Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Answer: The Chemical Engineering programme educates engineers to design, develop, and operate chemical processes by which chemicals, petroleum products, food, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods can be produced economically and safely. Products and processes must be environmentally friendly and safe. Chemical processes involve the use of chemical reactions, separations and biological phenomena to produce more useful and valuable products.

Chemical Engineering students study changes in the composition, energy content or state of aggregation of materials taking into consideration the fundamentals of the nature of matter and its properties (chemistry), similar aspects of biological and biomolecular materials (biology), the forces that act on matter (physics), and the relationships between them (mathematics). Chemical Engineering differs from chemistry in its emphasis on commercial applications of chemical reactions and separations and techniques for designing, operating, and controlling processes.

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Q4. What is biomolecular engineering and how does the Chemical Engineering programme prepare one in biomolecular engineering?

Answer: Biomolecular engineering represents education and research at the interface between chemical engineering and biological & life sciences. The term “biomolecular” emphasises the focus at the molecular level, either to manipulate or synthesize biological molecules with special functionalities or to relate the molecular-level properties to macroscopic and commercial aspects, which is a unique strength of chemical engineers. Biomolecular engineering will address our needs in bio/pharmaceutical industries and biomedical industries. The Chemical Engineering programme combines its traditional expertise in scaling up molecular level phenomena to large scale processes with the emerging needs in biological and life sciences and biomedicine to prepare students for the bioprocessing and biomedical fields.

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Answer: While biomolecular engineering focuses on the chemistry and engineering of biological system at the molecular level, bioengineering broadens the study of engineering to medicine and healthcare with knowledge related to the human body. Combining with the traditional chemical engineering expertise, biomolecular engineers will be able to scale-up the processes from the molecular level phenomena and then operate them. They can also pursue further studies and research in tissue engineering, drug delivery etc. Bioengineering graduates often find their employments in healthcare and biomedical industries, whereas biomolecular engineers are employed as process engineers in biochemical and pharmaceutical companies.

At NUS, students in the Chemical Engineering programme can choose to specialize in biomolecular engineering by completing specified technical electives and the final year research project in the biomolecular engineering area.

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Answer: The specialisations available for Chemical Engineering students are: Biomolecular Engineering, Microelectronics Processing and Process Systems Engineering. A student may choose to specialise in one of these by taking four technical electives from the specified basket of electives and the Dissertation (Research Project) in the specialisation area. The degree awarded is B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering whereas the department is known as Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering because of research and specialization in several areas including biomolecular engineering in the department.

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Answer: The B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering) degree at the NUS has received accreditation at M.Eng. level from the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), UK for many years in the past. It is now accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB) of Singapore. EAB is a full member of Washington Accord, which makes our degree recognized by all members of this accord. In addition, the programme is so well-recognized internationally that many US and European universities have sought student exchange programmes and collaborations. For example, the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at NUS is the only Asian university with which the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (one of the top-5 engineering faculties in USA) has established joint programmes.

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Answer: Chemical engineers may be employed in private industries, consulting firms or government agencies. The employment survey of our graduates in the past few years show that they are employed in many sectors which include (a) Oil-related Industry and Petrochemicals, (b) Semiconductor/Electronic Industry, (c) Chemical Industry, (d) Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Science, (e) Engineering Design and Consultancy, (f) Research Institutes/Centers, (g) Government/Statutory Board, (h) Educational Institutes, (i) Environmental/SHE Technology, (j) Financial Institutions etc. About 10-15% of our graduates are going for further education, either locally or to overseas universities.

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Answer: The petroleum/energy and chemical industry is a key pillar of Singapore’s economy being the largest contributor to the country’s manufacturing output since 2006. As one of the world’s leading chemical hubs, Singapore has attracted a plethora of global industry players to set up operations here. These include companies like Eastman, ExxonMobil, Shell and Sumitomo. Supported by the government's commitment to the development of the industry, the chemical sector is expected to grow substantially in both size and sophistication. In 2008, output from the chemical industry (which includes petroleum refining, petrochemicals, specialty and industrial chemicals) grew to S$97 billion.

Singapore has been the world's third largest refining centre. This refining capability has provided the impetus for the development of the petrochemical and specialty chemical industries. Coupled with this is Singapore's aim to be a world-class hub for the petroleum and petrochemical industries. Hence, the government has reclaimed a total of more than 2650 hectares of land from the sea as Jurong Island, linking seven islands on which chemical companies and oil-refineries are already located. Jurong Island is now in the world’s top 10 petrochemical hubs. In addition, 9 of the world’s top 10 control & automation companies have offices in Singapore.

With its world-class infrastructure, the government's commitment to the development of the chemical industry and a location in the heart of the world's fastest growing region, Singapore is poised to play an important role in the world's chemical economy. As Asia becomes an increasingly important consumer of chemical products, Singapore remains a strategic base for companies looking to invest in Asia for the long run.

On the biomolecular front, recent investments in biopharmaceutical industry and biological manufacturing capabilities in the Tuas Biomedical Park have significantly boosted the contribution of this sector to the Singapore economy.  Singapore’s vision is to be the Biopolis of Asia, a leading international biomedical sciences cluster advancing human health by achieving excellence across the entire value chain. The Government has invested in more than S$5 billion in building up industrial, human and intellectual capital thus far, and remains fully committed to developing this sector.

Read the article “Chemical engineering: a diverse profession” on pages 38 to 40 at http://www.ies.org.sg/publication/se/jan13.pdf

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Answer: The employment survey of 2011 graduates showed an average gross monthly salary of $3,286 for fresh chemical engineers in Singapore.

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Answer: For more info, please visit our department website at http://www.chbe.nus.edu.sg. Also, browse the website http://www.whynotchemeng.com to learn about Chemical Engineering including future prospects and careers.

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