Chemical engineers have long played key roles in a diverse set of industries that include petroleum, food, pharmaceuticals, artificial fibers, petrochemicals, plastics and ceramics. In these areas, chemical engineers design and develop the processes for large-scale manufacturing that result in affordable products that are essential to our way of life. Chemical engineers are on the forefront of rapidly developing areas that include biotechnology and biomedicine, semiconductor manufacturing and data storage devices, and advanced materials with precisely-controlled microstructures. Chemical engineering is also widely applied to environmental protection and remediation, process safety, and hazardous waste management. The chemical engineering course of study at UNM offers broad training in the fundamentals of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and the engineering sciences. These are integrated with the chemical engineering core, which includes thermodynamics, heat, momentum, and mass transport, chemical reaction engineering, design, and process control.<br><br>Since biological and medical systems involve complex chemical and physical processes, chemical engineering is a natural professional background for bioengineering applications. Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary field that combines the tools and methods of engineering to address challenges in the health sciences and in basic research. Bioengineers strive to understand biological systems, from molecules to whole organisms, from a quantitative and analytical perspective. Because of this in-depth study, bioengineers are uniquely qualified to work at the interface between living and non-living systems, enhancing our ability to measure, image, repair, or replace physiological substances or processes. Training in bioengineering prepares students for graduate school or industry, and is an excellent preparation for professional programs (medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy). Career opportunities for bioengineers at the undergraduate level include the biosensor, pharmaceutical and medical device industries as well as positions in hospitals, federal labs, and environmental agencies.