General Catalog 2002-2003 
Posted March 1, 2002

College of Engineering 

Department Office: 3290 Merrill Engineering Building, 581-6915 

Mailing Address: 50 S. Central Campus Dr., Rm. 3290, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9203 

Web Address: www.che.utah.edu . 

Department Chair, Philip J. Smith, Ph.D. 

Associate Chair, Geoffrey D. Silcox, Ph.D. 

Faculty

Distinguished Professors. R.H. Boyd, D.W. Pershing. 

Presidential Professor. A.F. Sarofim. 

Professors. M.D. Deo, F.V. Hanson, J.S. Lighty, H.L.C. Meuzelaar, R.J. Pugmire, T.A. Ring, J.D. Seader, P.J. Smith. 

Professors Emeriti. L.L. Anderson, A.D. Baer, D.M. Bodily, D.A. Dahlstrom, F.E. Massoth, N. de Nevers, J.S. Shabtai, A.L. Tyler. 

Associate Professors. E.G. Eddings, J.J. Magda, G.D. Smith, M. Skliar, E.M. Trujillo, B. Tyler. 

Assistant Professors. K. Roper. 

Research Professors. S. Schamel. 

Professor (Lecturer). G.D. Silcox.

Research Associate Professors. C. Rappaport, D. Slaughter, W. Zmierczak. 

Associate Professors (Lecturer). J.V. Fletcher, R. Peterson. 

Research Assistant Professors. M. Krahenbuhl, S. Kumar, R. Rawat, P. Rose, M. Solum, J. Spinti. 

Adjunct Professors. D. Grant, V.F. Khokhrayakov, S. Ramanov, H.Y. Sohn, J. Speight, E.K. Vasilenko, J. Veranth, C. Yang. 

Adjunct Associate Professors. L. Baxter, J. Chan, R. Schmidt. 

Adjunct Assistant Professors.  J.C. Quick, R.M. Roehner. 

The chemical engineer uses the physical, life, and engineering sciences to devise means for converting natural resources into needed materials and energy. Engineers take into account long-range and immediate concerns for the environment, safety, and other human needs. 

Undergraduate Program

Degree. B.S. in Chemical Engineering. 

The department offers a basic program and a cooperative education program with several specialized options to accommodate students who desire special preparation for a career in a particular chemical-process area or in related areas. Qualified students who devote full-time effort to the educational program can complete the basic program of study in four years. The cooperative education program requires one additional year, but provides the opportunity for alternating periods of chemical engineering employment and on-campus instruction. Those who devote significant additional time and effort to concurrent employment must expect to take longer. 

Students who have decided on a chemical engineering major should follow the basic program. Applications from those interested in entering the cooperative education program are due as the student nears completion of the sophomore-year chemical engineering course work. (See Cooperative Education Program.) The faculty assists in planning study programs for those who wish to enter chemical engineering from another university-level program. 

All courses listed by number in the basic program, as well as courses selected to meet the technical-elective requirement, must be taken for letter-grade credit. Substitution of equivalent course work may be made upon faculty approval of a written request. Degree candidates must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in required chemical engineering courses. They also must pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination prepared by the National Council of Engineering Examiners (NCEE) and administered under the direction of the Utah Department of Professional Licensing. 

Environmental Engineering. Every chemical engineer is an environmental engineer. Graduates deal with the environmental consequences of the production and use of chemical, biological, forest and food products, and of fuels and power. Many chemical engineers work in environmental control agencies and in environmental consulting and control firms. While a degree in environmental engineering is offered only at the graduate (Master's and Ph.D.) level, interested chemical engineering undergraduates may satisfy their B.S. chemical engineering elective requirements by taking fundamental courses in environmental engineering. 

Admission and Prerequisites. Any student admitted to the University may elect the chemical engineering program and initially be assigned pre-chemical engineering status. Students in pre-chemical engineering who are qualified may enroll in general education offerings and in technical course work outside the College of Engineering (e.g., in chemistry, mathematics, and physics). In addition, the sophomore-level courses in chemical engineering (CHFEN 2853, 2703, and 2803) are open to any student with the required prerequisites. 

