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ChE curriculum

Teaching Reaction Engineering

Using the Attainable Region

Matthew J. Metzger, Benjamin J. Glasser

Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ 08854
David Glasser, Brendon Hausberger, and Diane Hildebrandt

University of the Witwatersrand WITS, 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
sk a graduating chemical engineering student the fol-
lowing question: What makes one reactor different
Matthew Metzger is pursuing his Ph.D. at Rutgers University. He received
his B.S. from Lafayette College and spent two summers working with the
from the next? The answers received will often be chemical engineering department at the University of the Witwatersrand.
unsatisfactory and vary widely in scope. Some may cite the His interests lie in applying the attainable region approach to particle
processing in the pharmaceutical field.
difference between the basic design equations, others may
point out a PFR is longer, and still others may state that it Benjamin J. Glasser is an associate professor of chemical and bio-
chemical engineering at Rutgers University. He has earned degrees in
all depends on the particular reaction network. Though these chemical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand (B.S.,
answers do possess a bit of truth, they do not capture the true M.S.) and Princeton University (Ph.D.). His research interests include
difference between reactors: the degree of mixing achieved.
granular flows, gas-particle flows, multiphase reactors, and nonlinear
dynamics of transport processes.
This is the inherent difficulty with teaching chemical reaction
engineering. The students learn the technical skills required Diane Hildebrandt is the co-founder of COMPS at the University of
the Witwatersrand. She received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the
to perform the calculations to determine maximum yields and University of the Witwatersrand, and currently leads the academic and
shortest space-times, but very rarely are they able to grasp and consultant research teams at the university. She has published more than
50 refereed-journal articles on topics ranging from process synthesis to
thoroughly understand the theory and underlying differences thermodynamics.
between reactors.[1] Often, too much time is devoted to tedious
and involved calculations to determine the correct answer on
Brendon Hausberger is a director at the Centre of Material and Process
Synthesis (COMPS) at the University of the Witwatersrand. He received
homework instead of focusing on the concepts to enforce the his B.S. and Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand, and is cur-
benefits offered by each reactor presented. rently overseeing the launch of Fischer-Tropschs plants in both China
and Australia.
Reactor network optimization is traditionally not covered
David Glasser is a director of the Centre of Material and Process Syn-
in any depth at the undergraduate level.[2-4] The way reactor thesis at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is acknowledged as a
network optimization is traditionally taught to graduate stu- world-leading researcher in the field of reactor and process optimization,
dents often involves large numbers of coupled equations that
and is a NRF A1 rated researcher. His extensive publication record and
research areas extend from reactor design and optimization to distillation
can sometimes hide the final goal of the analysis. Attempts and process optimization and intensification.

