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Chemical engineer
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The president of the <a href="/facts/Institution_of_Chemical_Engineers/Ut7uXtfI">Institution of Chemical Engineers</a> said in his presidential address "I believe most of us would be willing to regard <a href="/facts/Edward_Charles_Howard/sPS4gu73">Edward Charles Howard</a> (1774–1816) as the first chemical engineer of any eminence".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Others have suggested <a href="/facts/Johann_Rudolf_Glauber/v1RbFEom">Johann Rudolf Glauber</a> (1604–1670) for his development of processes for the manufacture of the major industrial acids.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>The term appeared in print in 1839, though from the context it suggests a person with <a href="/facts/Mechanical_engineering/cbId4fye">mechanical engineering</a> knowledge working in the <a href="/facts/Chemical_industry/3M6gfHer">chemical industry</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> In 1880, <a href="/facts/George_E._Davis/TevsEbcY">George E. Davis</a> wrote in a letter to <i>Chemical News</i> "A Chemical Engineer is a person who possesses chemical and mechanical knowledge, and who applies that knowledge to the utilisation, on a manufacturing scale, of chemical action." He proposed the name Society of Chemical Engineers, for what was in fact constituted as the <a href="/facts/Society_of_Chemical_Industry/2pXymNFk">Society of Chemical Industry</a>. At the first General Meeting of the Society in 1882, some 15 of the 300 members described themselves as chemical engineers, but the Society's formation of a Chemical Engineering Group in 1918 attracted about 400 members.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>In 1905 a publication called <i>The Chemical Engineer</i> was founded in the US,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> and in 1908 the <a href="/facts/American_Institute_of_Chemical_Engineers/A0byWusX">American Institute of Chemical Engineers</a> was established.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>In 1924 the <a href="/facts/Institution_of_Chemical_Engineers/Ut7uXtfI">Institution of Chemical Engineers</a> adopted the following definition: "A chemical engineer is a professional man experienced in the design, construction and operation of plant and works in which matter undergoes a change of state and composition."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>As can be seen from the later definition, the occupation is not limited to the <a href="/facts/Chemical_industry/3M6gfHer">chemical industry</a>, but more generally the process industries, or other situations in which complex physical and/or chemical processes are to be managed. </p><p>The UK journal <i><a href="/facts/The_Chemical_Engineer/hz9GX510">The Chemical Engineer</a></i> (began 1956) has a series of biographies available online entitled “Chemical Engineers who Changed the World”,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> <p>Historically, the chemical engineer has been primarily concerned with <a href="/facts/Process_engineering/tgNFNxwD">process engineering</a>, which can generally be divided into two complementary areas: <a href="/facts/Chemical_reaction_engineering/clYVpSXI">chemical reaction engineering</a> and <a href="/facts/Separation_process/8Ie5Lv5Y">separation processes</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Chemical/EWcXU41d">chemicals</a>. These products include high-performance materials needed for <a href="/facts/Aerospace/T6kTLUyV">aerospace</a>, <a href="/facts/Automotive_engineering/dspDKGwP">automotive</a>, <a href="/facts/Biomedical_engineering/TNAa3sqa">biomedical</a>, <a href="/facts/Electronics/E4JhgISq">electronic</a>, <a href="/facts/Environmental_engineering/He7fly74">environmental</a> and <a href="/facts/Military/kgNmLUnN">military</a> applications. Examples include ultra-strong fibers, <a href="/facts/Cloth/PJrVeM5S">fabrics</a>, <a href="/facts/Adhesives/shTfIJ0E">adhesives</a> and composites for vehicles, <a href="/facts/Biocompatibility/UbGXs4XW">bio-compatible materials</a> for implants and prosthetics, <a href="/facts/Gel/t7eStnK0">gels</a> for medical applications, <a href="/facts/Pharmaceuticals/h9mhwWP2">pharmaceuticals</a>, and films with special dielectric, optical or <a href="/facts/Spectroscopy/mj71FuNK">spectroscopic</a> properties for opto-electronic devices. Additionally, chemical engineering is often intertwined with <a href="/facts/Biology/1M1ee3pB">biology</a> and <a href="/facts/Biomedical_engineering/TNAa3sqa">biomedical engineering</a>. Many chemical engineers work on biological projects such as understanding biopolymers (<a href="/facts/Proteins/Jxmagu3E">proteins</a>) and <a href="/facts/Human_genome_project/eQDHgHTP">mapping the human genome</a>. </p> <h2 id="employments-and-salaries">Employments and salaries</h2> <p>According to a 2015 salary survey by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the median annual salary for a chemical engineer was approximately $127,000.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The survey was repeated in 2017 and the median annual salary dropped slightly to $124,000. The decrease in median salary was unexpected. A factor contributing to the decline may be that 2017's survey was conducted by a different research and analysis firm. Median salaries ranged from $70,450 for chemical engineers with fewer than three years of experience to $156,000 for those with more than 40 years in the workforce.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>In the <a href="/facts/UK/kuPAILt2">UK</a>, the IChemE 2016 Salary Survey reported a median salary of approximately £57,000, with a starting salary for a graduate averaging £28,350.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> Chemical engineering in the USA is one of the engineering disciplines with the highest participation of women, with 35% of students compared with 20% in engineering.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> In the UK in 2014, students starting degrees were 25% female, compared with 15% in engineering.