capture and storage, clean and sustainable energy(bio-fuels, biomass processing and pre-processing, fuel cells and hydrogen production, gasification and syn-gas conversion, microbial technology for bio-methane and bio-hydrogen generation), air pollution control, water pollution control, solid waste management for resource recovery, water treatment technologies to provide clean drinking water.

• Chemical Process Engineering:

  • With applications to everyday products and processes relevant to industry, researchers work to manufacture products that are safe, economically viable and have minimum impact on the local and global environment. Some areas of focus include: catalytic and thermal processes for the extraction, upgrade and processing of fossil fuels energy, process control and optimization, carbon dioxide capture, storage and utilization, multiphase and particulate processes, rheology and polymer processing, clathrate or gas hydrates and flow assurance in hydrocarbon processing and production facilities

• Energy and Materials: 

  • Energy supply and security are important considerations to work towards a more sustainable future. Current research involves the reduction of greenhouse gases and urban pollution, with areas of focus including the use of renewables (biomass and solar), cleaner methods of using non-renewable energy, energy conversion using fuel cells and combustion processes, energy storage with fuels such as hydrogen and methane, treatment of energy related emissions (carbon dioxide capture and removal), waste water treatment, energy materials designed and fabricated from the nanoscale to the macroscopic scale (heterogeneous catalysis).

Participation in the Science Co-op Education program gives students the opportunity to gain up to 16 months of paid relevant work experience during their degree. This experience provides an excellent opportunity for students to explore different industries, apply their studies to the working world, and create connections with future employers. Participation is optional, though highly recommended and students in Engineering Physics apply to join Co-op at the end of their first year of study. 

International Experiences