Copyright ChE Division of ASEE 2007

258 Chemical Engineering Education

to simplify the situation, such as Levenspiels graphical possible reactor configurations. One of its advantages over
analysis,[4] do offer some benefit, however their applicability previous approaches is the elimination of laborious and
is limited as they can readily only optimize simple reaction counter-productive trial and error calculations. The focus
problems. For chemical engineers, it is paramount to know is on determining all possible outlet concentrations, regard-
the most promising solution to a real problem in the shortest less of the reactor configuration, rather than on examining a
amount of time, and rarely is this accomplished with the cur- single concentration from a single reactor. Approaching the
rent teaching methods for reactor network optimization. problem from this direction ensures that all reactor systems
Presented here is an approach that addresses the challenges are included in the analysis, removing the reliance on the
presented above. The attainable region (AR) approach is a users imagination to create reactor structures. Also, for lower
powerful research technique that has been applied to optimi- dimensional problems often studied in the undergraduate
zation of reactor networks. It is also a powerful teaching
[5-7] courses, the final solution can be represented in a clear and
tool that focuses on the fundamental processes involved in intuitive graphical form. From this graphical representation,
a system, rather than the unit operations themselves. It has the optimal process flow sheet can be read directly. In addi-
been used to introduce undergraduate and graduate students tion, once the universal region of attainable concentrations
to complex reactor network optimization in a short time, with is known, applying new objective functions on the reactor
little to no additional calculations required. system is effortless. No further calculations are required,
and the optimal values can be read directly from the graph.
Background Finally, this general tool can be applied to
any problem whose basic operation can be
The generic approach to complex reac- broken down into fundamental processes,
The AR analysis method
tor design and optimization is to build on including isothermal and nonisothermal reac-
previous experience and knowledge to test has been presented in
undergraduate courses, to tor network synthesis,[5, 12] optimal control,[13]
a new reactor configuration against the combined reaction and separation,[14-16] com-
previous champion that yielded the best industrial audiences, and in
minution, [17, 18]
and others. Process synthesis
result.[8] If a new maximum is achieved, the masters courses at the Uni- and design usefulness are aided greatly by
reactor configuration and process settings versity of the Witwatersrand this alternative approach.
are kept. If not, the previous solution is
in South Africa, as well as, The AR analysis method has been pre-
retained and the entire process is repeated.
The biggest issue with this trial and error more recently, as an alterna- sented in undergraduate courses, to indus-
approach is the time it takes. Also, there tive to traditional complex trial audiences, and in masters courses
is no way to know if all possible com- reactor design in a graduate at the University of the Witwatersrand in
binations of operational parameters and reaction engineering course South Africa, as well as, more recently, as
reactors have been tested. In addition, an alternative to traditional complex reactor
at Rutgers University.
calculations are normally exhausting and design in a graduate reaction engineering
general computational techniques are dif- course at Rutgers University. The overall
ficult to develop due to the specificity of response from the audiences has been fa-
each arrangement. Over time, this mechanism has evolved vorable, and it is the intention of the authors to discuss the
into a set of design heuristics that dominate decision processes benefits this approach offers to the field of reaction engineer-
throughout industry.[9] ing. To aid with teaching/learning, a detailed attainable region
Web site has been set up and the address is given at the end
Achenie and Biegler[10] model a reactor superstructure of this article.
using a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP),
which transforms the task into an optimal control problem. In this paper we will first introduce a moderately chal-
Again, this approach is useful if the optimal reactor network lenging reaction engineering problem. Next, the AR analy-
is known, but it does not address the issue of choosing the sis will be illustrated by solving the presented problem.
optimal reactor network. Finally, the teaching strategy adopted by both institutions
will be presented.
Horn[11] defines the AR as the region in the stoichiometric
subspace that could be reached by any possible reactor sys- Problem Statement
tem. Furthermore, if any point in this subspace were used as
the feed to another system of reactors, the output from this The following liquid phase, constant density, isothermal
system would also exist within the same AR. This framework reaction network will be used to illustrate the AR approach.
approaches reactor design and optimization in a simpler, k1
AB k 3
C (1)
easier, and more robust manner. It offers a systematic a priori k2
approach to determining the ideal reactor configuration based
2 A k 4
D (2 )
upon identifying all possible output concentrations from all
Vol. 41, No. 4, Fall 2007 259
The initial characteristics of the reaction network are shown a feed of pure A. These reaction kinetics were used because
in Table 1. The end goal of this exercise is to determine the they represent a reaction network without an intuitively obvi-
reactor configuration that maximizes the production of B for ous optimal structure. A PFR will maximize the amount of B
produced in the first reaction, but a CSTR will minimize the
Table 1 amount of A consumed in the second reaction.
Reaction Network Constants and Initial Concentrations

C0A C0B CC0 C0D Solution

1 kmol m-3 0 kmol m-3 0 kmol m-3 0 kmol m-3 Determining the candidate attainable region for this reaction
k1 k2 k3 k4 scheme involves the completion of the following simplified
steps: selecting the fundamental processes, choosing the state
0.01 s -1
5s -1
10 s -1
100 m3
Figure 1 kmol-1 s-1 variables, defining and drawing the process vectors, construct-
ing the region, interpreting the boundary as the process flow
(a) 1.2 12 sheet, and finding the optimum.
1 10 I. Choose the Fundamental Processes
CA (kmol/m3)

CB105 (kmol/m3)
0.8 8 In this particular example, the fundamental processes are
0.6 6
reaction and mixing. Let us first look at mixing. There are two
limits on mixing in a reactor: a plug flow reactor, in which
0.4 `
4 a slug of fluid does not experience any axial mixing along
0.2 2 the reactor length, and a continuously stirred tank reactor, in
0 0 which each volume element experiences complete mixing.
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 Before moving further into the analysis, it is useful to deter-
Space Time (s) mine the dependence of species concentrations on space-time
in these two environments. For a PFR, this is determined by
(b) 1.2 12 numerically solving the mass balances in Eqs. (3)-(6), giving
1 10 the concentration profiles of CA and CB in Fig. 1(a).
CB105 (kmol/m3)
CA (kmol/m3)

dC A
0.8 8 = k1C A + k 2 CB k 4 C2A ( 3)
0.6 6
0.4 4 = k1C A k 2 CB k 3CB (4 )

