Chemical engineering A rich and diverse history

Alfred H. White (left), one of the founders of chemical engineering at Michigan, and George G. Brown, a ChE faculty member, in the 1920s [credit: J. Wilkes, U. Michigan]. 2S right: John H. Sinfelt, developer of bimetallic catalysts for Standard Oil (later Exxon) that enabled lead-free, high-octane gasoline production at low cost, in 1994 [credit: Chemical Heritage Foundation Image Archives, Othmer Library of Chemical History, Philadelphia PA]. 3S left: Wallace H. Carothers, developer of nylon and neoprene at DuPont, in the early 1930s. 3S right: Arthur D. Little (center) worked on MIT's college newspaper The Tech as an undergraduate - an experience that served him well in later years as industry spokesperson, president of AIChE (1919), and head of one the U.S.'s most successful consulting firms [credit: Arthur D. Little Inc.]

Chemical engineers are a unique breed. They're a small, elite group of engineers with a rigorous education, a thorough knowledge of chemistry, and highly developed analytical, project-- management and problem-solving skills. They're team players who are accustomed to typically getting little or no credit for the work they do - which usually involves a near-impossible goal with next to no budget.