Notes from the chair

James A. Dumesic (29K JPG)

Ever since our department was founded in 1905 by the young professor of electrical engineering, Charles F. Burgess, chemical engineers have collaborated closely with researchers in other disciplines. As we enter a new century, the field of chemical engineering is broader, and the collaborations with other fields stronger and more extensive than ever. Today, our faculty are involved in a wide variety of projects at the intersections of chemical engineering with many other fields including physics, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, mathematics, statistics and materials science. The scale of our research enterprise has grown substantially as well, with annual research spending more than double that of a decade ago: $7.8 million versus $3.7 million. As we have for decades, our department takes a leadership role in defining the future directions of research in chemical engineering and training students at the graduate level.

While the frontiers of chemical engineering expand rapidly, the fundamentals have remained relatively unchanged for many years (witness the fact that the BSL classic text, Transport Phenomena, currently under revision, is now in its 58^th printing). Nonetheless, by exposing undergraduate students to many of the latest developments in the field while building a solid foundation in chemical engineering fundamentals, we are able to instill in students a fuller appreciation of the scope and potential, as well as the vitality and excitement, of the field they are entering. As a result, our undergraduate program, like our graduate program, continues to be ranked among the best in the nation, and indeed in the world.

I hope you like the new look of ON THESE FOUNDATIONS. Please let us hear from you!

Best wishes,

James A. Dumesic
dumesic@engr.wisc.edu