0.2 2 dCC
= k 3C B (5 )
0 0 d
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 dCD
Space Time (s) = k 4 C2A (6 )
Figure 1. Concentration as a function of space-time Similarly, the set of mass balances in Eqs. (7)-(10) can be
in a PFR (a) and CSTR (b). Note that profiles for
Figure 2
solved to give the locus for a CSTR as is varied, provided
CC and CD are not shown. in Fig. 1(b).
12 C A C0A = (k1C A + k 2 CB k 4 C2A ) (7)
CB10 (kmol/m )


10 (W) CB C0B = (k1C A k 2 CB k 3CB ) (8 )

8 C C C = ( k 3C B )
(9 )
6 (K)
CD C = (k 4 C
A ) (10 )

O In Eqs. (3)-(10), Ci represents the concentration of species i,
0 C0i represents the feed concentration of species i, is the space-
time of the reactor, and kj represents the rate of reaction j. Figure
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1 only shows the profiles for CA and CB because, as will be
CA (kmol/m3) explained shortly, CC and CD do not influence the determina-
Figure 2. State-Space diagram. Point O represents the tion of the AR.
feed point. Point X represents an arbitrary CSTR effluent II. Choose the State Variables
point. The diagram on the top right is a PFR representing
the PFR profile, (J). The diagram in the bottom left is a The state variables for this example are CA and CB. CB is a
CSTR representing the CSTR locus, (K). state variable because it is the value that we wish to optimize.
260 Chemical Engineering Education
Figure 3

CA is a state variable because, looking at the right-hand side 12 CSTR locus

of Eqs. (3)-(10), the behavior of CB is entirely dependent on CSTR Rate Vector
10 X
the change in CA. Note that is not a state variable because

CB10 (kmol/m )
PFR Rate Vector
it is the independent variable in the system. 8 Mixing Rate Vector

Now that the state variables are known, a state-space or 6

phase-space diagram[19] (Figure 2) can be created showing

the autonomous relation between CA and CB. First, we must
do this for the PFR using the data in Figure 1(a). Figure 1(a) 2 O
shows CA and CB as a function of , so for any given we 0
can determine a CA, CB pair, which allows us to plot curve (J) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
(solid line) in Figure 2. For example, the point W in Figure 2 CA (kmol/m3)
corresponds to CA = 3.8110-2 kmol/m3 and CB = 3.9510-5
kmol/m3, and can be traced back to = 0.25 seconds in Figure Figure 3. Rate vectors of the fundamental processes in-
volved in the example. The CSTR rate vector points from
1(a). The same can be done for the data in Figure 1(b) for the
the feed point, O, to the particular effluent point, T. The
CSTR that leads to curve (K) (dashed line) in Figure 2. While PFR rate vector is tangent to the current concentration.
space-time is not explicitly shown in Figure 2, the relevant The mixing rate vector is a straight line pointing
space-time to achieve a given concentration can always be Figure 4
from the current state to the added state.
obtained from Figure 1 (or an equivalent figure). A candidate
for the attainable region (ARC) is identified as the union of

CB105 (kmol/m3)
the regions contained under both curves. PFR
III. Define and Draw the Process Vectors X CSTR
10 Mixing
A process vector gives the instantaneous change in system ( J)
(K) (L)
state caused by that fundamental process occurring. For ex- 5
ample, if only reaction is occurring, the reaction vector, r[CA, O
CB], will give the instantaneous direction and magnitude of 0
change from the current concentration position. For mixing, (b)
this vector gives the divergence from the current state, c, 15
CB10 (kmol/m )

based upon the added state, c*, or v(c, c*) = c* c. T is some


arbitrary effluent concentration from a CSTR shown strictly 10 X
for demonstration purposes. (J)
(K) (L)
The vectors can be graphically represented by considering 5

curve (K) for the CSTR in Figure 2. This is replotted in Figure O

3 along with the direction of each rate vector. The CSTR rate 0
vector (OT) is co-linear with the feed and effluent concentra- (c)
tions, and the mixing vector (OX) linearly connects the current 15
CB10 (kmol/m )


