Courses in Chemical Engineering (CENG)
Not all courses are offered each quarter and/or year. Make sure to check the updated Tentative Teaching Schedule each year.
Note: Core courses are offered once a year. Technical Electives are not offered every year.
All students booking in CENG courses or admitted to the CENG program are required to meet prerequisite and performance standards, i.e., students may not book in any CENG courses or courses in another department which are required for the major prior to having satisfied prerequisite courses with a C– or better. (The program does not consider D or F grades as adequate preparation for subsequent material. All courses except CENG-004 and CENG-199 must be taken for a letter grade. P/NP will not be accepted). All CENG courses must have a grade of C- or above as a passing grade.
Lower-Division
CENG-004. Experience Chemical Engineering (1) Hands-on, team-based laboratory activities to demonstrate modern applications of chemical engineering, and the role of the chemical engineer in academia and industry. Emphasis on teamwork, safe laboratory practices, and student-directed problem-solving. Prerequisites: Department approval required. (P/NP grading only; for incoming CENG first-year students and transfers. CENG 4 is mandatory).
CENG-015*. Engineering Computation Using Matlab (4) (Cross-listed with NANO 15) Introduction to solution of engineering problems using computational methods. Formulating problem statements, selecting algorithms, writing computer programs, and analyzing output using MATLAB. Computational problems from nanoengineering, chemical engineering, and materials science are introduced. The course requires no prior programming skills. Students may only receive credit for one of the following: CENG-015, CENG-015R, NENG-015, NENG-015R, or MAE 8.
*CENG-015 and CENG-015R are not cross-listed courses. If a student needs to repeat CENG-015 or CENG-015R, they must retake the same exact course number since they are not interchangeable.
CENG-015R*. Engineering Computation Using Matlab Online (4) (Cross-listed with NENG-015R.) Introduction to solution of engineering problems using computational methods. Formulating problem statements, selecting algorithms, writing computer programs, and analyzing output using Matlab. Computational problems from NanoEngineering, chemical engineering, and materials science are introduced. This is a fully online, self-paced course that utilizes multi-platform instructional techniques (video, text, and instructional coding environments). The course requires no prior programming skills. Students may only receive credit for one of the following: CENG-015, CENG-015R, NENG-015, NENG-015R, or MAE 8.
*CENG-015 and CENG-015R are not cross-listed courses. If a student needs to repeat CENG-015 or CENG-015R, they must retake the same exact course number since they are not interchangeable.
Upper-Division
CENG-100. Material and Energy Balances (4) Introduction to steady and time-dependent material and energy balances using a variety of problem-solving strategies. Concepts include degrees-of-freedom analysis, unit operations, multi-unit systems, chemical reaction kinetics and equilibrium, and phase equilibrium. Students may not receive credit for both CENG-100 and CENG-110. Prerequisites: CENG-004 and CHEM 6B.
CENG-110. Material and Energy Balances with Applications (4) Introduction to steady and time-dependent material and energy balances using a variety of problem-solving strategies and laboratory experiments. Concepts include degrees-of-freedom analysis, unit operations, multi-unit systems, chemical reaction kinetics and equilibrium, and phase equilibrium. Students may not receive credit for both CENG-100 and CENG-110. Prerequisites: CENG-004 and CHEM 6B.
CENG-101A. Introductory Fluid Mechanics (4) Kinematics and equation of motion; hydrostatics; Bernoulli’s equation; viscous flows; turbulence, pipe flow; boundary layers and drag in external flows; applications to chemical, structural, and bioengineering. Students may not receive credit for both MAE 101A and CENG-101A. (CENG students must take CENG-101A, not MAE 101A. CENG students will not receive credit for MAE 101A, if taken). Prerequisites: Admission to the major and grades of C– or better in PHYS 2A, MATH 20D, MATH 20E or consent of instructor. Priority booking given to Chemical Engineering and NanoEngineering majors.
CENG-101B. Heat Transfer (4) Conduction, convection, radiation heat transfer; design of heat exchangers. Students may not receive credit for both CENG-101B and MAE 101C. (CENG students must take CENG-101B, not MAE 101C. CENG students will not receive credit for MAE 101C, if taken). Prerequisites: Admission to the major and a grade of C– or better in CENG-101A. Priority booking given to Chemical Engineering majors.
CENG-101C. Mass Transfer (4) Diffusive and convective mass transfer in solids, liquids, and gasses; steady and unsteady state; mass transfer coefficients; applications to chemical engineering and bioengineering. Prerequisites: Admission to the major and grade of C– or better in CENG-101A.
CENG-102. Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (4) Thermodynamic behavior of pure substances and mixtures. Properties of solutions, phase equilibria. Thermodynamic cycles. Chemical equilibria for homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. Prerequisites: CENG-100, CHEM 6C, and MATH 20C.
CENG-113. Chemical Reaction Engineering (4) Principles of chemical reactor analysis and design. Experimental determination of rate equations, design of batch and continuous reactors, optimization of selectivity in multiple reactions, consideration of thermal effects and residence time distribution. Introduction to multi-phase reactors. Prerequisites: CENG-015, CENG-100, MATH 20D.
CENG-114. Probability and Statistical Methods for Engineers (4) (Cross-listed with NENG-114) Probability theory, conditional probability, Bayes theorem, discrete random variables, expectation and variance, central limit theorem, graphical and numerical presentation of data, least squares estimation and regression, confidence intervals, testing hypotheses. Students may not receive credit for both CENG-114 and NENG-114. Prerequisites: MATH 18 and NENG-015 or CENG-015 or MAE 8.
