Master of Science in Chemical Engineering
- Fall January 10
- Pullman: Yes
- 550 TOEFL Minimum score
- 80 TOEFLI Minimum score
- 7.0 IELTS Minimum score
Degree Description:
Faculty research is broadly focused in three areas: sustainable energy systems, biomolecular engineering, and biomechanics. Within these areas projects are focused on chemical and biological catalysis and kinetics; chemical and biological fuel cells; biofilm engineering; novel sensor technologies; cardiac and reproductive molecular engineering; and molecular, cellular, and musculoskeletal mechanics. The graduate programs are flexible, allowing students to develop a program that fits individual needs. A Master of Science is typically completed in 1-2 years.
Student Learning Outcomes:
All graduates will be able to:
- To enable students to develop as successful professionals for highly competitive positions in industry, government, and academia:
- To achieve mastery of the knowledge in their fields and the ability to apply associated technologies to novel and emerging problems.
- To present research to local, regional, national, and international audiences through publications in professional journals and/or conference papers given in a range of venues, from graduate seminars to professional meetings.
- To participate in appropriate professional organizations.
- To broaden their professional foundations through activities such as: teaching, internships, fellowships, laboratory rotations and grant applications.
- To prepare students to be effective researchers in the fields of chemical engineering or bioengineering:
- To prepare students to be effective chemical engineering researchers.
- To enhance the national visibility of the doctoral programs in chemical engineering and bioengineering:
- To attract, retain and graduate high-quality students.
- To enhance doctoral education by offering advanced courses, providing support such as fellowships, research funds, and travel to conferences.
- To attract, retain, and advance research-active faculty.
- To provide regional, national, and international opportunities for collaboration.
Student Opportunities:
The Voiland School offers excellent research facilities, the flexibility to design an individualized academic program, and the ability to work closly with highly engaged faculty. We also offer students the opportunity to participate in an NIH (National Institutes of Health) sponsored training program in protein Biochemistry, and we encourage students to participate in internship programs at partner institutions. One of the main partners involved in our internship programs is Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL specializes in analyzing and understanding the impacts of the interface between science and society.
Faculty Members:
Ahring, Birgitte, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Microbiology, biofuels, biochemicals
Beyenal, Haluk, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biofilm and Fuel Cells
Chandra, Murali, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Regulation of the contractile machinery of heart muscle cells, and how myofilament remodeling is linked to pathogenesis of heart diseases.
Chen, Shulin, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Bioprocessing and Bioproducts Engineering
Land, Air, Water, and Environmental Engineering
Clark, Sue, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Current research areas include chemistry of radioactive waste systems, environmental chemistry, actinide separations, and radioanalytical chemistry.
Davis, Howard P, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Engineering and entrepreneurship pedagogy, technology development and clinical applications of biomedical instrumentation.
Dohnalek, Zdenek
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Experimental Studies of Fundamental Model Systems that are Necessary to Understand Complex Processes that Take Place in Heterogeneous Catalysis and Environment
Dong, Wenji, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Cardiac Muscle Biology and Mechanics, Protein Chemistry and Engineering, Fluorescence Techniques, Computer Modeling, Nanoscale Biosensor Design and Engineering
Garcia-Perez, Manuel, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Bioprocessing and Bioproducts Engineering
Thermo-chemical conversion of biomass (Pyrolysis, Gasification and Combustion)
Bio-fuels and biomass derived products
Production of hydrogen
Development and implementation of new bio-refinery concepts
Environmental impact of biomass thermochemical products
Ha, Su, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Energy generations from alternative fuels.
Heldebrant, David, PhD
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Design and Development of Switchable Ionic Liquids that Chemically Capture Acid Gases such as Carbon Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide from Power Plant Gas Emissions; Amine Boranes as Potential High Energy Density Fuels for Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Ivory, Cornelius F, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Bioseparations, multidimensional MEMS proteomics chips, elecdtrofocusing, chromatography, centrifugal fractionation of cells, organelles and proteins, hydrodynamic and electrical instabilities
Kang, Chulhee, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
SR Calcium Regulation in Cardiac Muscle
Biochemical approaches for cancer-associated proteins and UV-damaged DNA to develop anticancer drugs. Enzyme and Plant engineering for effective generation for biofuel.
