Research

Chemical engineering has come a long way from its roots – no longer solely the domain of distillation columns and heat exchangers, today’s chemical engineering encompasses a broad range of cutting-edge research. The diverse education that chemical engineers receive allows them to work at the intersection of a variety of different fields, including biology, chemistry, physics, materials science, and other engineering disciplines.

Chemical engineering research at Northeastern is supported by two pillars of excellence: advanced materials and the biosciences. Not only will you find any number of fascinating projects in these areas with which you can become involved, but Northeastern is also pushing the limits of possibility with the integration of biological and physical systems by combining expertise from both of our pillars of excellence.

Want to figure out how to grow new cartilage cells that you can use to help eliminate osteoarthritis? How about working on making plant cells produce tough-to-synthesize anti-cancer drugs? Or using fluid mechanics and mass transport theory to develop better ways of dispersing those drugs in the body? All of that is happening now in the department.

Quantum-sized wires to make ultra-small circuitry? We’re working on that.

New multifunctional materials that will help usher in the next generation of faster, smaller, more capable electronic devices? We’ve got that too.

Ultra-thin polymer coatings that can be functionalized for every purpose, ranging from biocompatible surfaces, to semiconductor applications, to advanced radiation shielding? You guessed it – it’s all happening here.

With a premier location in downtown Boston, the department is perfectly located to take advantage of a wealth of collaborations with other universities, as well as local hospitals, medical centers, and industry. The College of Engineering is also home to a brand new NSF Nanomanufacturing Center, and the Chemical Engineering department is home to the Center for Advanced Microgravity Materials Processing (CAMMP), one of only 16 NASA centers located at universities nationwide.

Explore further. The future of chemical engineering starts here.