A Wide Range - From Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani and SABIC's Mohammed al-Mady to stand-up comedian and perpetual watermelon smasher Gallagher, chemical engineers can be found in almost every walk of life. (And if you have never heard of Gallagher, you can replace him with Dolph Lundgren, who forewent a career in chemical engineering when he found success as Ivan Drago in the movie Rocky IV).

These days, chemical engineering is as diverse as the people who study it, covering areas from biotechnology to mineral processing, and its significance for the chemical industry is now more important than ever. Sir William Wakeham is currently president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), a global professional membership organization for people who have an interest in and relevant experience in chemical engineering.

He spoke with Brandi Schuster on how the field has evolved, what IChemE does to encourage students to study chemical engineering and the importance of having chemical engineers in all levels within chemical and pharmaceutical companies.

CHEManager Europe: Sir William, the term "chemical engineering" doesn't have quite the same meaning as maybe 50 years ago. How do you think the profession has evolved?

Sir William Wakeham: These days there is much more of a focus on the word "process engineering" rather than "chemical engineering." Often the processes involved are still chemical, but they now encompass many more things than we thought about 50 years ago. These days you have trained chemical engineers working in many process applications that aren't necessarily within the traditional realm of the chemical industry.

One example of that is within the pharmaceutical business, in formulation engineering.

This consists of the construction of pills, which goes hand-in-hand with the drug formulations. That involves quite a lot of chemical engineering, but wouldn't have been thought of as such 50 years ago. It's a similar situation within the water industry. There is a lot of activity which could be considered process engineering, and probably most of the reactions, if there are any, are biological reactions.

All in all, I think the term has been broaden quite a bit over the last several decades in order to include many more aspects and technologies. In fact, the term "chemical engineer" is probably being replaced by "process engineer."

Is the future of chemical engineering one with a very broad base?

Sir William Wakeham: Yes, and in my own experience, trained chemical or process engineers are the kinds of engineers who are most able to work with other disciplines, because they have already quite a breadth in their formation as engineers. That is not quite the same for, let's say, civil engineers whose chemistry training is quite limited. Process engineers have a unique opportunity to bring scientists and other engineers together. Most of the big problems that the world is facing are a bit like that; people have to be brought together from different areas.

What about diversity within the profession, particularly when it comes to women?

Sir William Wakeham: In the UK, total chemical engineering undergraduate numbers are the most positive for women's recruitment of any engineering discipline. In the UK, about 27% of chemical engineering students are women; this is certainly a step in the right direction.

What kind of activities does IChemE have to encourage more people to study chemical engineering?

Sir William Wakeham: We have an enormous focus on bringing people into chemical engineering courses; this has, at least in the UK, pushed the numbers through the roof. We are particularly interested in attracting women, and one of the key elements of doing that is having women on the staff of chemical engineering departments who do the recruitment. Here in the UK, most departments have a substantial number of women on their faculty.

In other areas of the world, such as in the Middle East, there are some cultural issues that are additional difficulty. However, in Malaysia, where we are also active, there are a significant number of women studying chemical engineering now.

Apart from its European offices, IChemE is also represented in Asia, Africa and Australasia. Do you work towards promoting chemical engineering for women in these parts of the world as well?

Sir William Wakeham: Yes. We have been using our activities in the UK as a basis, but fine-tuning it for the different cultural backgrounds. Clearly what needs to be done in Malaysia is not the same thing as what needs to be done in the UK. Our offices in these areas are usually staffed by local people, which is important for creating an understanding of the country's needs.