Chemical and Paper Engineering

William Rantz, Interim Chair
Main Office: A-217 CEAS (Parkview Campus)
Telephone: (269) 276-3500
Fax: (269) 276-3501

Said Abubakr
Raja G. Aravamuthan
Paul D. Fleming
Margaret Joyce
Thomas W. Joyce
Andrew Kline
Lois Lemon
Andro Mondala
Alexandra Pekarovicova
Kalyana C. Pingali
Dewei Qi
James Springstead
Brian Young

The Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering, and Imaging offers three B.S. programs (paper engineering, paper science, chemical engineering, and graphic and printing science), an M.S. program, and a Ph.D. program in Paper and Printing Science, which provide extensive scientific and technical education. In addition, the department offers an M.S. program in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. program in Engineering. These programs prepare graduates for professional employment in research and development, manufacturing, process engineering, marketing, and management. The paper program focuses on pulp, paper, environmental, and allied fields. The graphic and printing science program emphasizes printing science, prepress operations, inks, and related fields. The chemical engineering program focuses on the chemical process industries, with emphasis on energy management, life sciences, pollution prevention, and pulp and paper.

The Accelerated Master’s Degree Program (ADP) in Paper and Printing Science in the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering (ChP) allows undergraduate students an opportunity to complete the requirements for both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees at an accelerated pace. These undergraduate students may count up to 12 (but not less than 6) credit hours of 5000/6000-level courses taken during their undergraduate studies at WMU toward a Master of Science in Paper and Printing Science within 24 months of completing their bachelor’s degree in paper engineering (emphasis is paper engineering); chemical engineering ( emphasis in pulp & paper), or graphic and printing science. These students may choose to pursue a Master of Science in Paper and Printing Science degree under either the thesis option or the non-thesis option, which will allow them to complete an ADP degree by completing combined graduate and undergraduate credit hours.

Academic Advising

Students should contact the Chemical and Paper Engineering academic advisors as early as possible. An advisor is available to assist in individual program planning, recommend electives appropriate to a student’s educational objectives, discuss employment opportunities, and to help solve academic problems. Substitutions and transfer credit must be approved by a departmental advisor. The academic advisor for Chemical Engineering is Dr. Raja Aravamuthan. The academic advisor for Paper Engineering and Graphic and Printing Science is Dr. Alexandra Pekarovicova. Appointments can be made by calling the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Advising Office at (269) 276-3270 or by accessing the web at www.ceas.wmich.edu/west.

Work Experience

Industrial experience is encouraged through employment by paper, chemical processing, printing, or related companies for at least one of the three summers, as well as through employment in the outstanding pilot plants. The pilot plants and laboratory facilities are among the best in the world. In addition, co-op experience through a contiguous academic semester is encouraged. The department assists the students in obtaining summer internships as it is a required curricular component in three of the four programs. Industrial internship is a required part of the curriculum in Paper Engineering, Paper Science and Graphic and Printing Science programs. It is provided with elective credits in the Chemical Engineering program.

Additional Information

General information regarding advising, scholarships, and special programs of interest to students in this department may be found in the beginning of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ section of this catalog.

Students graduating with a major or minor in any of the departmental programs, must earn a grade of “C” or better in all CHEG and GPS and PAPR prefixed prerequisite courses or their equivalent.