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> US graduates who responded to a 2015 salary survey were 18.8% female.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p><p>According to the latest 2023 figures, Bayes Business School graduates get an average of £51,921 within 5 years of graduation, which is the most among UK universities. This was followed by the University of Oxford at £49,086 and the University of Warwick at £47,446.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li>Chemistry portal</li><li>Engineering portal</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/American_Institute_of_Chemical_Engineers/A0byWusX">American Institute of Chemical Engineers</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Distillation/plDvUMxn">Distillation</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Fluid_dynamics/y7uzSCfg">Fluid dynamics</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Heat_transfer/1IV3WbFL">Heat transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/History_of_chemical_engineering/KwECsPuY">History of chemical engineering</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Institution_of_Chemical_Engineers/Ut7uXtfI">Institution of Chemical Engineers</a> (IChemE)</li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_chemical_engineering_societies/T0Pbwopv">List of chemical engineering societies</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_chemical_engineers/009SnoXc">List of chemical engineers</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Mass_transfer/GrHKD4h2">Mass transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Process_control/tmjQhchm">Process control</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Process_design_(chemical_engineering)/py0F44Pm">Process design (chemical engineering)</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Process_engineering/tgNFNxwD">Process engineering</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Process_miniaturization/S7lK0Dma">Process miniaturization</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Unit_operations/7TAe9XH0">Unit operations</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Chemfluence/JpbqjS9m">Chemfluence</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.aiche.org/">American Institute of Chemical Engineers (USA)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.icheme.org">Institution of Chemical Engineers (UK)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061008130341/http://www.cheminst.ca/csche_home__e.htm">Canadian Society for Chemical Engineers</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060821035906/http://www.ieaust.org/">Engineers Australia (AUS)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>MobyDick Dictionary of Engineering", McGraw-Hill, 2nd Ed. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Transactions of the IChemE (1951) Volume 29 page 163 <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Herman Skolnik in W. F. Furter (ed) (1982) A Century of Chemical Engineering ISBN 0-306-40895-3 page 230 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Ure, Andrew (1839) A Dictionary of Arts Manufactures and Mines, London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, page 1220 <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Ure" target="_blank">/wiki/Andrew_Ure</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Colin Duvall and Sean F, Johnston (2000) Scaling Up: The Institution of Chemical Engineers and the Rise of a New Profession Kluwer Academic Publishers <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>The Cornell daily Sun Volume XXV, Number 25, 26 October 1904 <a href="http://cdsun.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cornell?a=d&d=CDS19041026.2.25" target="_blank">http://cdsun.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cornell?a=d&d=CDS19041026.2.25</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>John C. Olsen (December 1932), Chemical Engineering As A Profession: Origin and Early Growth of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.aiche.org/uploadedFiles/About/Centennial/CE_Profession-A.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.aiche.org/uploadedFiles/About/Centennial/CE_Profession-A.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers volume 2 page 23 (1924) <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>www.thechemicalengineer.com Archived 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine Chemical engineers who changed the world <a href="http://www.thechemicalengineer.com/chemical-engineers-who-changed-the-world.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.thechemicalengineer.com/chemical-engineers-who-changed-the-world.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Chemical Engineering Progress June 2015 <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Announcing the 2017 AIChE Chemical Engineering Salary Survey". www.aiche.org. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2019-11-02. <a href="https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2017/06/announcing-2017-aiche-chemical-engineering-salary-survey" target="_blank">https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2017/06/announcing-2017-aiche-chemical-engineering-salary-survey</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Institution of Chemical Engineers Annual Review 2016 <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Brawner, C. E., Lord, S. M., Layton, R. A., Ohland, M. W., & Long, R. A., (2015) International Journal of Engineering Education Vol. 31, No. 6(A), 1431, "Factors Affecting Women’s Persistence in Chemical Engineering" <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>The Chemical Engineer, March 2015 p 20 <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Chemical Engineering Progress June 2015 <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Bryan (2023-11-30). "Average Graduate Salaries Among The Top Universities In The UK". Britannia UK. Retrieved 2023-12-06. <a href="https://britannia-study.co.uk/universities/graduate-salary-uk/" target="_blank">https://britannia-study.co.uk/universities/graduate-salary-uk/</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>