Chemical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University is a challenging but rewarding program that prepares students for a variety of exciting careers! Approximately 80% of the Chemical Engineering students at Louisiana Tech go directly into industry, and approximately 20% go to graduate or professional school to get their Ph.D., Law Degree, etc. Over 25% of the 114 companies that came for the Spring 2008 Career Fair at Louisiana Tech were looking for Chemical Engineers – many companies with multiple open positions for Chemical Engineers (http://www.latech.edu/careercenter/career_days.shtml).

We have averaged about 24 graduates per year over the last five years, with approximately 25% of our majors female. Our faculty size allows us to get to know each student personally while providing an excellent educational experience.

Chemical engineers with a BS degree are among the highest paid of any engineering discipline $59,707 was the national average salary for students graduating with a BS in Chemical Engineering in the US in 2007. Chemical engineers at Louisiana Tech University enjoyed a starting salary 9% higher than the national average in 2007.  2008 has been another phenomenal year - 100% placement of our graduates with an average starting salary 10% higher than the national average for chemical engineers at other institutions (over 50% of our graduates had offers before Fall classes started from their co-op and summer internship experiences).

Chemical Engineers are working today to solve the greatest technical challenges of our society:

• Energy – Chemical Engineers are working to solve our current needs in oil and gas, both upstream and downstream. Chemical engineers are also working in the laboratory to develop new technologies for tomorrow’s energy solutions in areas such as bioenergy, fuel cells, and solar energy.

• Information Technology – Electrical engineers design the latest computer chips, but chemical engineers do most of the processing to actually produce these devices.

• Health Care – Chemical engineers are instrumental in the scale-up and manufacturing of new and existing pharmaceuticals developed with the help of Ph.D. chemists and medical doctors.

Chemical Engineering faculty at Louisiana Tech University have experimental research projects in Nanotechnology and Biofuels, along with computational research projects utilizing some of the most powerful computers in the state (and highly ranked in the nation!). Interested in learning more about the Chemical Engineering Program at Louisiana Tech University? Interested in scheduling an on-campus visit? Contact Dr. James Palmer, Program Chair of Chemical Engineering at jpalmer@latech.edu or 318-257-2885.