Chemical Engineering – Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Return to: USC Viterbi School of Engineering  

HEDCO (HED) Chemical Engineering Building 216
(213) 740-9338
Email: mfdinfo@usc.edu
chems.usc.edu

Chair: Andrea Hodge, PhD

Associate Chair: Noah Malmstadt, PhD

Director of Petroleum: Iraj Ershaghi, PhD

Director of Graduate Programs: Kristian Jessen, PhD

Faculty

Choong Hoon Cho Chair: Jay Lee, PhD

M.C. Gill Chair in Composite Materials: Steve Nutt, PhD

Ray Irani Chair in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science: Andrea M. Armani, PhD

Zohrab A. Kapielian Dean’s Chair: Yannis Yortsos, PhD

N.I.O.C. Chair: Muhammad Sahimi, PhD*

Philip and Cayley MacDonald Endowed Early Career Chair: Jayakanth Ravichandran, PhD

Omar B. Milligan Chair in Petroleum Engineering: Iraj Ershaghi, PhD, PE

Robert E Vivian Chair: Theo Tsotsis, PhD

Dean’s Professor in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science: Michael Kassner, PhD

Dean’s Professor in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science: Priya Vashishta, PhD

Flour Professor in Engineering: Andrea Hodge, PhD

Kenneth T. Norris Professor: Anupam Madhukar, PhD

Robert E. Vivian Professor: Charles Zukoski, PhD

Zohrab A Kaprielian Fellow: Pin Wang

N.I.O.C. Fellow: Behnam Jafarpour, PhD

Professors: Andrea Armani, PhD; Iraj Ershaghi, PhD; Malancha Gupta, PhD; Andrea Hodge, PhD; Behnam Jafarpour, PhD; Kristian Jessen, PhD; Rajiv Kalia, PhD; Michael Kassner, PhD; Jay Lee, PhD; Anupam Madhukar, PhD; Noah Malmstadt, PhD; Steve Nutt, PhD; Richard Roberts, PhD; Muhammad Sahimi, PhD*; Theo Tsotsis, PhD; Priya Vashishta, PhD; Pin Wang, PhD; Yannis Yortsos, PhD, Charles Zukoski, PhD

Associate Professors: Jayakanth Ravichandran, PhD; Nicholas Graham, PhD; Shaama Mallikarjun Sharada, PhD

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science: Lessa Grunenfelder, PhD

Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering Practice: Jincai Chang, PhD

Assistant Professors: Paulo Branicio, PhD; Birendra Jha, PhD; Zhenglu Li, PhD; Yu-Tsun Shao, PhD; Luis Francisco Villalobos, PhD; Wade Zeno, PhD

Senior Lecturer: Ken-Ichi Nomura, PhD

Adjunct Professor: Faruk Civan, PhD

Adjunct Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering Practice: Andrei Popa, PhD

Adjunct Assistant Professor: Nikhil Kar, PhD

Part-Time Lecturers: Virgil Adumitroaie, PhD; Michael Hahn, PhD; Davood Khairkhah, PhD; Andre Kovach, PhD; Robello Samuel, PhD

Joint Appointments: Edward Crandall, PhD, MD (Medicine); Stacey Finley, PhD (Biomedical Engineering); Martin Gundersen, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Rajiv Kalia, PhD (Physics and Astronomy); Terence Langdon, PhD (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering); Jerry S.H. Lee, PhD (Medicine); Brent Merlot, PhD (Chemistry); Surya Prakash, PhD (Chemistry); Ishwar Puri, PhD (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering); Richard Roberts, PhD (Chemistry); Mark Thompson, PhD (Chemistry); Arieh Warshel, PhD (Chemistry)

Emeritus Professors: Ed Kwock Goo, PhD; Katherine Shing, PhD*; Elmer L. Dougherty; Peter Will, PhD (Astronautical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering)

*Recipient of university-wide or school teaching award

Affiliated Student Organizations: WiSE (Women in Science & Engineering); Chem-E Car, AiChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers); SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers); MRS (Materials Research Society) WChE (Women in Chemical Engineering)

Degree Requirements

Undergraduate Program Educational Objectives

Chemical engineering is the only engineering discipline that makes extensive use of chemical transformations (reactions) in addition to physical transformations (refining, molding or machining) to achieve added value. Chemical engineers are employed in virtually all manufacturing industries, from the basic chemical, biochemical, materials, energy, food, pharmaceutical and microelectronics industries to the myriad consumer product industries. Our various curricula are designed to produce graduates who are broadly educated as well as highly adaptable.

Graduates of the undergraduate program in Chemical Engineering are expected to attain the following objectives within a few years after graduation:

• Apply their technical skills to model, analyze and design complex processes where physical, chemical or biochemical transformations are utilized to produce products and services that benefit society in an economically, environmentally and globally conscious manner.
• Be able to quickly respond to increasingly-rapid technological changes through continuous personal and professional development, and to pursue graduate or professional education in a variety of fields.
• Thrive in multidisciplinary and multicultural setting, and to assume leadership roles in their employment, organization or community.

Undergraduate Program Criteria

The program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering provides a thorough grounding in the basic sciences including chemistry, physics and / or biology, with some content at an advanced level, as appropriate to the objectives of the program. The curriculum includes the engineering application of these basic sciences to the design, analysis and control of chemical, physical and / or biological processes, including the hazards associated with these processes.

Undergraduate Minor: Nanotechnology  

Chemical Engineering Three-Two Plan

A special curriculum is available for obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree in a letters, arts and sciences major in five years. For further information see departmental advisers.

Similar programs are available in cooperation with certain liberal arts colleges. Such programs are particularly suited for obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the liberal arts college and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at USC.

Engineer in Chemical Engineering

Requirements for the Engineer in chemical engineering are the same as set forth in the general requirements. See general requirements  for graduate degrees. Only available to graduate students currently enrolled.

Chemical Engineering Three-Two Plan

A special curriculum is available for obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree in a letters, arts and sciences major in five years. For further information see departmental advisers.

Similar programs are available in cooperation with certain liberal arts colleges. Such programs are particularly suited for obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the liberal arts college and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at USC.

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

• •  Chemical Engineering (BS)
• •  Chemical Engineering, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering Emphasis (BS)
• •  Chemical Engineering, Energy and Sustainability Emphasis (BS)
• •  Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering Emphasis (BS)
• •  Chemical Engineering, Petroleum and Subsurface Engineering Emphasis (BS)

Minor

• •  Nanotechnology Minor

Master’s Degree

• •  Chemical Engineering (MS)
• •  Energy Engineering (MS)

Doctoral Degree

• •  Chemical Engineering (PhD)

Courses

Chemical Engineering

• •  CHE 120 Introduction to Chemical Engineering
• •  CHE 205 Numerical Methods in Chemical Engineering
• •  CHE 301g Introduction to Engineering Biology
• •  CHE 305 Numerical and Statistical Analysis for Chemical Engineers
• •  CHE 330 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
• •  CHE 350 Introduction to Separation Processes
• •  CHE 390 Special Problems
• •  CHE 391L Introduction to Nanotechnology Research
• •  CHE 405 Applications of Probability and Statistics for Chemical Engineers
• •  CHE 410L Introduction to Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
• •  CHE 430 Principles and Applications of Systems Biology
• •  CHE 442 Chemical Reactor Design
• •  CHE 443 Chemical Engineering Fluid Mechanics
• •  CHE 444aL Chemical Engineering Laboratory
• •  CHE 444bL Chemical Engineering Laboratory
• •  CHE 444cL Chemical Engineering Laboratory
• •  CHE 445 Heat Transfer in Chemical Engineering Processes
• •  CHE 446 Mass Transfer in Chemical Engineering Processes
• •  CHE 447 Heat and Mass Transfer in Chemical Engineering Processes
• •  CHE 450 Sustainable Energy
• •  CHE 455 Sustainable Materials
• •  CHE 460L Chemical Process Dynamics and Control
• •  CHE 461 Formation Data Sensing with Well Logs
• •  CHE 462 Economic, Risk and Formation Productivity Analysis
• •  CHE 463L Introduction to Transport Processes in Porous Media
• •  CHE 464L Modeling and Simulation of Subsurface Flow Systems
• •  CHE 465L Drilling Technology and Subsurface Methods
• •  CHE 472 Polymer Science and Engineering
• •  CHE 474L Polymer Science and Engineering Laboratory
• •  CHE 475 Physical Properties of Polymers
• •  CHE 476 Chemical Engineering Materials
• •  CHE 477 Computer Assisted Polymer Engineering and Manufacturing I
• •  CHE 480 Chemical Process and Plant Design
• •  CHE 485 Computer-Aided Chemical Process Design
• •  CHE 486 Design of Environmentally Benign Process Plants
• •  CHE 487 Nanotechnology and Nanoscale Engineering through Chemical Processes
• •  CHE 488 Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering
• •  CHE 489 Biochemical Engineering
• •  CHE 490x Directed Research
• •  CHE 491 Nanotechnology Research for Undergraduates
• •  CHE 499 Special Topics
• •  CHE 501 Modeling and Analysis of Chemical Engineering Systems
• •  CHE 502 Numerical Methods for Diffusive and Convective Transport
• •  CHE 510 Energy and Process Efficiency
• •  CHE 520 Mathematical Methods for Deep Learning
• •  CHE 523 Principles of Electrochemical Engineering
• •  CHE 530 Thermodynamics for Chemical Engineers
• •  CHE 532 Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium
• •  CHE 538 Transport Processes I
• •  CHE 539 Transport Processes II
• •  CHE 540 Viscous Flow
• •  CHE 541 Mass Transfer
• •  CHE 542 Chemical Engineering Kinetics
• •  CHE 544 Heat Transmission
• •  CHE 550 Seminars in Chemical Engineering
• •  CHE 554 Principles of Tissue Engineering
• •  CHE 560 Advanced Separations for Energy and Environmental Applications
• •  CHE 572 Advanced Topics in Polymer Kinetics and Rheology
• •  CHE 575 Data-Driven Modeling for Physical Systems
• •  CHE 586 Process Data Analytics and Machine Learning
• •  CHE 590 Directed Research
• •  CHE 594a Master’s Thesis
• •  CHE 594b Master’s Thesis
• •  CHE 594z Master’s Thesis
• •  CHE 596 Chemical Reactions in the Atmosphere
• •  CHE 599 Special Topics
• •  CHE 611 Stochastic Modeling and Simulation
• •  CHE 690 Directed Research
• •  CHE 790 Research
• •  CHE 794a Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CHE 794b Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CHE 794c Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CHE 794d Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CHE 794z Doctoral Dissertation