state with the added state. The resulting mixed state lies on X
the mixing line and its position can be determined from the 10 PFR CSTR with
Lever Arm Rule. One can also consider a PFR rate vector (L)
which originates at the current concentration and is tangent 5

to the curve (see Figure 3). O

IV. Constructing the Region
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
To construct the region, the process vector guidelines from CA (kmol/m3)
the previous step are applied to the state-space diagram (Fig-
ure 2). The idea is to draw process vectors to extend the current
ARC. We begin the analysis by examining mixing.
Starting at a generic point X on the boundary of curve (K) CSTR with Bypass in series with a PFR
in Figure 2, a straight line can be drawn to point O, which is
Figure 4. Determination of the Attainable Region.
the feed point. This is shown by line (L) in Figure 4(a). To
(a) Extension through mixing (dashed line); (b) Extend
achieve any concentration along line (L), you can mix the with PFR in series [curve (M)]; (c) Resulting attainable re-
outlet of a CSTR operating at point X with the feed at point gion (shaded) with corresponding reactors. Note that (a)-
O. Thus, any point on curve L corresponds to a CSTR with (c) have an equivalent x-axis. (d) Reactor configuration to
bypass. The Lever Arm Rule[20] can be used to determine the achieve any point within the attainable region in (c).
Vol. 41, No. 4, Fall 2007 261
percentage of each stream to mix to obtain the desired con- VI. Find the Optimum
centration. Notice that when this line is drawn, the candidate The final step is to determine the optimum for the speci-
region is extended. When two states mix linearly, mixing can fied objective function. In this case, the objective function is
extend any concave region by creating its convex hull. to maximize the production of species B given the feed of
Does operation in a PFR extend the region as well? The 1 kmol/m3 of A. It can easily be seen from Figure 5 (point
answer is yes. Going back to process vector geometry, the Y) that a maximum of 1.24 10-4 kmol/m3 of species B can
PFR process vector is tangent to the current system-state. A be achieved using a CSTR with effluent of 0.4 kmol/m3 of
line tangent to the curve at point X extends the region above species A followed by a PFR with an effluent concentration
its previous maximum. The complete successive PFR profile of A of 0.18 kmol/m3. The corresponding space-times of the
[curve (M) in Figure 4(b)] is found by numerically solving the CSTR and the PFR are 0.037 s and 0.031 s, respectively.
differential PFR balance equations in Eqs. (3)-(6) with feed These were determined from Eqs. (3) and (4) for the CSTR
concentration of X = (CA, CB). The boundary of the current and (7) and (8) for the PFR.
candidate attainable region is now made up of curves (L) and
With the attainable region fully determined, the optimal
(M) (see Figure 4b).
value for any objective function may be determined. For
The attainable region can be constructed once it has been example, a plant manager dictates that the concentration of
determined that no other processes can extend the region. A cannot drop below 0.6 kmol/m3, or the acidity will corrode
The shaded region of Figure 4(c) shows the entire AR for downstream equipment. The maximum amount of species B
this particular reaction network. The boundary of the shaded that can be produced with this constraint is given by point Z in
region is made up of curves (L) and (M). Since the region Figure 5, which corresponds to 6.4 10-5 kmol/m3 of B. The
is convex, it is clear that mixing cannot extend the region. reactor configuration that gives this outlet concentration is a
Moreover, it is possible to show that all rate vectors on the CSTR with feed bypass. Cost, partial pressure, temperature,
boundary are either tangent to the boundary or point into and residence time are some other examples for possible ob-
the region (see AR Web site for further details). Enclosed jective functions. As stated at the outset of this section, these
beneath the boundary are all possible reactor effluents given steps are a simplified version of the rigorous procedure (see
a feed point at O. Reference 5 for more details). A final point of note is the AR
V. Interpret the Boundary as analysis does not guarantee the determination of the complete
the Process Flow Sheet attainable region. The analysis is composed of guidelines for
The process flow sheet is determined by tracing a path to the creation of a candidate attainable region, as no mathemati-
the point of interest. The effluent concentration at point X is cally derived sufficiency conditions exist. This is the reason
achieved in a CSTR. If the desired effluent is to the right of for the ARC terminology.[21]
point X on the boundary [given by curve (L)], a CSTR operat-
Teaching Strategy
ing at point X with feed bypass is used to reach the point (see
section III). If the desired effluent is on the boundary to the left and Student Feedback
of point X [given by curve (M)], a CSTR operating at point X At the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
followed by a PFR in series is required. These configurations at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South
are pointed out in Figure 4(c). The reactor configuration in Africa, the AR is taught at both the undergraduate and masters
Figure 4(d) can be used to achieve any point on the boundary level. The AR is presented as a supplementary topic in the
of the ARC for this reaction network.
Figure 5 undergraduate Reactor Design course for third- and fourth-
year chemical engineering students. After the students
15 have developed PFR profiles and CSTR loci for a given
CB105 (kmol/m3)

