Addressing Global Challenges
Chemical engineering is addressing pressing challenges to advance society such as biomedicine, energy, security, and sustainability. Join an R1 research institution and work alongside accomplished faculty in the heart of Boston - a hub for biotech, medical institutions, high tech, and academia.
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Experiential Learning
Offering rigorous yet flexible academics and top-ranked experience-powered learning to develop the next-generation of chemical engineering leaders.
Academic Offerings
Interdisciplinary Research
Chemical engineering encompasses a broad range of cutting-edge research allowing them to work at the intersection of a variety of different fields, including biology, chemistry, energy, physics, materials science, and other engineering disciplines.
Hub of Innovation
Vibrant Community
From being in the heart of the city of Boston with industry and the world's top hospitals, to a range of active student organizations and a network of faculty, alumni, and industry professionals, the Department of Chemical Engineering offers a welcoming and exciting community.
Engaged Student GroupsSpotlight Stories
ARPA-E IGNIITE Award for Biofuel Innovation
ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston was selected as one of 18 awardees to receive $500K for his project “Combining aerobic and anaerobic metabolism in a single bioreactor for transformative biofuel production metrics from C1 feedstocks” as part of ARPA-E 2025 Inspiring Generations of New Innovators to Impact Technologies in Energy (IGNIITE) program.
Engineering in Action
Chemical Engineering Research Co-op in Switzerland
Chemical Engineering student Hannah Boyce shares her unique experience conducting research abroad at ETH Zurich, one of Europe’s leading biotech institutions.
PhD Research for Impact
With a dream of curing breast cancer, Chinedu Okorafor, PhD in chemical engineering, took full advantage of her Northeastern University curriculum and surrounding biotech centers in Boston. Northeastern’s interdisciplinary approach—sparking collaborations among the sciences—helped her chart her own course toward a degree with many possible rewarding applications.
Reaching Career Goals
For Haroon Bukhari, MS in chemical engineering, the Northeastern experience culminated in a co-op at Rogers Corporation, an innovator in engineered materials. Focusing on applications including electric vehicles, he’s already building a career toward making green technologies safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective.
World-Renowned Cooperative Education
Bradley Priem, BS in chemical engineering, had two co-ops that gave him the ability to delve into a particular industry. At Synlogic he was a bioanalytical chemist and bacterial engineer creating e-coli strains, and at bluebird bio he was an upstream process development engineer for gene production. He now knows he wants to go into the biotech industry and is interested in graduate school too.
Recent News
Patent for Next-Generation Light and Color Sensing Technology
ChE Affiliated Faculty Swastik Kar and ECE Associate Professor Sarah Ostadabbas were awarded a patent for “Device and method for color identification using multiple 2D material filters.”
ChE Research Featured on Cover of ACS Bio & Med Chem Au
Research conducted by chemical engineering student Jason Kantorow, PhD’27, on “Structural and Combinatorial Design Principles of Emerging Drug Carriers” was featured on the cover of ACS Bio & Med Chem Au.
Dedication and Passion Creating a Bridge Among Community, Computation, and Chemical Engineering
Jason Kantorow, PhD’28, chemical engineering, currently works as a graduate researcher at the SimBioSys Lab and COE Communications Lab at Northeastern. Kantorow has a passion for progress and accessibility within the scientific community and strives to enact this passion through his work as a chemical engineering researcher.
AIChE Outstanding Student Chapter Award
The Northeastern University student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) was selected to receive the Outstanding Student Chapter Award for the 2025 – 2026 school year.
