Opportunities and challenges for a Golden Age of chemical engineering

Chemical engineering is entering a new Golden Age of practice, thought, and impact, accompanied by great new opportunities and challenges. Five aspects mark this development: a new abundance of hydrocarbons; the evolution of biology into a molecular science; the ubiquity of powerful computational tools; the trend in manufacturing to be more process-oriented; and the systems approach that is part of ChE education from its first stages. There are important technical challenges, including technology creation and environmental impact, but just as important are new appreciation for and attention to challenges that require societal dialogues about complexity, uncertainty, and evolving and sometimes contradictory requirements. Crucial to all these impacts is enhancing the identity of what the profession is. That must be based on recognizing that the core of chemical engineering is applying molecular sciences to create value and advance the quality of life.