Chemical Engineering Redefines Itself In Era Of Global Change

Chemical engineering is a profession in waiting. Embedded in a world that in recent years has been awash in change—technological, economic, political, and social—chemical engineering has been pushing hard against the limits of its traditional self-image. Indeed, its leaders have been yearning for the emergence of a new archetype that would serve to moor chemical engineering intellectually and professionally within that changing world. The wait may be approaching an end. Although the way ahead is still rather hazy, some outlines of where chemical engineering may be headed are beginning to emerge. They were particularly evident at the 5th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, held last month in San Diego. "Let us show our ambition and our potential instead of complaining about the shrinking area of our traditional profession," urged Jacques G. E. Villermaux, a professor in the laboratory of chemical engineering science at the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine in Nancy, France. "Chemical engineers...