Intermediate Status. The application for admission to intermediate status may be submitted at any time after a student has completed the following minimum requirements: CHEM 1210, 1230 MATH 1210. In addition, applicants must have completed or be currently enrolled in the following courses: CHFEN 1703, CHEM 1220, 1240 MATH 1220 PHYCS 2210 WRTG 2010. Conditional approval, pending successful completion of the required courses, will be given qualifying students whose applications are based on courses in which the student is currently enrolled. Students may substitue qualifying high school Advanced Placement (AP) credit for any of the courses listed in the preceding paragraph.

Major Status. All senior-level and some junior-level CHFEN courses are open only to students with major status in chemical engineering (or in other engineering departments with permission of the instructor). Students intending to complete the requirements for a B.S. degree in chemical engineering must be admitted to major status and should normally apply at the end of the sophmore year. In order to be admitted to major status, students must have been admitted to intermediate status and have achieved a GPA of 2.3 in all required sophomore-level chemical engineering course work (CHFEN 2853, 2703, 2803).

Once admitted, to retain major status students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in their required chemical engineering courses. Students are permitted to register no more than twice for any chemical engineering course; those receiving grades of W or I, in addition to other grades, are considered as having been registered. 

To avoid unnecessary loss of time, the student should make sure the prerequisites indicated under course descriptions are satisfactorily completed prior to the time the courses are scheduled to be taken. Factors to be considered in planning your course work are: 

1. CHEM 1220, 1240, CHFEN 2853, and PHYCS 2210 are prerequisite to CHFEN 2803. MATH 2250 and CHFEN 1703 are prerequisite or corequisite to CHFEN 2803. 
2. MATH 1210 (or 1250) is prerequisite to PHYCS 2210 and MATH 1220 (or 1260) is prerequisite to PHYCS 2220. 
3. CHEM 3060, 3070, and 5720 are prerequisite or corequisite to junior-year chemical engineering course work. 
4. Students who do not achieve a grade of C or better in prerequisite courses seldom develop satisfactorily in the subsequent courses. 

Residency. Chemical engineering graduates are required to take CHFEN 4903, 4905, and 5253 in residence at the University of Utah. These courses may also be used, if necessary, to help satisfy the University residency requirement. 

General Education Requirement: The Department requires that all students meet the University's general education requirements. There are two writing requirements - a lower division requirement and an upper division communication/writing requirement. Completion of Writing 2010 with a C- or better completes the lower division writing requirement. The upper division writing requirement for chemical engineering students is fulfilled by completing CHFEN 4903 and/or 4905 with a C- or better. The department encourages students to take PHIL 3540 Engineering, Ethics, and Society as a Humanities requirement.

Every student must fulfill the American Institutions requirement by taking one of the following four classes: History 1700, Economics 1740, Honors 2212 or Political Science 1100. The University's diversity requirement is satisfied by one approved, three-semester-hour cours.

Financial Assistance.  Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic performance. Some employment as readers, research assistants, or laboratory assistants is available, with preference given to students who qualify under the Work-Study Program. 

Basic Program

Model Program of Study (for students working 20 hours or less) 

First Year
Fall Semester
MATH 1210 Calculus I¹ (4) 
CHEM 1210 General Chemistry I⁵ (4) 
CHEM 1230 General Chemistry Laboratory I (1) 
CHFEN 1703 Topics in Chemical and Fuels Engineering (2) 
WRTG 2010 Introductory Writing² (3) 
General Education Intellectual Exploration³ (3) 
Total Hours: 17 

Spring Semester
MATH 1220 Calculus II¹ (4) 
CHEM 1220 General Chemistry II⁵ (4) 
CHEM 1240 General Chemistry Laboratory II (1) 
CHFEN 4755 Undergraduate Seminar (0.5) 
PHYCS 2210 Physics for Scientists and Engineers (4) 
Gen. Ed.: Intellectual Exploration (3) 
Total Hours: 16.5 

