Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

At Iowa State, biological engineering is either the application of chemical engineering to biological systems or the application of biochemistry to chemical engineering. For example, Jackie Shanks and her research group are using chemical engineering analyses to study plant metabolisms. In turn, these plants can be used to produce expensive pharmaceuticals less expensively or to remove toxic materials from soil using plants as a part of a chemical process. In this research, being able to think about a plant cell like a big chemical plant sheds great understanding.

Peter J. Reilly and his research group are studying enzymes that are useful in the food industry and alternative fuels. Chemical engineering concepts like reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and chemical transition states are just as important to studying enzymes as to designing a better petroleum catalyst. Thanks to his research, the enzymes that can make ethanol from the biorenewable agricultural wasteproducts will be better understood and utilized.

Brent Shanks is using his expertise from years in the petroleum industry to change the biorenewable fuels landscape. By designing catalysts to modify soybean oil, Shanks and his research group create biodiesel -- a substitute for diesel that is environmentally benign and can run in unmodified diesel engines. The research that Shanks is conducting could make this process not just environmentally, but also economically attractive.

Chuck Glatz is refining techniques to better "pharm" the land. By harvesting pharmaceuticals produced in modified plants, a farm is turned into a "pharm." Glatz uses his understanding of chemical separations to improve the purification of valuable proteins and other compounds from plants.

Surya Mallapragada and Balaji Narasimhan are each developing new bio-compatible polymers that could revolutionize the way that drugs are administered. Could you imagine taking one pill a month, instead of daily or hourly? Could you imagine a drug delivery system that could target only cancer? Both of these applications and many more are possible using the polymers that Mallapragada and Narasimhan are creating.

In the biotech age, chemical engineering is critical to expand the benefits of biotech research. The department of chemical and biological engineering at Iowa State allows students to take many courses to expand their knowledge of chemical engineering into the biochemical realm.  In the biotech age, you can be a part of shaping the future with a degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State University.