CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

 

 

Chemical engineering occupies a unique position at the interfacebetween molecular sciences and engineering. Chemical Engineeringfundamentals draw from physics, chemistry, mathematics and increasingly biology, which are combined with engineering art tounderstand and control molecular and macroscopic processes in these diverse systems. Chemical Engineering, in essence, concerns the economic design and operation of chemical plants. Chemical engineers sometimes are called ‘universal engineers’ because of their broad scientific and technical mastery in all the areas of engineering.

 

A chemical engineer may be involved in industry or university research where they are tasked in designing and performing experiments to create new and better ways of production, controlling pollution, conserving resources and making these processes safer. They may be involved in designing and construction of process plants where they use their knowledge and expertise in selecting the plant equipment, its erection and commissioning and optimum method of production and the strategies to increase the profitability. They are also involved in the operation, streamlining, and management of the plant units.

 

Apart from being involved in design, operations and management of the “traditional” chemical plants for manufacture of basic chemicals, petroleum, polymers, pharmaceuticals, cement, fertilizer, mineral processing and processed foods, the discipline is fast expanding and the new science and engineering are helping develop technologies that are more efficient, safer and environmentally friendly, today’s chemical engineers are spearheading new developments in medicine, biotechnology, nanotechnology. microelectronics, advanced materials, energy, consumer products, manufacturing, and environmental solutions.

 

The department has a long-standing history of excellence in undergraduate education with its inception in the year 1980 with an annual intake of 15. Currently, the department has more than 250 undergraduates. The graduate students of the department are in high demand both in industry and academia and it is certain that the breadth and versatility of the training imparted to the students from the department will continue to open many new opportunities for chemical engineers in the future.

 

The Department has a strong core curriculum complemented by electives in the important emerging areas, at undergraduate level. The curriculum of chemical engineering adopted in the department is on par with renowned institutions elsewhere in the country and aboard. The undergraduate curriculum is being constantly upgraded to make the students aware of the state-of-the-art developments in the area and enable them to be globally competitive.

The department is endowed with highly qualified teachers of which a significant number are Ph.D holders from IIT’s who are dedicated teachers and researchers that carry out cutting-edge research in core areas of chemical engineering, as well as in inter-disciplinary areas like nanotechnology and biotechnology. The department is proud of its highly experienced teachers with an average teaching experience of 20 years. The department provides a vibrant and creative learning environment for the students. The members of the faculty extensively interact with the scientists and engineers of research and development institutions, industries and faculty of other universities. The faculty of the department serves as members of the Board of Studies and faculty of Engineering and Technology of the University of Kerala and other universities.

 

The Department is provided with very good experimental facilities for undergraduate course and a strong technical staff. The laboratories have been modernized and significantly upgraded. Many new and compact experimental setups have been added to meet the increase in student intake. Plans are on the anvil for further development of infrastructure for teaching and research.

 

The Department has strong links with industry with interactions spanning consultancy, training and industrial visits. The department provides the students ample opportunities to interact with scientists of research institutions like ISRO,NIIST Trivandrum (CSIR), Senior engineers/managers, various process industries like BPCL-Kochi Refineries, HLL Life Care Ltd, Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), FACT, Travancore Cochin Chemicals, Binani Zinc Ltd and a host of public and private sector industries available around. The students are given short term in-plant training in these organizations. The facility to carry out the final year projects in industries is extended to the students under the joint guidance and supervision of the faculty and industrial experts. Further the students are given opportunity to interact with CEO’s of leading software companies, experts from industries and consultancy organizations.

The alumni are important stakeholders and have provided generous support in different ways. The alumni of the department is at the helm of affairs of many Government and private organizations in the design, manufacture, and operation of process plants and machinery in industries like petroleum/ petrochemicals, fertilizers, mineral processing, rubber, cement and other chemical industries.

 

The Student Chapter of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE) functions in the department and all the students are members of the chapter. The department had been bestowed with the honor of the “Best IIChE Student Chapter” award among the 55 odd student chapters available in the country in the year 2006. Apart from conducting several programmes in the department on behalf of the Chemical Engineering Association and the IIChE student Chapter, the students are given opportunity to take part in the regular technical talks, seminars, discussions and workshops conducted by the IIChE, Trivandrum Regional Centre. The department also organizes Energy-Environment awareness programmes on behalf of the Kochi Refineries Ltd (KRL)-TKM-ENCON-CLUB