The University of Iowa is celebrating the centennial of its accredited chemical engineering program in 2026. Over the past century, the department has continually evolved to meet the changing needs of industry and society while advancing education, research, and innovation. From its origins in applied chemistry to its current strengths in biochemical engineering, environmental science, atmospheric research, and biotechnology, the department has remained committed to preparing future leaders in chemical engineering.

Chemical engineering education at the University of Iowa traces its origins to 1903, when the Department of Chemistry first offered a series of courses in applied chemistry. According to the University Catalog, the curriculum included Metallurgical Analysis, Metallurgy (including noble metals and fuels), Sanitary Chemistry, and Engineering Chemistry. By the 1905–1906 academic year, these offerings had evolved into a formal four-year chemical engineering curriculum that integrated chemistry with mechanical engineering to address “the increasing activity in American manufacturing.”

Following the founding of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in 1908, the University of Iowa established its AIChE Student Chapter in 1924, becoming the sixth student chapter in the nation. The program achieved ABET accreditation in 1926, becoming the sixteenth accredited chemical engineering program in the United States, and was established as an independent Department of Chemical Engineering in 1954.

The curriculum evolved continuously in the first half of the 20^th century in response to the changing needs of industry. During the early decades, courses in geology, surveying, contracts, and factory management were incorporated to complement students’ technical education. Recognizing that chemical engineers required expertise in both chemistry and mechanical engineering, the university adopted a five-year curriculum in 1916–1917. The first four years emphasized fundamental instruction in chemistry, mathematics, and mechanical engineering, while the fifth year integrated these disciplines through advanced courses in industrial chemistry, gas analysis, electricity, and power systems. This five-year curriculum remained in place until it was last described in the 1941–1942 University Catalog.

From its inception, the chemical engineering program was administered by the College of Applied Science, which became the College of Engineering in 1927. However, academic oversight and budgetary responsibility remained within the Department of Chemistry until 1952. Several faculty members played pioneering roles in establishing and strengthening the program during its formative years. Prof. William Jay Karslake introduced Industrial Chemistry following his arrival in 1904. In 1919, Prof. Hubert L. Olin — the first faculty member at the University of Iowa formally trained in chemical engineering — joined the faculty under the leadership of Prof. E. W. Rockwood, who served as head of the Department of Chemistry from 1906 to 1920. Prof. Olin subsequently led the chemical engineering program from 1919 until his retirement in 1944. After Prof. Edward Bartow became chair of the Department of Chemistry in 1920, he worked closely with the leadership of the College of Applied Science to strengthen and expand the program through a cooperative structure.

Following Olin’s retirement in 1944, the program underwent a brief period of leadership transition under Prof. W. L. Faith (1944–1945), Prof. C. S. Grove (1945–1948), and Prof. J. O. Osburn (1948–1949), before Prof. Karl Kammermeyer was hired as the head of the chemical engineering program in 1949. Following the transfer of financial responsibility to the College of Engineering in 1952, the program culminated in the establishment of the independent Department of Chemical Engineering in 1954, marking the beginning of a new era in chemical engineering education and research at the University of Iowa.

Prof. Karl Kammermeyer served as the head of the chemical engineering program from 1949 until his retirement in 1973. Under Prof. Kammermeyer’s leadership, the program entered a new period of stability and growth. In 1972, Lilia Abron became the first African American woman in the nation, and the third woman at the University of Iowa, to earn a PhD in chemical engineering.

During the Cold War, the University of Iowa, like many institutions nationwide, expanded its academic offerings to address the growing national emphasis on nuclear science and technology. In 1956, the Board of Regents approved the course Introduction to Nuclear Science and Engineering, marking the university’s initial step into this rapidly developing field. By 1962, these efforts culminated in the establishment of an interdepartmental Master of Science in nuclear science and technology. The Department of Chemical Engineering was an active participant in both initiatives, integrating nuclear‑related concepts into its curriculum and contributing faculty expertise to the interdisciplinary program.

