Graduate Programs
The graduate program in chemical engineering, with its large proportion of elective courses and independent research, offers experience in any of the fields of departmental activity mentioned in previous sections. For both chemical engineers and those with undergraduate educations in other related fields such as physics, chemistry, and biochemistry, the Ph.D. program provides the opportunity to become expert in research fields central to modern technology and science.
M.S. Degree
The requirements are (1) the core
courses: Chemical process analysis (CHEN E4010), Transport
phenomena, III (CHEN E4110), and Statistical
mechanics (CHAP E4120); and (2) 21 points of 4000- or 6000-level courses,
approved by the graduate coordinator or research adviser, of which up to 6 may be
Master’s research (CHEN 9400). Students with
undergraduate preparation in physics, chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy, and related
fields may take advantage of a special two-year program leading directly to the master’s
degree in chemical engineering. This program enables such students to avoid having to
take all undergraduate courses in the bachelor’s degree program.
Doctoral Degrees
The Ph.D. and D.E.S. degrees have
essentially the same requirements. All students in a doctoral program must (1) earn
satisfactory grades in the three core courses (CHEN E4010,
CHEN E4110, CHAP E4120); (2) pass a qualifying exam; (3) defend a proposal of
research within twelve months of passing the qualifying exam; (4) defend their thesis;
and (5) satisfy course requirements beyond the three core courses. For detailed
requirements, please consult the departmental office or graduate coordinator. Students
with degrees in related fields such as physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and others are
encouraged to apply to this highly interdisciplinary program.
Areas of Concentration
After satisfying the core
requirement of Chemical process analysis (CHEN E4010),
Transport phenomena, III (CHEN E4110), and Statistical mechanics (CHAP E4120), chemical engineering graduate students
are free to choose their remaining required courses as they desire, subject to their
research adviser’s approval. However, a number of areas of graduate concentration are
suggested below, with associated recommended courses. Each concentration provides
students with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about a particular research
field of central importance to the department. Graduate students outside the department
are very welcome to participate in these course concentrations, many of which are highly
interdisciplinary. The department strongly encourages interdepartmental dialogue at all
levels.
Science
and Engineering of Polymers and Soft Materials. Soft materials include
diverse organic media with supramolecular structure having scales in the range 1–100 nm.
Their small-scale structure imparts unique, useful macroscopic properties. Examples
include polymers, liquid crystals, colloids, and emulsions. Their ‘‘softness’’ refers to
the fact that they typically flow or distort easily in response to moderate shear and
other external forces. They exhibit a great many unique and useful macroscopic
properties stemming from the variety of fascinating microscopic structures, from the
simple orientational order of a nematic liquid crystal to the full periodic
‘‘crystalline’’ order of block copolymer mesophases. Soft materials provide ideal
testing grounds for such fundamental concepts as the interplay between order and
dynamics or topological defects. They are of primary importance to the paint, food,
petroleum, and other industries as well as a variety of advanced materials and devices.
In addition, most biological materials are soft, so that understanding of soft materials
is very relevant to improving our understanding of cellular function and therefore human
pathologies. At Columbia Chemical Engineering, we focus on several unique aspects of
soft matter, such as their special surface and interfacial properties. This
concentration is similar in thrust to that of the ‘‘Biophysics and Soft Matter’’
concentration, except here there is greater emphasis on synthetic rather than biological
soft matter, with particular emphasis on interfacial properties and materials with
important related applications. Synthetic polymers are by far the most important
material in this class.
CHEN E4620: Introduction to polymers
CHEN E4640: Polymer surfaces and interfaces
CHEN E6620y: Physical chemistry of macro- molecules
CHEN E6610: Polymers: synthesis of macro- molecules
CHEN E6910: Theoretical methods in polymer physics
CHEN E4252: Introduction to surface and colloid chemistry
CHEN E6100: Dynamics of complex media
CHEN E6920: Physics of soft matter
CHEN E4750: The genome and the cell
Biophysics and Soft Matter Physics. Soft matter denotes polymers, gels,
self-assembled surfactant structures, colloidal suspensions, and many other complex
fluids. These are strongly fluctuating, floppy, fluidlike materials that can nonetheless
exhibit diverse phases with remarkable long-range order. In the last few decades,
statistical physics has achieved a sound understanding of the scaling and universality
characterizing large length scale properties of much synthetic soft condensed matter.
More recently, ideas and techniques from soft condensed matter physics have been applied
to biological soft matter such as DNA, RNA, proteins, cell membrane surfactant
assemblies, actin and tubulin structures, and many others. The aim is to shed light on
(1) fundamental cellular processes such as gene expression or the function of cellular
motors and (2) physical mechanisms central to the exploding field of biotechnology
involving systems such as DNA microarrays and methods such as genetic engineering. The
practitioners in this highly interdisciplinary field include physicists, chemical
engineers, biologists, biochemists, and chemists.