feed concentration and reaction network, the rules are

10 X explained (i.e., PFR rate vectors are tangent to the profile,
Z the region can be made convex through mixing, etc.). The
students are then challenged to find the region of optimal
production for a certain component, and are provided
with PFR profiles for various feed concentrations. At this
0 point, the instructor emphasizes that the geometric solution
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 the students are creating is essentially solving the same
CA (kmol/m3) equations the students were laboring through earlier in the
course. The lecturer then introduces some more complex
Figure 5. Application of constraints on the
problems involving heat transfer and reaction to demon-
attainable region. Point Y: maximum B produced
in reaction network. Point Z: maximum B produced strate to the students the power of the method.
given that CA must be greater than 0.6 kmol/m3. The AR is also taught in a week-long, 30-hour, Reactor
262 Chemical Engineering Education
Synthesis Masters of Science course. The class is composed A difficulty observed in introducing the AR to under-
of people from industry and students who have just gradu- graduates was that some students struggled with solving new
ated. Therefore, the best teaching approach does not include problems. In particular, students could follow the example
intimidating differential equations or tedious calculations. that was developed in this article and compute the bound-
First, the students work through the example presented in ary of the AR themselves for a homework problem with the
this paper as an introduction to the AR approach. Then the same basic structure, i.e., a CSTR followed by a PFR. If the
students are given PFR state-space profiles for different boundary of the AR was changed in a homework problem
feed concentrations and asked to determine the optimal to a PFR followed by a CSTR followed by a PFR, however,
reactor configuration to achieve the maximum production then some students struggled with this. It was found that if
of a certain species. these students went over a number of additional AR problems
More recently, the AR was taught to a graduate core Reac- they could eventually master the material and generate ARs
tion Engineering course of approximately 20 students at Rut- independently for new cases.
gers University. Half of the students were full-time graduate Conclusion
students and the other half were part-time professionals who
Reaction engineering is a course in which students often get
had been out of school for varying intervals. One three-hour
bogged down with intensive calculations and lose sight of the
lecture on the example covered in this paper was given after
more important, fundamental concepts. This paper presents
single reactor design, complex kinetics, and nonisothermal
the attainable region analysis method as a way to avoid this
reactions had been introduced, but before biological reactions
trap, and at the same time introduce design and optimization of
and catalysis. The technique was presented as an alternative
complex reactor flow sheetsa more difficult and industrially
to the computer-intensive MINLP.
relevant exercise. Contrary to traditional complex reactor de-
Following the lecture, homework is assigned to allow the sign optimization, the AR approach does not require trial and
students to develop the AR themselves. The homework as- error, does ensure that all reactor configurations are evaluated,
signment covers a reaction network similar to the example and allows for easy application of various objective functions.
presented, only it lacks the reversible part of the A to B Additionally, for lower-dimensional problems, the solution
reaction (also known as van de Vusse kinetics). The benefits can be represented in a simple and clear graphical form.
of such an assignment are: to test basic reaction engineer-
The intention of the authors is to increase the exposure of
ing skills (solving PFR and CSTR balances); to develop
this technique so that its advantages for both teaching and
skills using computational programs such as POLYMATH,
research can be known throughout the engineering commu-
MATHCAD, or MATLAB; to discover the potential benefits
nity. The applications do not end at reaction engineering, and
of recycle, bypass, and Differential Sidestream Reactors
the reader is challenged to find areas of study to which this
(DSR) in reactor configurations; and to understand the benefits
approach does not apply.
of a graphical approach to a normally calculation-intensive
problem. Finally, the students are challenged on an exam For more details on the attainable region approach please
with the in-class exercise given to the masters students in see the following Web site: <
the Witwatersrand course. neering/procmat/ARHomepage/frame.htm>.
We also feel that the AR approach lends itself well to senior References
design, especially in an environment where students are asked to 1. Mendes, A.M., L.M. Madeira, F.D. Magalhaes, and J.M. Sousas, An
come up with a flow sheet for their design project. These steps Integrated Chemical Reaction Engineering Lab Experiment, Chem.
present a systematic approach to determining the optimal network Eng. Ed., 38, 228 (2004)
for the reaction portion of their design project. The students can 2. Floudas, C.A., Nonlinear and Mixed-Integer Optimization: Funda-
mentals and Applications, Oxford University Press, NY (1995)
compare their initial proposals to this optimal target and decide 3. Fogler, H.S., Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, 3rd Ed.,
if there is any benefit in improving their initial designs. Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, Upper Saddle River,
NJ (2006)
Some of the comments from the students included that the 4. Levenspiel, O., Chemical Reaction Engineering, 3rd Ed., John Wiley
attainable region material was enjoyable, as it was something & Sons, New York (1999)
new and there was a desire to see more advanced topics 5. Hildebrandt, D., and D. Glasser, The Attainable Region and Optimal
like the AR. Students were excited by the fact that they Reactor Structures Chem. Eng. Sci., 45, 261 (1990)
6. Biegler, L.T., I.E. Grossman, and A.W. Westerberg, Systematic Methods
could solve problems and come up with optimum structures of Chemical Process Design, Prentice-Hall International, Inc., Upper
for reactions no one else had solved before, i.e., the optimum Saddle River, NJ (1997)
solution was not available in any textbook or research article. 7. Seider, W.D., J.D. Seader, and D.R. Lewin, Product and Process Design
Along those lines, students also commented that they liked Principles: Synthesis, Analysis, and Evaluation, 2nd Ed., John Wiley
& Sons, New York (2004)
the fact they were being taught material that was hot off the 8. Chitra, S.P., and R. Govind, Synthesis of Optimal Serial Reactor
presses and had been the subject of a Ph.D. dissertation only Structures for Homogeneous Reactions. Part I: Isothermal Reactors,
a few years before. American Inst. of Chem. Eng., 177 (1985)

