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
Where ideas become impact: showcasing this year’s award winning Capstone innovations
Each year, the Capstone Design Symposium stands as a defining milestone for our graduating students, marking the moment when years of study, experimentation, and hands‑on learning culminate in original engineering solutions.
This year’s graduating class identified meaningful problems, developed innovative approaches, and created their projects under the guidance of instructors, mentors, and industry partners.
Students tackled challenges as diverse as designing environmentally friendly glitter for cosmetics that avoids the microplastics found in most commercial products to developing early fault detection systems for lithium‑ion batteries to improve safety and reliability.
This year there were eight winning teams. Group 1 won the Bhattacharyya Capstone Design Award, valued at up to $3,000. This award is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Dilip and Mrs. Manjusha Bhattacharyya.
Teaching tomorrow’s engineers in greener labs
The Department of Chemical Engineering continues to advance its role as leader in sustainability, pioneering innovative solutions to reduce its carbon footprint.
Demonstrating a steadfast commitment to sustainablility teaching and practice, the Department of Chemical Engineering achieves Green Lab Gold Certification of its undergraduate teaching labs in the Douglas Wright Engineering Building (DWE).
The labs earned Green Lab Gold Certification for the second year in a row, with a higher score than last year!
It’s clear that sustainability is more than a buzzword for the department; the certification demonstrates the department’s focus on sustainability as an integral part of how experiential learning is designed and delivered.
“I am thrilled to see the work from Chemical Engineering to integrate sustainability into labs. Labs are areas of high resource intensity and environmental impact, and the team has identified meaningful activities for operational improvement,” says Mat Thijssen, Director of Sustainability at the University of Waterloo.
Moving towards long-term sustainability for critical minerals
Professors Luis Ricardez-Sandoval and Pascal Poupart received $480K from the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and MITACS to design reinforcement learning tools for rare earth element (REE) recycling. The four-year interdisciplinary project between the Department of Chemical Engineering and Cheriton School of Computer Science will use reinforcement learning (RL) to design more efficient, sustainable recycling systems for REEs.
RREs are essential to global economies and used in a wide range of high-tech applications. They are used in the electronics, clean energy, aerospace, automotive, and defence industries to create products like cell phones, computers, batteries, MRI machines, jet craft, lasers, LEDs and more.
Canada is invested in being a global leader in critical‑mineral recycling and leveraging its resources to strengthen national security and promote economic growth. As demand for batteries, semiconductors, and clean‑energy technologies accelerates, Canada is looking beyond traditional mining.
“Eventually we’re going to run out of those mining resources, and we will need to recycle rare earth elements using advanced systems that can reduce waste, capital expenses and energy consumption,” says Ricardez-Sandoval, Director of the Chemical Process Optimization, Multiscale Modelling and Process Systems Group
Events
PhD Defence/Halide and Sulfide Solid Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Batteries: Structure and Interface Engineering by Lanting Qian
All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) are widely regarded as a promising next-generation energy-storage technology due to their potential to deliver enhanced safety, higher energy density, and improved compatibility with high-voltage electrode materials. This thesis focuses on the design, structural elucidation, and interfacial engineering of halide and sulfide solid electrolytes for high-voltage ASSBs, with particular emphasis on understanding how crystallographic disorder and chemical modification influence lithium-ion transport and interfacial stability. A comprehensive suite of experimental and computational techniques—including synchrotron and neutron diffraction, total scattering and pair distribution function analysis, electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopies, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), electrochemical characterization, and first-principles calculations—is employed to establish robust structure–property–interface relationships.
PhD Comprehensive/Structure-Processing-Function Relationships in Aqueous-Processed Highly Conductive Hybrid Materials by Hossein Ipakchi
Structure-Processing-Function Relationships in
Aqueous-Processed Highly Conductive Hybrid Materials
Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series
Denitrification is a vital microbial process within the nitrogen cycle, where nitrate (NO3⁻) is reduced to nitrogen gas (N2), thereby alleviating nitrogen pollution in aquatic environments. Traditionally, organic carbon sources have been recognized as the primary electron donors for denitrification. However, recent research has underscored the significance of sulfur compounds as alternative electron donors, especially in settings where organic carbon is scarce. The current paradigm acknowledges the coexistence of heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrifiers in completing the denitrification pathway.
Facultative sulfur-driven denitrification represents an innovative biological process that integrates sulfide oxidation with denitrification, providing a dual solution for wastewater treatment. This process leverages specific heterotrophic bacteria capable of oxidizing sulfide while concurrently reducing nitrates, effectively eliminating both sulfide and nitrogen compounds from wastewater. The facultative nature of these bacteria enables them to adapt to fluctuating oxygen levels, thereby enhancing the process's flexibility and efficiency. This presentation will delve into recent advancements in facultative sulfur-driven denitrification, with a focus on its application in engineered systems such as wastewater treatment plants and bioreactors. By exploring the mechanisms and benefits of this process, we aim to highlight its potential for improving wastewater management and contributing to sustainable environmental practices.