The ‘‘Biophysics and Soft Matter’’
concentration is closely related to the ‘‘Science and Engineering of Polymers and Soft
Materials’’ concentration, but here greater emphasis is placed on biological materials
and cellular biophysics. Both theory and experiment are catered to. Students will be
introduced to statistical mechanics and its application to soft matter research and to
cellular biophysics. In parallel, the student will learn about genomics and cellular
biology to develop an understanding of what the central and fascinating biological
issues are.
CHAP E4120: Statistical mechanics
CHEN E6920: Physics of soft matter
CHEN E6100y: Dynamics of complex fluids
CHEN E4650: Biopolymers
BIOC G6300: Biochemistry/molecular biology—eukaryotes, I
BIOC G6301: Biochemistry/molecular biology—eukaryotes, II
CHEN E4750: The genome and the cell
CMBS G4350: Cellular molecular biophysics
Genomic
Engineering. Genomic engineering may be defined as the development and
application of novel technologies for identifying and evaluating the significance of
both selected and all nucleotide sequences in the genomes of organisms. An
interdisciplinary course concentration in genomic engineering is available to graduate
students, and to selected undergraduate students. The National Science Foundation is
sponsoring the development of this concentration, which is believed to be the first of
its kind. Courses in the concentration equip students in engineering and computer
science to help solve technical problems encountered in the discovery, assembly,
organization, and application of genomic information. The courses impart an
understanding of the fundamental goals and problems of genomic science and gene-related
intracellular processes; elucidate the physical, chemical, and instrumental principles
available to extract sequence information from the genome; and teach the concepts used
to organize, manipulate, and interrogate the genomic database.
The concentration consists of five
courses that address the principal areas of genomic technology: sequencing and other
means of acquiring genomic information; bioinformatics as a means of assembling and
providing structured access to genomic information; and methods of elucidating how
genomic information interacts with the developmental state and environment of cells in
order to determine their behavior. Prof. E. F. Leonard directs the program and teaches
CHEN E4750. The other instructors are Profs. D.
Anastassiou (ECBM E4060), Jingyue Ju (CHEN E4700, CHEN E4730), and C. Leslie (CBMF W4761). The departments of Chemical, Biomedical,
and Electrical Engineering and of Computer Science credit these courses toward
requirements for their doctorates. Students may take individual courses so long as they
satisfy prerequisite requirements or have the instructor’s permission. All lecture
courses in the program are available through the Columbia Video Network, which offers a
certificate for those students completing a prescribed set of the courses.
The course Introduction to genomic information science and technology
(ECBM E4060) provides the essential concepts of the information system
paradigm of molecular biology and genetics. Principles of
genomic technology (CHEN E4700) provides students with a solid basis for
understanding both the principles that underlie genomic technologies and how these
principles are applied. The Genomics sequencing laboratory
(CHEN E4760) provides hands-on experience in high-throughput DNA sequencing,
as conducted in a bioscience research laboratory. The genome
and the cell (CHEN E4750) conveys a broad but precise, organized, and
quantitative overview of the cell and its genome: how the genome, in partnership with
extragenomic stimuli, influences the behavior of the cell and how mechanisms within the
cell enable genomic regulation. Computational genomics (CBMF
W4761) introduces students to basic and advanced computational techniques for
analyzing genomic data.
Interested parties can obtain
further information, including a list of cognate courses that are available and
recommended, from Professor Leonard (leonard@columbia.edu).
Interfacial Engineering and Electrochemistry. Electrochemical processes are
key to many alternative energy systems (batteries and fuel cells), to electrical and
magnetic-device manufacturing (interconnects and magnetic- storage media), and to
advanced materials processing. Electrochemical processes are also involved in corrosion
and in some waste-treatment systems. Key employers of engineers and scientists with
knowledge of electrochemical/ interfacial engineering include companies from the
computer, automotive, and chemical industries. Knowledge of basic electrochemical
principles, environmental sciences, and/or materials science can be useful to a career
in this area.
CHEN E4201: Engineering applications of electrochemistry
CHEN E4252: Introduction to surface and colloid science
CHEN E6050: Advanced electrochemistry
CHEN E4205: Electrochemical energy systems
CHEN E3900: Undergraduate research project
Bioinductive and Biomimetic Materials. This is a rapidly emerging area of
research, and the department’s course concentration is under development. At present,
students interested in this area are recommended to attend Polymer surfaces and interfaces (CHEN E4640);
Physical chemistry of macromolecules (CHEN E6620); and
Polymers: synthesis of macromolecules (CHEN
E6610). Other courses in the ‘‘Science and Engineering of Polymers and Soft
Materials’’ concentration are also relevant. When complete, the concentration will
include courses directly addressing biomaterials and immunological response.