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Reactor Networks Using Mathematical Programming, Ind. and Eng. Research and Design, 82, 140 (2004)
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Engineering, 1-10 (1964)
18. Khumalo, N., B. Hausberger, D. Glasser, and D. Hildebrandt, An
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The Faculty of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Mis-

souri-Columbia seeks to intensify its focus on, and enhance its productivity in, its two
primary research areas: Materials and Energy. A key component to our strategy is to
hire up to two new colleagues who specialize in these areas. The positions are tenure
track at the assistant, associate, or full professor level.
We seek candidates with a Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering (or closely related field) and excellent qualifications in
research and scholarship. All research specialties related to Materials and/or Energy will be considered, but expertise in
the area of nanomaterials, biomaterials, plasma processing, ceramic materials or thermochemical conversion of biomass
is particularly coveted.
We have an important teaching mission here at Mizzou, and excellence in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate
levels, in both the core curriculum and in specialty areas, is a requirement. New faculty will likely participate in developing
an undergraduate option in Nuclear Engineering, so expertise in this area is also valued.
Finally, we seek colleagues with vision and leadership skills who may participate in the administration of the department,
especially those who are interested in serving as chair.
Mizzou is among the nations most comprehensive universities. There are ample opportunities for cross-disciplinary col-
laborations with the other engineering and science departments, as well as the Agricultural, Medical, and Veterinary Schools.
Mizzous Research Reactor Center, the largest experimental nuclear reactor in the nation, provides unique opportunities for
innovation. For additional information about our department, please visit The lifestyle we enjoy
here in Columbia, the quintessential midwestern college town, is the envy of all in the region. For information about the
unique cultural and recreational activities in the Columbia, Missouri area, please visit
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled. Please include the following
items in your application package: curriculum vitae, list of publications, list of four references, and a concise summary
of your teaching and research plans.
Application materials may be sent to or:
Faculty Search Committee
Department of Chemical Engineering
W2033 Lafferre Hall
Columbia, Missouri 65211
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. To request ADA accom-
modations, please contact us at the address listed above or call (573) 882-3563. Applicants should be prepared to prove eligibility to be employed
in the position in accordance with all applicable laws.

264 Chemical Engineering Education