Second Year 
Fall Semester
MATH 2250 Ordinary Differential Equations and Linear Algebra (3) 
PHYCS 2220 Physics for Scientists and Engineers (4) 
PHYCS 1809 General Physics Laboratory II (1) 
CHFEN 2853 Engineering Thermodynamics (2) 
ME EN 1300 Statics and Strength of Materials (4) 
General Education Intellectual Exploration (3) 
Total Hours: 17 

Spring Semester
MATH Technical Elective (Mathematics)⁴ (4) 
CHFEN 2703 Numerical Methods Applications in Chemical and Fuels Engineering (2) 
CHEM 2310 Organic Chemistry I⁶ (4) 
CHEM 2330 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I⁶ (1) 
CHFEN 2803 Fundamentals of Process Engineering (3) 
Gen. Ed.: Intellectual Exploration (3) 
Total Hours: 17 

Third Year
Fall Semester
CHEM 3070 Physical Chemistry I (4) 
CHFEN 3353 Fluid Mechanics (3) 
CHFEN 3453 Heat Transfer (3) 
CHFEN 3853 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (3) 
CHFEN 4753 Undergraduate Seminar (0.5) 
Technical Elective⁴ (3) 
Total Hours: 16.5 

Spring Semester
CHEM 3060 Physical Chemistry II (4) 
CHEM 5720 Advanced Physical Chemistry Laboratory (2) or CHFEN 5503 Instrumental Analysis (2) 
CHFEN 3603 Mass Transfer and Separations (5) 
CHFEN 3553 Chemical Reaction Engineering (3) 
CHFEN 4755 Undergraduate Seminar (0.5) 
Elective Technical Elective⁴ (3) 
Total Hours: 17.5 

Fourth Year 
Fall Semester
CHFEN 4903 Projects Laboratory I² (3) 
CHFEN 4253 Process Design I (3) 
CHFEN 4203 Process Control (3) 
CHFEN 4753 Undergraduate Seminar (0.5) 
Elective Technical Elective⁴ (3) 
General Education Intellectual Exploration³ (3) 
Total Hours: 15.5 

Spring Semester
CHFEN 4905 Projects Laboratory II² (2) 
CHFEN 5103 Biochemical Engineering (3) 
CHFEN 5253 Process Design II (3) 
Elective Technical Elective⁴ (3) 
General Education Intellectual Exploration³ (3) 
Total Hours: 13 
Total Hours: 130 

²WRTG 2010 and CHFEN 4903 and 4905 fill the communication/writing requirements. 

³ The Intellectual Exploration requirements require two courses from the approved lists in each of the areas of fine arts, humanities, and social sciences. The physical and life science requirement is filled by this curriculum. One Intellectual Exploration course should be selected from the approved list of courses for the Diversity requirement.

⁴A total of 16 credit hours of technical elective courses are required, including the Mathematics and Advanced Science Electives. 

⁵Students who qualify should take CHEM 1221, Honors General Chemistry II, and CHEM 1241, Honors General Chemistry Laboratory II, instead of CHEM 1220, General Chemistry II, and CHEM 1240, General Chemistry Laboratory II. 

⁶Students who qualify should take CHEM 2311, Honors Organic Chemistry I, instead of CHEM 2310, Organic Chemistry I. 

Technical Electives. Bachelor degree candidates must complete 15 semester hours of approved technical electives. At least two of the 15 hours must be an approved upper-division math class taught by the Mathematics Department (3000 level or above). Technical elective credits are offered by area of emphasis. Although not required, students may choose to take their electives in one area. A list of approved courses listed by emphasis areas is available from the department. A student needs to petition the faculty, through the undergraduate committee, if she/he wants to use a course not listed in the approved courses as a technical elective. 

Cooperative Education Program. A Cooperative Education Program is available for undergraduates in Chemical Engineering to provide periods of practical chemical engineering employment experience as a complement to the on-campus academic program. The chemical engineering employment portion of the Cooperative Education Program is, in most cases, at locations remote from the campus with employers who have agreed to participate with the University in this program. 