During the 1970s, the College of Engineering adopted an innovative matrix organizational structure that promoted interdisciplinary collaboration and expanded research in materials science and energy. In this matrix structure, the college was organized into four administrative divisions and nine curricular programsⁱ. In 1973 the Department of Chemical Engineering was renamed the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering to foster new collaborations and broaden the department’s research and educational portfolio with material science and engineering. Following Prof. Kammermeyer’s retirement, Prof. Kirk Valanis was appointed as chairman of the newly renamed department. In 1974, however, as part of the restructure, chemical engineering became a program within the division of materials engineering, with Kirk Valanis as the chairman for the division. The matrix structure remained in place until 1983 when the Board of Regents approved a reorganization to establish six academic departments in the College of Engineering, including Chemical and Materials Engineering. Following Prof. Valanis’ departure in 1978 to assume the deanship at the University of Cincinnati, the program underwent a brief period of leadership transition: Prof. J.O. Osburn (1974–1978) and Prof. Sun-Tak Hwang (1978–1982)ⁱⁱ.

Under the leadership of Prof. Gregory Carmichael, who joined the University of Iowa in 1978 and assumed the role of chair in 1982, the department once again turned to industry to help shape its academic direction and better prepare students for professional careers. The 1980s saw substantial expansion in the biochemical industries, where the application of chemical engineering principles was increasingly essential. In response, the department pursued a deliberate strategy to broaden its research portfolio and curricular offerings within the biochemical domain. This intentional expansion is well documented in the Regents minutes for the latter half of the 80s, including funding requested to “Establish a New interdisciplinary Faculty Position in Biochemical Engineering” and for “Research and Development Program in Biochemical Engineering.”ⁱⁱⁱ

In 1984, the Alpha Phi Chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon, the national honor society for chemical engineering, was formally chartered at the University of Iowa. Its creation provided students with new opportunities for professional development, leadership, and scholarly engagement within the discipline.

A departmental history compiled in late 1989ⁱⁱ identified active research areas as “kinetics and catalysis, biomass conversion, membrane separations, particle morphological analysis, air pollution, mass transfer operations, numerical modeling, particle technology, atmospheric transport, bioseparations and biotechnology, process design, surface science, and transport in porous media.” These areas illustrate the breadth of inquiry pursued at the time, blending traditional chemical engineering foundations with emerging directions in biochemical and environmental applications.

The efforts to embrace the emergent research and teaching needs in biotechnology culminated in 1989 with the department’s official renaming to the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (CBE), a change intended to “to reflect the changing directions of the program”.^iv This milestone established the foundation for the department as it exists today. More than a change in title, this transition reflected a forward-looking vision that would shape curriculum development and research priorities to come.

Since 1990, CBE has experienced sustained growth under a succession of distinguished leaders. The department has been chaired by Prof. Gregory R. Carmichael (1981–1995; 1998–2000), Prof. Jonathan S. Dordick (1995–1998), Prof. Alec Scranton (2000–2002), Prof. John Wiencek (2002–2007), Prof. David Murhammer (2007–2012), Prof. Allan Guymon (2012–2022), and Prof. Jun Wang (2022–present). Prof. Greg Carmichael and Prof. Alec Scranton later also served as associate dean for graduate studies and research (2002-2014) and dean of the College of Engineering (2010–2020), respectively. The CBE department was moved from the Chemistry Building to the Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences in 2001, as part of its integration into the main engineering complex in the university’s campus.

CBE faculty have played instrumental roles in establishing internationally recognized research centers at the University of Iowa. Prof. K. “Mani” Subramanian was recruited in 2005 to direct the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing, bringing together faculty and students from across the department to advance biotechnology and biochemical engineering. Prof. Carmichael co-founded the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER) in 1991 and has served as one of two co-directors since its inception, helping establish the University of Iowa as an international leader in atmospheric chemistry and air quality research. Prof. Alec Scranton founded the NSF Industry–University Cooperative Research Center for Fundamentals and Applications of Photopolymerization, which later was directed by Prof. Allan Guymon and has become a nationally recognized center for polymer science and engineering.

