<p>I was doing some preemptive research for grad schools and was checking out some ChemE departments that I might be interested in joining. One thing that really stuck out is how many professors are performing research that is heavily biology/biochemistry based such as engineering enzymes or genetic engineering. The thing is, a typical ChemE undergrad is likely to never touch a biochemistry course in their studies. So, why have so many ChemE departments taken up the task to perform research in these fields?</p>
<p>Because all those things are applications of thermodynamics, transport, and reaction kinetics which is the base of chemical engineering.</p>
<p>Because there’s tons of money in doing biomedical research. It’s a lot easier to do research when you aren’t spending all of your time writing grant proposals on unpopular topics that hardly get funded.</p>
<p>I’d be curious to know which ones strike you as particularly biology focused?</p>
<p>I’ve heard that the role of Biology in ChemE is increasing nowadays.</p>