Kostyukova, Alla S, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Regulation of actin dynamics by actin-binding proteins, protein structure and protein-protein interactions, circular dichroism.
Kruse, Norbert, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Heterogeneous catalysis: from fundamentals to industrial applications.
Levin, Marc, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Process/Technical Safety, Catalysis, Plant Design
Lin, David, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Integrated mechanical properties of skeletal muscle and spinal reflexes. Multiscale modeling of muscle contractile properties.
Lin, Hongfei, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Catalyst Synthesis and Application, Catalytic Conversion of biomass, CO2 Reduction, Renewable Hydrogen Production, Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis, Advanced Functional Nanmaterials, Photocatalysis
Mancini, Rock, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Molecular control of synthetic targets to effect macroscopic changes in biological and physical systems. Organic chemistry; polymer chemistry; chemical biology.
Marin-Flores, Oscar Gerardo
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biomass Conversion, Hydrogen Production for Fuel Cells Applications via Reforming of Liquid Fuels, Direct Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Mathematical Modeling of Fuel Cell Systems, Photocatalytic/Electrochemical Processes for CO2 Mitigation.
Marina, Olga
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Advanced Materials for Fuel Cells, Electrolysers, and Gas Separation Membranes; Direct Electrochemical Conversion of Fuels; Electrosynthesis and Electrocatalysis; Chemical Cogeneration
McEwen, Jean-Sabin, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Atomistic modeling of catalytic processes for energy applications within the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering.
Norton, M Grant, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Ceramic materials, nanotechnology, alternative energy.
Petersen, James N, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
* Bioremediation of contaminated aqueous systems
* Modeling of biological processing operations
* On-line optimization of biological processes
Pfromm, Peter
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Ammonia synthesis at mild process conditions to store renewable energy, and advanced atomic force microscopy techniques to obtain in-operando real-time information on heterogeneous hydrogenation at solid/liquid interfaces with atomic level resolution.
Renslow, Ryan
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Microbial Communities, Biofilms, and Interspecies Interactions
Rezac, Mary, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Rezac’s personal research ranges from molecular-level fundamentals of new separation processes to integration of this knowledge with industrial scale processes. Her work has primarily focuses on the use of polymeric membranes to separate gas and liquid mixtures. Applications have included energy, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
Saunders, Steven, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Nanotechnology for novel catalytic systems, sustainable solvent technologies.
Schulz, Kirk, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Catalysis, Surface Science, Materials Science
Sun, Junming
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Bio-mass Conversion, Catalytic Bio-Oil Upgrading, Hydrogen and Fuel Production by Ethanol Steam Reforming, Nano-Catalysis, and Synthesis of Nano-Metal/Metal Oxide
Tanner, Bert, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Normal, Mutated, and Diseased Proteins that Influence Muscle Contraction and Relaxation
Thiessen, David, PhD
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Fluid Mechanics of Drops, Bubbles, and Capillary Channels, Applications in Microgravity
Vasavada, Anita, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biomechanics and neural control of the musculoskeletal system, focusing on the human head and neck system.
Wang, Yong, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Development of novel catalytic materials and reaction engineering for the conversion of fossil and biomass feedstocks to fuels and chemicals.
White, Jim
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Wie, Bernard J. Van, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biosensors, Biomedical Processes, Mammalian Cell & Tissue Culture, Engineering Education
Wright, Aaron, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Research Focus: Activity-Based Protein Profiling of Microbes and Microbial Communities Involved in Biofuel Production and Drug Metabolism
Wu, Di, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Heterogeneous Catalysis, Porous Materials, Surface Science, Materials Chemistry, Thermodynamics, Nanogeoscience and Nanotechnology
Zhang, Xiao, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biomass chemistry, biomass conversion to bioproducts & bioenergy.
Zollars, Richard L.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee