Welcome to Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo
The department's small class-sizes, engaging teaching practices, and hands-on learning in our state-of-the-art facilities empower our students to solve real-world problems.
The Department of Chemical Engineering is a vibrant center of collaborative research addressing some of the most pressing challenges in energy and materials. Our faculty members are engaged in a diverse array of research in areas such as machine learning and process systems engineering, CO2 capture and conversion, polymer engineering, renewable energy, synthetic biology, environmental remediation, and materials science that push the boundaries of innovation.
Find out more by exploring the programs, research and news stories on this site.
News
Shanghai Ranking Consultancy ranks UWaterloo ChE number one in Canada, in a tie with UofAlberta
The University of Waterloo’s Department of Chemical Engineering is tied for first in Canada with the University of Alberta's Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering in the 2020 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, released by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.
The Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, which also publishes the prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), is an independent organization dedicated to “research on higher education intelligence and consultation.” It has been using a transparent methodology and objective third-party data to rank and present the world’s top universities since 2003 and academic subjects since 2009.
The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects measures universities’ quality of education, faculty, research output and influence, as measured by citations.
CHE embraces remote teaching
When the coronavirus pandemic necessitated the closure of university campuses across Canada, the Department of Chemical Engineering quickly transitioned the last few weeks of classes online so students could finish their term from the safety of home. At the same time, our spring term instructors began adapting their lectures, which would begin in just a few short weeks, for online delivery. Now, with these experiences as a foundation, we are building upon our successes and incorporating the best aspects of remote teaching into our plans for future terms.
Park Reilly passes away in his one-hundredth year
Park Reilly, who taught in the Department of Chemical Engineering between 1967 and 1988 and continued taking on graduate students long after, has passed away in his 100th year.