The University of Arizona has a long and distinguished record in engineering education and research. Programs in chemical engineering have been offered here since 1956 and in environmental engineering since 1969. The two programs united within the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering in 1994 to take advantage of synergistic activities. The merger has also facilitated a tremendous increase in research collaboration between environmental and chemical engineers.
The department houses the Semiconductor Research Corporation/SEMATECH Engineering Research Center on Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing (ERC), led by Regents Professor Farhang Shadman. This is the only Semiconductor Research Corporation Engineering Research Center in the state of Arizona. The ERC houses research currently being conducted by Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Optical Sciences, Material Science and Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Water Resources Center, as well as at Arizona State University, Columbia University, Cornell, MIT, Purdue, Stanford University, Tufts and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The ERC brings great visibility and prestige to the home institution, The University of Arizona.
ChEE faculty members play other major roles in interdisciplinary research, especially with the bio-related units in the university. Faculty members collaborate with the Superfund Research Center, housed in Pharmacology and Toxicology and with the Agricultural and Bio-Systems Department.
Accordingly, the Department has concentrated its resources to strengthen its focus on excellencein three main focus areas, namely:
