Chemical engineers draw on the chemical, physical and biological sciences to provide a systems approach to understand changes that take place in materials – from the molecular to the global scale. They also establish methods for required changes in composition, energy content, structure, or physical state. They often see engineering as a means towards useful outcomes. They can prioritise safety, loss prevention and environmental protection in their activities.
These activities may include:
- Converting raw materials into useful products: turning crude oil into petrol and plastics, turning milk into butter, cheese and powder, or processing biomaterials for body part replacements
- Altering chemical, biochemical or physical states to create value-added products, such as face creams, washing powder, processed foods, coatings, and more
- Managing, operating, and maintaining large-scale processes, such as drug manufacturing
These activities involve a sound knowledge of energy, raw materials, process chemistry and dynamics to achieve products, processes, and designs of the highest quality and efficiency. Our teaching philosophy also emphasises the shift from pollution prevention to clean technology.
Our Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering is home to a number of award-winning teaching staff, and affiliated with many of the University’s world-class research areas, groups, labs and experts, such as the Light Metals Research Centre and the Research Centre for Surface and Materials Science.

Postgraduate students in Chemical and Materials Engineering gain a deeper understanding of how things work, with the potential to develop new technologies.
Areas of interest include:
- Advanced and nanomaterials research, which involves in-depth studies into properties, performance, processing, microstructure, and industrial applications
- Chemical and process engineering, including aluminium smelting technology, heat exchange, iron and steel making, food processing, high-pressure sterilisation, and more
- Energy and the environment, including biodiesel, oil and gas processing, thermal management, air flow and heat transfer, and clean technologies
- Food and bioproduct processing, with a focus on value-added food products and cost-effective technologies
- Materials engineering, with studies in novel materials design, manufacturing and processing. Specialist areas are light metals, nanomaterials and biomaterials
- Separation and reaction engineering, specialising in green process engineering
- Surface and materials science, from the nano to large-scale