Building upon these strong foundations of different centers established around the turn of the 21^st century, CBE has continued to embrace emerging research and engineering frontiers while maintaining excellence in its traditional strengths. Today, departmental research spans six interconnected areas: air quality and climate, biological and pharmaceutical engineering, remote and smart sensing, machine learning and simulation, polymers and advanced materials, and sustainable energy and clean water. These research themes reflect the department’s evolution toward addressing grand societal challenges laid out chemical engineering in the 21^st century by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in its 2022 report, including artificial intelligence, data science, sustainability, and atmospheric research based on space and airborne technology and the Internet of Things, while continuing its long-standing excellence in materials, biotechnology, and chemical engineering fundamentals. Correspondingly, annual external research expenditures have more than doubled since 2020, growing from approximately $2.5 million in the early 2000s to approximately $5.6 million in 2025.

Despite maintaining an average faculty size of only about 10-14 members (including teaching faculty) in the past several decades, CBE faculty have earned numerous national and international distinctions. Faculty honors include the NSF Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE); NSF CAREER Awards; election as Fellows of AIChE, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the American Meteorological Society (AMS); University of Iowa President and Provost Awards for Teaching Excellence, University of Iowa Presidential Lecturer, University of Iowa Scholar of the Year, and the Board of Regents Faculty Excellence Award. These recognitions span contributions in both teaching and research in process safety, photopolymerization, atmospheric science, air quality, biotechnology, environmental engineering, and advanced materials.

Entrepreneurship and community engagement have long been an integral part of the educational experience at CBE, fostered through faculty research, industrial engagement, and community outreach. Faculty members have translated fundamental research into technological innovations with significant societal and commercial impact. Prof. Syed Mubeen has founded several startup companies and is notably the co-founder and chief technology officer of SunHydrogen, a publicly traded company housed locally that develops breakthrough technologies for producing green hydrogen. Faculty innovations have also led to numerous patents, including Prof. Eric Nuxoll’s development of a noninvasive method for treating infections associated with medical implants. Beyond research commercialization, the CBE faculty has made lasting contributions to engineering education. Prof. David Rethwisch played a leading role in developing Project Lead The Way (2005–2018), a nationally recognized pre-college engineering program that has introduced tens of thousands of high school students to engineering through its curricula and teacher training activities. The program before its ending in 2018 engaged 133 high schools (one-third of Iowa’s high schools) and 86 middle schools in 83 of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Student success has remained a defining characteristic of the department throughout its history. The University of Iowa AIChE Student Chapter has maintained one of the nation’s strongest records of sustained excellence. The undergraduate ChemE Jeopardy team has captured the AIChE National Championship six times (2013, 2014, 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024) and finished as national runner-up four additional times. In 2024, the AIChE Student Chapter celebrated its 100th anniversary. The chapter has also earned the AIChE Outstanding Student Chapter Award for 22 consecutive years — the longest active streak in the United States — and 32 times in the past 33 years, reflecting the department’s enduring culture of student leadership and engagement.

Faculty and students have identified three defining strengths of the undergraduate program in CBE. The first is the versatile and impactful career opportunities. CBE graduates enjoy excellent career prospects across diverse sectors, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, computing, sustainability, energy, and environmental engineering. The curriculum also provides outstanding preparation for professional schools in medicine, dentistry, law, and business. The second is flexible and research-intensive education. Students benefit from extensive opportunities for undergraduate research, internships, study abroad, certificates, minors, combined bachelor’s/master’s programs, and extracurricular leadership, enabling individualized educational pathways. The third is the personalized mentoring and lifelong professional networks. Faculty, peer mentors, alumni, and industrial partners provide close mentorship throughout students’ academic careers, complemented by scholarships, conference travel support, leadership development, and an exceptionally engaged alumni network.

The department has also made significant investments in modernizing its educational laboratories and curriculum. Supported by generous alumni and industry donors, state-of-the-art instructional equipment, including pilot-scale distillation columns and chemical reactors, was acquired in 2025 and 2026. Collectively, more than $250,000 has been invested in renovating undergraduate teaching laboratories over the past several years.

CBE’s curriculum has continually evolved to align with emerging workforce needs and the department’s research strengths. In spring 1996, Prof. David Murhammer introduced a required junior-level course in chemical process safety, followed by the opening of the Process Safety Laboratory in 1998. CBE became the first program in the nation to establish a dedicated process safety course with an accompanying laboratory — more than a decade before ABET incorporated process safety as an accreditation criterion for chemical engineering programs in the 2012–2013 review cycle^v. Building on this tradition of curricular innovation, CBE introduced new undergraduate courses in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (taught by Prof. Joe Gomes) and Applied Statistics (by Prof. Jun Wang) in the early 2020s to strengthen students’ computational and data-analytic skills. In 2023, the department established the Applied Climate Science and Energy Technologies (ACSET) Certificate, with implementation beginning in 2024 and significant contribution and leadership by CBE faculty including Prof. Matt McGill and Prof. Jing Zeng. The 18-semester-hour interdisciplinary program brings together faculty from 11 academic departments across four colleges — the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Public Health, and the Tippie College of Business. The ACSET certificate exemplifies CBE’s commitment to interdisciplinary education that prepares students to address the challenges of climate change, sustainable energy, and environmental stewardship.

The department’s advisory board, composed primarily of distinguished alumni and industry leaders, was established in early 2000. They meet twice annually to provide strategic recommendations on curriculum, student development, and departmental priorities. Board members also conduct annual interviews with undergraduate and graduate students, offering valuable feedback that informs continuous program improvement. Their leadership has been instrumental in developing the department’s industrial peer-mentoring program, ensuring every undergraduate student benefits from professional mentoring throughout their academic journey.

CBE has received extraordinary alumni support. Numerous scholarships, fellowships, and educational enhancement funds have been established through alumni and industry philanthropy. During their undergraduate careers with CBE, students receive, on average, $2,500 in departmental scholarships and $1,000 in professional travel support, enabling participation in conferences, competitions, and professional development activities. Today, three endowed faculty positions support excellence in chemical engineering within the department: the Karl Kammermeyer Professorship, held by Prof. Gregory Carmichael since its establishment in 2001; the Sharon Tinker Safety Professorship established in 2013, previously held by Prof. Allan Guymon (until his retirement in 2024) and currently held by Prof. Beth Rundlett; and the Lichtenberger Family Chair in Chemical Engineering, established in 2025, with Prof. Jun Wang serving as its inaugural holder.

Over the past century, the chemical engineering program at the University of Iowa has graduated approximately 1,892 students with bachelor’s degrees, 174 with master’s degrees, and more than 210 with PhDs. Over its first 100 years, the chemical engineering program has had 45 faculty members (see full list) who have generated more than 70 patents, reflecting the department’s longstanding commitment to innovation and technology transfer. Today, the department is home to 13 faculty members, including 1.5 FTE teaching-line faculty, and enrolls 181 students, including 153 undergraduate students.

Reaching this 100-year milestone is both humbling and inspiring. It celebrates a century of excellence in education, research, innovation, and service. More importantly, it recognizes the generations of chemical engineers educated at the University of Iowa who have gone on to make lasting contributions in industry, academia, government, healthcare, and entrepreneurial ventures around the world.

Building on this legacy, CBE continues to evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Since 2023, the department has welcomed three new faculty members — Prof. Matt McGill, Prof. Hyeongmin Seo, and Prof. Zhe (Andy) Wang — strengthening its expertise in atmospheric science, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing and materials. Together with the department’s longstanding strengths in process engineering, process safety, computing, and sustainability engineering, these areas position CBE to address many of the grand challenges identified for chemical engineering in the 21st century by NASEM in its 2022 report.

As it enters its second century, the chemical engineering program remains deeply grateful for the enduring support of its alumni, friends, industry partners, and the university community. Guided by its tradition of excellence, it is committed to advancing innovation, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and educating the next generation of chemical engineers who will improve lives in Iowa and around the world.