Chemical Engineering 120 introduces students to quantitative problem solving, engineering analysis, and the scope of the chemical industry. But what do they mean? What will you get out of taking ChE 120?

AN APPRECIATION FOR WHAT CHEMICAL ENGINEERS CAN DO.
Many freshman students are unsure of what chemical engineers "do." Through homework problems and written and oral reports, you will get a sense of the wide variety of career paths open to you. Engineering is an exciting and creative profession where the final "solutions" to problems depend on the interplay between science, economics, and oftentimes politics and public policy. I love being a chemical engineer, and I hope that I can pass some of this love and excitement on to you.

THE TOOLS YOU WILL NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN FUTURE ChE CLASSES AND IN THE WORKPLACE.
Sorry, but you cannot do all of these exciting things if you cannot write a mass balance. The calculations you will perform in this class may seem tedious, but the concepts of mass and energy conservation are very powerful. As we'll see, you can use the methods of analysis you learn in this class on a variety of systems (large-scale chemical processes, microscopic "packets" of fluid, the human body, etc.). At the end of the class, you will be armed with problem-solving techniques that will allow you to break down ANY complex problem. So, when confronted with a difficult problem, have no fear. Define your system, write down your balance equations, and press onwards, confident in the knowledge that you are a fabulous UMass-trained engineer!