This article was originally reported in October 2025.
The University of Rochester has renamed its 110-year-old chemical engineering department the Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering, the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences announced on October 1, 2025. The undergraduate degree is still called chemical engineering (University of Rochester News Center, October 1, 2025).
“Far more than a mere cosmetic change, the new name reflects the professional activities of our alumni,” said department chair Darren Lipomi. “This change represents a rebirth of one of America’s first chemical engineering departments.” The university said the change also reflects revised coursework, expanded paid undergraduate research and the research of a largely new faculty: half of the department’s 12 tenure-track faculty members joined in the previous two and a half years.
Sustainability in the curriculum
According to the announcement (University of Rochester):
- First-semester chemical engineering students take a hands-on course, Introduction to Sustainable Energy.
- Undergraduates can choose from several sustainability engineering electives and a minor in environmental engineering, which the department co-administers with the Department of Earth and Environmental Science.
- Graduate students can follow a master’s track in sustainability and the environment.
Lipomi said the changes prepare students for “mission-oriented careers” in areas such as electrification, environmental remediation and designing materials that can be reused. “Students today are interested in solving global environmental challenges,” he said.
Research highlighted by the department
- Marc Porosoff, associate professor, leads a project funded with more than $550,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy that studies catalytic processes using abundant materials designed to work with intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar. His team is working with Brookhaven National Laboratory and uses AI and large language models to represent the catalysts in the system.
- Allison Lopatkin, assistant professor and a 2013 Rochester graduate, received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for work on practical ways to control microbial communities for bioproduction, environmental cleanup and human health.
The department also pointed to the Barbara J. Burger Chemical Sustainability Scholars program, established with a gift from university trustee Barbara J. Burger ’83, which gives undergraduate chemistry and chemical engineering students paid research experience in sustainability under faculty guidance. The university said the program has inspired other alumni to fund paid sustainability research for chemical engineering students (University of Rochester).
Latest update: graduate programs (November 2026)
The university’s 2026-27 graduate bulletin lists the program under the new department name. Master’s students complete 30 credits under either Plan A (thesis and oral defense; most finish in two years) or Plan B (coursework and an oral exit exam, with at least 18 credits in chemical engineering; most finish in a year and a half). All MS students take four core courses totaling 16 credits or follow one of three concentrations: Bioengineering; Computational Modeling and Machine Learning; or Sustainability, Energy and Environment. PhD students complete 90 credit hours, including 30 of formal coursework, serve as teaching assistants for two semesters and pass first- and second-year exams (University of Rochester Graduate Bulletin).
Notes for international applicants
- Deadlines and fee: the department says its PhD application closes January 5, 2027, and its MS application closes March 15 each year; the application fee is $30 (Applying to Rochester).
- Tests: GRE scores are encouraged but not required. Applicants whose native language is not English must take an English proficiency test; the department prefers a TOEFL iBT score of at least 95 or an IELTS band of at least 7.0 (Applying to Rochester).
- Application materials: an online application, CV, personal statement (a personal and research statement for the PhD), three letters of recommendation, official transcripts and official test scores (Graduate Bulletin).
- About Rochester: the University of Rochester is No. 49 among national universities in the 2027 U.S. News ranking. For admissions, costs and international enrollment data, see our University of Rochester profile and the Forward Pathway U.S. college rankings.
References
- Forming bonds between chemical and sustainability engineering (University of Rochester News Center, October 1, 2025)
- University of Rochester Graduate Bulletin: Chemical and Sustainability Engineering
- Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering: Applying to Rochester
- Forward Pathway: U.S. College Rankings