About This Department

The Missouri School of Mines had a curriculum in chemical engineering as early as 1889, but students were awarded the degree of bachelor of philosophy or the mining engineering degree for the work they did in chemistry. In 1893, chemistry and metallurgy were separated and a depart­ment of chemistry was formed. The department of chemical engineering was established in 1915 as a session in the department of chemistry and in 1917 the first degree in chemical engi­neering was conferred. In 1960, the name of the department was changed to the department of chemistry and chemical engineering. In 1964, the chemical engineering section was separated from the chemistry section, and the two became independent departments. In 2003, the department of chemical engineering was renamed the department of chemical and biological engineering. In 2012 the department name was changed to, what is now known as, the department of chemical and bio­chemical engineering.