International Benchmarking of U.S. Chemical Engineering Research Competitiveness (2007) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 5-15
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From page 5... ...
However, over the last 10-15 years, we have witnessed the following three developments, which have raised many discussions and concerns about the identity and future prospects of the chemical engineering enterprise �education, research, employment�: • drastic restructuring of the global chemical industry and its strategic business philosophy • continuous expansion of chemical engineering's research scope at the interfaces with several sciences and engineering disciplines such as fluid mechanics, solid particle technologies, polymers, nanostructured materials, protein engineering, biocatalysis, and biomedical devices • continuous narrowing of chemical engineering's "dynamic range" -- or its ability to address important scientific and technological questions covering the entire spectrum from macroscopic to microscopic, to nanoscale, and eventually to molecular scale products and processes, and offer complete solutions 1See http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/bin.asp?
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From page 6... ...
The nine areas of chemical engineering covered in the report are engineering science of physical processes; engineering science of chemical processes; engineering science of biological processes; molecular and interfacial science and engineering; materials; biomedical products and biomaterials; energy; environmental impact and management; and process systems development and engineering. The Panel has considered both quantitative and qualitative measures of the status of the discipline in the above areas and corresponding subareas in response to the following three questions: • What is the position of U.S.
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From page 7... ...
authors; • analysis of citations to measure the quality of research and its impact; • patent productivity by academic and industrial research activities; • analysis of trends in prizes, awards, and other recognitions received by chemical engineers; • evaluation of leadership determinants such as recruitment of talented individuals to the discipline, funding opportunities, infrastructure, and government-industry-academia partnerships; and • quantitative analysis of trends in degrees conferred to and employment of chemical engineers. In an effort to filter out numerical inaccuracies, the Panel opted to rely more on trends than absolute values of these measures.
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From page 8... ...
position in the follwing subareas, several of which constitute the core of chemical engineering, has been weakened and is expected to continue to weaken in the near future: • transport processes; • separations; • heterogeneous catalysis; • kinetics and reaction engineering; • process development and design; and • dynamics, control, and operational optimization. Leadership in these subareas is now shared with Europe and in specific instances with Japan, as shown by decreases in journal articles and citations.
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From page 9... ...
The following factors could have significant effects on the U.S. position: • shifting funding priorities by federal agencies • reductions in industrial support of academic research in the United States in favor of academic support in other countries • potential decreases in the supply of talented foreign graduate students • reduced attractiveness of chemical engineering as a career path for the most talented U.S.
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From page 10... ...
However, if the United States becomes a nation of "nanomaterial-makers," it may be the first to exploit nanomaterials for new energy sources, but the country will lack the wherewithal to implement a total solution. At best, this weakness will only delay implementation; at worst the United States will need to "buy" technology from abroad and suffer the economic consequences.
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From page 11... ...
Within the scope of these interdisciplinary research activities, it is clearly at the "Forefront," leading the output �volume and quality� of worldwide chemical engineering contributions. However, the fractional volume of output in the core areas of chemical engineering science has been losing ground, and there is serious concern about the discipline's ability to maintain a sufficient number of highly skilled researchers in this area.
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From page 12... ...
Key capabilities for chemical engineering research include materials synthesis and characterization, materials micro- and nanofabrication, genetics and proteomics, fossil fuel utilization, and computing facilities. • There has been an overall steady supply of chemical engineers in the United States, and job prospects and salaries for U.S.
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From page 13... ...
chemical engineering research the Panel took into consideration the following factors �Chapter 4�: • trends in publications and impact, revealed by the analyses in Chapters 3 and 4, which are likely to continue in the near- �2 to 3 years� and mid-term �5 to 7 years� future • the composition of the Virtual World Congress • intellectual quality of researchers and ability to attract talented researchers • maintenance of strong, research-based graduate educational programs • maintenance of strong technological infrastructure • cooperation among government, industrial, and academic sectors • adequate funding of research activities Prediction of Future Position U.S. chemical engineering research will remain in the near future strong at the "Forefront" or "Among World Leaders" in all subareas.
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From page 14... ...
chemical industry with commensurably increasing levels of applications-oriented research will continue in the future, at the expense of basic research, if no major reorientation of funding priorities by the federal government occurs. Although the United States has enjoyed a research and funding environment that allows for the installation and operation of a diverse range of facilities to support leading-edge research in chemical engineering, this position is not assured forever.
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From page 15... ...
leadership by providing key infrastructure and capabilities for conducting research. Key capabilities for chemical engineering research include materials synthesis and characterization, materials micro- and nanofabrication, genetics and proteomics, fossil fuel utilization, and cyberinfrastructure.
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