The chemical engineering profession has been pro-active in health, safety, and environment (HSE) activities through the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Chemical Manufacturer's Association, the American Petroleum Institute, and other organizations. Chemical engineers have designed many processes to reduce emissions from chemical and power plants, developed new processes for environmentally safe pulp and paper bleaching, reformulated paints and gasoline to reduce volatile organic compounds, developed alternative refrigerants to protect the ozone layer, designed catalytic converters for automobiles, re-designed plants to reduce energy consumption and thereby to reduce global warming. The processing industries have worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration to develop effective and efficient ways to improve the health of our people and of the environment through improved process design, modification of existing plants, life-cycle analysis, and providing technical advice to regulatory agencies.

At UNR, chemical engineering students learn to identify, analyze, and reduce risks in chemical processes. Design projects involve inherently safe design, energy recovery, and pollution prevention techniques, and some students have worked on senior thesis projects in pollution prevention.  Electives courses in health, safety, and environment are available, internships often involve projects geared towards environmental protection, and permanent employment opportunities for chemical engineers in government and industry often focus on environmental engineering. Graduate research opportunities at UNR include developing techniques to reduce emissions from power plants and to reduce or eliminate hazardous releases from chemical plants.
 

Option in Environmental Engineering