Participants in the COOP are selected in concert with participating employers from applicants who are enrolled in or who have completed their sophomore course work. Employers typically use the on-campus organization, Career Services, SSB-350, (801)-581-6186, http://careers.utah.edu/, to recruit the participating students.  Once employed in a COOP, the student requests admittance into CHFEN 4977.  Up to six credit hours may be awarded for CHFEN 4977. Contact the department office (801)-581-6915 or Professor Terry Ring, (801)-585-5705, t.ring@m.cc.utah.edu, for admittance procedures and deadlines. 

Students who enter the COOP alternate between engineering employment and on-campus study in order to complete the two semesters of junior-level courses.  Students who enter the COOP must make a commitment to their employer and the the Chemical and Fuels Engineering Department to complete their employment and to spend full time, without outside employment, on their academic program while on campus.  All students return to the University campus full time for their senior-level courses.  To get credit for ChFEN 4977 the student is required to write a 10-15 page report, submitted to the department, that describes in detail the engineering activities and work performed for the employer.  ChFEN 4977 may be used as a technical elective in the student's curriculum of study. 

Students working part time for an engineering employer during a semester may also apply for admittance to ChFEN 4977 and receive credit for their work experience. 

Requirements for the Major

MATH 1210, 1220, 2250 
CHEM 1210, 1220, 1230, 1240, 2310, 2330, 3060, 3070, 5720 
WRTG 2010 or ESL 1060 
PHYCS 2210, 2220, 1809 
ME EN 1300 
CHFEN 3353, 3453, 3553, 3603, 3853, 2703, 2853, 4203, 4903, 4905, 4253, 5253, 5653, 1703, 2803 
Four semesters of CHFEN 4753 and/or 4755 

Graduate Program

Degrees. M.E., M.S., M.Phil., Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering; M.E., M.S., M.Phil., Ph.D. in Chemical and Fuels Engineering; M.E., M.S., Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering. 

For additional information, see the Graduate  Information section of this catalog. See also the booklet, Information for Graduate Students in Chemical and Fuels Engineering at the University of Utah, available through the department office or on our Web site. 

Admission and degree requirements for the Environmental Engineering Graduate Program are specific to that program. Entry into the Environmental Engineering Graduate Program may be gained through the Department of Chemical and Fuels Engineering or one of the four other participating departments. Please contact the Environmental Engineering Graduate Program administrator for details. 

Director of Graduate Admissions, Eric Eddings, Ph.D. 

Areas of Specialization. (1) Biotechnology, biomaterials and the role of interfaces in biological processes; acid rock drainage.  (2) Liquid crystals, polymer structure and dynamics, ceramic powder synthesis and processing, rheology.  (3) Fossil fuel and petroleum characterization, production, transportation, and processing; heterogeneous catalysis; hydrocarbon chemistry and high-pressure thermodynamics; advanced jet and aerospace fuels; conversion of biomass to liquid fuels, including biogasoline; hydroprocessing; process control and optimization.  (4) Combustion, fires, pollutant emissions; physical and chemical characterization of fine particles; utilization of coal, biomass, and opportunity fuels; simulation of turbulent reacting flows, multi-phase flows, and fires. 

Fellowships and Assistantships. Contact the department office or our Web site for specific financial aid information. 

Admission to Candidacy. Students must pass a written qualifying exam during their first year in order to become candidates for any of the graduate degrees. 

Degree Requirements. Approximately one to two years of course work, plus a research thesis (except for the M.E. degree). For more detailed information about departmental requirements, see the booklet, Information for Graduate Students in Chemical and Fuels Engineering at the University of Utah, or our Web site. For general requirements for graduate degrees, see the Graduate Information section of this catalog. 

The Graduate School requires that students maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all courses used to meet graduation requirements. In addition, the department requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all 5000-, 6000-, and 7000-level chemical-engineering courses used to satisfy degree requirements. 

CHFEN Course Descriptions