Student Life

Perhaps the heart of chemical and biological engineering at Rensselaer is the Coonley Lounge (right) in the Ricketts Building. Here you will find students studying in between classes, or meeting with faculty and teaching assistants for course and lab discussions.

This environment is one reason that our undergraduate students tend to have more interactions with each other and with faculty than is typical of students in other disciplines or Universities.

Many undergraduates are active members of The Rensselaer Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The vibrant and active Chapter offers students the chance to participate in philanthropic, social, and professional events throughout the school year. Recently the Chapter hosted more than 100 students at the Northeast Regional Student Conference.

GSA: All graduate students are members of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), a formal organization within the department that elects officers and arranges social activities and in general promotes camaraderie among the graduate student body.

Research Opportunities for ALL students

Undergraduate Activities

Faculty research activities span a wide-range of topics in biotechnology, nanotechnology and advanced materials. Much of this research is interdisciplinary, involving collaborative efforts with faculty in chemistry, mathematics, biology, as well as biomedical and materials engineering. The breadth of chemical engineering allows us to speak many technical “languages” and interact with scientists and engineers from a variety of disciplines. Many of our undergraduate students collaborate with graduate students and faculty on undergraduate research projects (URP). Plus, our students participate in Rensselaer's Undergraduate Research Forum & Awards...and often win!

Graduate Activities

An exciting new development in our Department’s history is the expansion of our research enterprise into the new Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies Building. Several of the faculty and their research groups involved in biotechnology related research now have laboratories located in this state of the art facility with access to a wide range of equipment and resources. This is a one of a kind opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to be directly involved in cutting edge biotechnology research.