The Department of Chemical Engineering was established in 1966. The mission of the Department is to promote high-quality teaching and research activities in the field of chemical engineering to the benefit of industry and of the engineering infrastructure of Israel.
The Department offers B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering. The current academic staff consists of 11 full-time tenured members.
The four-year undergraduate program consists of:
* Courses in the natural sciences – Mathematics; Physics; and Chemistry
* Core courses in chemical engineering – Mass and heat balance; Thermodynamics; Fundamentals of momentum; Heat and mass transfer; Computation in chemical engineering; Design and analysis of reactors; Separation processes in chemical engineering; Process dynamics and control; Process design and engineering project; undergraduate research project.
* Laboratory courses – Unit operations in chemical engineering; Process control; and Biochemical.
* Specialization tracks courses- Elective courses, organized into two tracks (offered from the third year of study) – Processes and Advanced Materials, and Biotechnology.
For distinguished students from all specialization tracks the department offer research project in place of three elective courses.
Four years ago, the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Chemistry launched a joint undergraduate program with emphasis on nanotechnology. The students in this program are exposed to both the engineering and chemistry worlds, and they obtain B.Sc. degree from both departments.
The Department of Chemical Engineering has an active program leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. The main aim of the program is to educate high-quality graduate students, who will be qualified to lead research & development in the chemical industry in the future. Graduate studies include advanced courses, which are offered for both M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. The graduate research project constitutes the central part of the graduate program and is conducted under the supervision of a staff member of the Department.
The academic staff, together with their the graduate students and research staff, conduct experimental and theoretical research projects, which are at the forefront of a variety of advanced chemical engineering fields.
The main current research areas of the Department are: Catalysis and reaction engineering; Polymeric materials science and engineering; Biotechnology and bio-medical engineering; Bio-Physics of the cell; Nanoscience and nanotechnology; Mesoscale macromolecular engineering interfaces in soft and condensed matter; Pollution prevention and waste treatment; Numerical methods and process simulation; Thermodynamics of multi-component systems; Separation technology; Supercritical fluid extraction and drying; Crystallization; Membranes; Energy storage and fuel cells; Heat and mass transfer; and Pyroelectricity.
The Department of Chemical Engineering has an excellent record in research funding from various national and international sources, which is an indication of the global recognition of the strength and creativity of its research programs. Many staff members were engaged in establishing—and currently are active in—the following interdisciplinary centers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev:
The Blechner Center for Industrial Catalysis and Process Development,
The Reimund Stadler Minerva Center for Mesoscale Macromolecular Engineering, and
The Ilse Katz Center for Nano-Science
