Chemical engineer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is one who applies and uses principles of chemical engineering in any of various practical applications; primarily with respect to the study of the design, manufacture, and operation of plant and machinery in industrial chemical processes.

1 Overview
2 Employment and Salaries
3 See also
4 Recommended chemical engineering books
5 Resources
6 External links

[edit] Overview

Historically, the chemical engineer has been primarily concerned with process engineering. The modern discipline of chemical engineering, however, encompasses much more than just process engineering. Chemical engineers are now engaged in the development and production of a diverse range of products, as well as in commodity and specialty chemicals. These products include high performance materials needed for aerospace, automotive, biomedical, electronic, environmental and military applications. Examples include ultra-strong fibers, fabrics, adhesives and composites for vehicles, bio-compatible materials for implants and prosthetics, gels for medical applications, pharmaceuticals, and films with special dielectric, optical or spectroscopic properties for opto-electronic devices. Additionally, chemical engineering is often intertwined with biology and biomedical engineering. Many chemical engineers work on biological projects such as understanding biopolymers (proteins) and mapping the human genome.

[edit] Employment and Salaries

In the United States of America, there are estimated to be about 32,490 chemical engineers. The average salary per hour for a chemical engineer is about $36.66 per hour, but can range from between $23.37 per hour to $52.72 per hour. The annual salary average for a chemical engineer is equal to about $76,250, but can range from between $48,600 to $109,670 annually.^[1]In Australia a senior chemcial engineer can earn up to $200,000 annually.