Dear Prospective Undergraduate Student,

Welcome to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. It is Spring 2008, you may have received your letter of admission to our program and it is time to make a decision. Let me tell you a bit about our department, its majors and our commitment to your education.

The Department has 31 full time faculty members who serve as the cornerstone for our education and research programs. We offer four accredited undergraduate majors, biochemical engineering, chemical engineering, materials science and engineering and electrical engineering/materials science and engineering. (http://www.chms.ucdavis.edu/students/undergraduates/) This combination is unique in the state of California and the nation. Working in such an interdisciplinary environment places the student at the center of scholarship in fields of enormous importance to contemporary society – energy, biotechnology and nanotechnology. Our programs allow you to tailor your education and build an excellent gateway to your future.

During the course of your time at UC Davis, you will have the opportunity to participate in research that is at the leading edge of science and technology. Whether it is working in Prof. Tonya Kuhl’s group where modern principles and techniques of surface chemistry, physics, and biology are used to produce materials with superior properties for biomedical and engineering applications (http://www.chms.ucdavis.edu/research/web/kuhl/), studying fuel cells with Prof. Sangtae Kim (http://www.chms.ucdavis.edu/research/web/kim/), working on a new generation of solar cells with Prof. Adam Moulé (http://www.chms.ucdavis.edu/research/web/moule/moule.html), or working on a novel approaches to biofuel production with Profs. Block and Gates (http://www.chms.ucdavis.edu/research/web/catalysis/),  you are encouraged to work independently in our research laboratories. In many cases, these projects have led not just to a rich experience but also to publications in scientific journals, such as those from Prof. Faller’s group (http://www.chms.ucdavis.edu/research/web/faller/) on the effect of ethanol on lipid bilayers. I invite you to visit the individual home pages of the faculty to learn more about our research.

The commitment of the Department to education is amply demonstrated by the contributions of our faculty to the teaching of chemical engineering and materials science. What is arguably the most influential chemical engineering textbook ever written was authored by Joe Smith, the founder of the Department. His Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics was first published in 1949! It is currently in its seventh edition and continues to be used around the world. Jim Shackelford’s Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering, now in its sixth edition, is also a standard in the field. It has been translated into four languages and continues to be regularly updated. During his 39 year career at UC Davis, Professor Emeritus Steve Whitaker authored two widely used texts on fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Recently, Professor Ahmet Palazoglu  has co-authored a text, Introduction to Process Control. Professors Brian Higgins and Steve Whitaker have co-authored a textbook that they have made available on the web (http://www.higgins.ucdavis.edu/matbalance.html). A core idea of this approach is to have a text that can be linked with solutions to problems so that as the student “reads” the text, it is possible to see how to solve problems and interpret their solutions.

The most important facility of any department is its faculty. In Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, the faculty is deeply committed to teaching. Six of our faculty, Professors Kuhl, Mukherjee, Risbud, Shackelford, Stroeve and Whitaker, have received the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award. This is the highest award that other professors at UC Davis bestow on their colleagues. Across the entire UC Davis campus, no more than four of these are given annually. Professor Risbud is our most recent recipient of this award and was recently honored at an awards banquet. Professors Mukherjee and Munir have also received the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement, which is bestowed annually by the Chancellor. Just a few years ago, Prof. Jackman received the Engineering Alumni Teaching Award. This is an especially important award as it is based on the response of alumni to surveys about which faculty had the greatest influence on their careers. The recognition of the teaching done by our faculty does not stop at the edge of the campus. Professors Munir, Navrotsky, Risbud and Shackelford have all been recognized by the American Ceramic Society for their contributions to education in materials science. Professor Block was recently recognized by the Northern California chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for his outstanding teaching.

Faculty continue to innovate and provide an up-to-date curriculum. The programs of both chemical and biochemical engineering have recently been revised to expose the student to more modern materials. At the same time, the principal laboratories used by these two majors are being updated. For biochemical engineering, this is now complete and students have access to up-to-date experiments. For chemical engineering, faculty are engaged in a process of continual improvement. In materials science, laboratory renovation is also underway and there is an on-going process of revitalization to keep up with the latest discoveries.

The Department hosts the only departmentally – based honors programs at UC Davis. (http://www.ucdavis.edu/spotlight/1106/honors_chms.html) These are unique in the state and have no direct analogues at other institutions nationally. Top high school applicants in biochemical and chemical engineering are invited directly into the Honors Program. Besides a set of tailored classes, students in this program enjoy a number of privileges including priority registration, special library privileges, and transcript notation. (http://honors.ucdavis.edu/benefits.html). We hope to expand this special program in 2007 in order to make it available for incoming freshmen in materials science as well as all of the joint materials science majors.

Our commitment is to train you to be competitive in the global workplace. This involves not just curriculum innovation, but also a strong program of academic advising, counseling about opportunities after you complete your studies, building networks, and meaningful international study. The Department faculty advises students throughout their careers at Davis. Students are also encouraged to meet with our staff advisors on a regular basis to ensure that they remain on track to complete their studies in a timely fashion.

I am pleased that you have taken the time to visit our website in order to learn more about our Department. I hope that what you find will be helpful in your coming to a final decision. I also invite you to contact me for further information either by electronic mail (rlpowell@ucdavis.edu) or by phone (530-7562-5132) and, when you visit UC Davis, please be sure to schedule a visit to our Department. Our students provide the best evidence that our program is engaging, challenging and even a bit of fun! I invite you to meet with them and spend some time seeing how you will fit into the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science!

Robert L. Powell

Professor & Chair