CENG-120. Chemical Process Dynamics and Control (4) Examination of dynamic linear and linearized models of chemical processes. Stability analysis. Design of PID controllers. Selection of control and manipulated variables. Root locus, Bode and Nyquist plots. Cascade, feed- forward and ratio controls. Prerequisites: Admission to the major; CENG-015 or MAE 8 or NENG-015, and CENG-100 and CENG-101B and CENG-113 and MATH 20D. Restricted to majors CENG-BS-001, NENG-BS-001, MC25, MC27, MC28, MC29.
CENG-122. Separation Processes (4) Principles of analysis and design of systems for separation of components from a mixture. Topics will include staged operations (distillation, liquid-liquid extraction), and continuous operations (gas absorption, membrane separation) under equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions. Prerequisites: Admission to the major and grades of C– or better in CENG-100, CENG-102, CENG-101C. Priority booking given to Chemical Engineering majors.
CENG-124A. Chemical Plant and Process Design I (4) Principles of chemical process design and economics. Process flow diagrams and cost estimation. Computer-aided design and analysis. Representation of the structure of complex, interconnected chemical processes with recycle streams. Ethics and professionalism. Health, safety, and the environmental issues. Prerequisites: Admission to chemical engineering major and grades of C– or better in CENG-113 and CENG-122, or consent of instructor. Priority booking given to Chemical Engineering majors.
CENG-124B. Chemical Plant and Process Design II (4) Engineering and economic analysis of integrated chemical processes, equipment, and systems. Cost estimation, heat and mass transfer equipment design and costs. Comprehensive integrated plant design. Optimal design. Profitability. Prerequisites: Admission to chemical engineering major and grade of C– or better in CENG-124A. Priority booking given to Chemical Engineering majors.
CENG-134. Polymeric Materials (4) (Cross-listed with NENG-134 and CHEM 134) Foundations of polymeric materials. Topics: structure of polymers; mechanisms of polymer synthesis; characterization methods using calorimetric, mechanical, rheological, and X-ray-based techniques; and electronic, mechanical, and thermodynamic properties. Special classes of polymers: engineering plastics, semiconducting polymers, photoresists, and polymers for medicine. Students may only receive credit for one of the following: CENG-134, CHEM 134, NENG-134. Prerequisites: CHEM 6C and PHYS 2C.
CENG-157. Process Technology in the Semiconductor Industry (4) Brief introduction to solid-state materials and devices. Crystal growth and purification. Thin film technology. Application of chemical processing to the manufacture of semiconductor devices. Topics to be covered: Physics of solids, unit operations of solid state materials (bulk crystal growth, oxidation, vacuum science, chemical and physical vapor deposition, epitaxy, doping, etching). Prerequisites: CENG-101A and CENG-101B and CENG-101C. CENG-101C can be taken concurrently. (Undergraduate students must book in CENG-157, and not CENG-257. Students may not receive credit for both CENG-157 and CENG-257.)
CENG-160. Introduction to Biochemical Engineering (4) Introduction to biochemical engineering. Topics include biological macromolecules, enzyme kinetics, cell metabolism, protein synthesis, recombinant DNA technology, bioreactor design, and bioproduct recovery. Prerequisites: CENG-100. (Undergraduate students must book in CENG-160, and not CENG-260. Students may not receive credit for both CENG-160 and CENG-260.)
CENG-170. Experimental Methods for Chemical Engineers (4) Principles and practice of measurement and control, design and conduct of experiments, and technical report writing. Specific topics include dimensional analysis, error analysis, data acquisition and data reduction, as well as background of experiments and statistical analysis. Prerequisites: CENG-100 and CENG-102.
CENG-175. NanoEngineering in Medicine (4) (Cross-listed with NENG-175) Introduction to nanomedicine; topics include: nanoscale material, biological systems vs. synthetic vs. bio-inspired systems; drug and gene delivery, molecular imaging, vaccines, immunoengineering, pharmacology, clinical application in cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, immune diseases, genetic disorders, skin diseases, and regenerative medicine. Students may not receive credit for both CENG-175 and NENG-175. Prerequisites: Upper Division Standing.
CENG-176A. Chemical Engineering Process Laboratory I (4) Laboratory projects in the areas of applied chemical research and unit operations. Emphasis on applications of engineering concepts and fundamentals to solution of practical and research problems. Prerequisites: CENG-113 and CENG-122 and CENG-170, or consent of instructor.
CENG-176B. Chemical Engineering Process Laboratory II (4) Training in planning research projects, execution of experimental work and articulation (both oral and written) of the research plan and results in the areas of applied chemical technology and engineering operations related to mass, momentum, and heat transfer. Prerequisites: CENG-176A.
CENG-199. Independent Study for Undergraduates (4 & 4) Research project as equivalent to a "senior thesis" can be approved for two Technical Elective courses (eight units total). This course is taken as an elective on a P/NP basis. It must be done in consecutive quarters and the student must find a faculty member who will oversee the research project. Eligible students must have completed at least 90 units and must have a UC San Diego cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Detailed policy and procedures may be obtained from the Student Affairs Office. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Click here to learn how to book in CENG-199.