Research activities in the department vary widely, covering most pressing areas in the chemical engineering field today. Examples of faculty research areas include nanotechnology, spin-based electronics, targeted drug delivery, molecular-level simulations for studying chemical reactions, materials separations using membranes and thin films, metals casting, magnetic-tape technology, synthesis of electronic materials, interfacial and transport phenomena, fluid mechanics, polymer science, pharmaceutical engineering, environmental remediation, biomass conversion, and simulation of the streams and bays of Alabama's coastal zone. Please use the following links to see details of each faculty member's activities.
Facilities
The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department office and the instructional and research facilities are housed mainly in the Tom Bevill Building. This $16 million facility was erected in 1989 to serve as the location for engineering research. In 1994, a $10 million addition was made to the building to house the academic programs of Chemical Engineering (which became Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2004) and of Metallurgical Engineering, including offices and institutional labs. The Bevill Building contains approximately 217,000 square feet of gross floor space of which 20,000 square feet are dedicated to the program in Chemical and Biological Engineering. Laboratories account for 150 of the 400 total rooms inside the building. Also housed there are high-tech conference rooms and classrooms. The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department also has 12,000 square feet of floor space in H. M. Comer Hall, located adjacent to the Bevill Building. Much of the department's unit operations lab space and storage space and the newly dedicated student lounge are located here.
Laboratories
Bevill hosts over 5,000 square feet of laboratory space that is utilized by the department. Most of the labs in Bevill are used for research, while most of the labs in Comer are used for CHE 319 - Basic Chemical Engineering Laboratory, and CHE 320 - Operations Laboratory. The contents of the lab space are summarized under Specialized Resources.
Classrooms
The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department maintains classrooms in both the Bevill Building and H. M. Comer Hall. Rooms A21 and A23 in Bevill and 253 in Comer are classrooms/conference rooms having a total of 1552 sq. ft. Room 162 Bevill is a 1000 sq. ft. multimedia classroom and conference room. Normally the department is able to schedule all of the necessary courses in these four rooms, but if extra space is needed, 204 Bevill may be reserved for a semester at the designated time for a specific class.