Tag: biofuels

I’m interested in bioengineering. What technical electives do you recommend?

We recommend an intro to cell biology course as early as possible because this will allow you to take more advanced courses later. If you received AP biology credit then this is already done.

  • BL 1200 General Bio II: Intro to Cellular Biology AND BL 1210 General Bio II Lab: Into to Cellular Biology. (spring semesters, preferred course)
  • or BL 1400 Principles of Biology AND BL 1410 Principles of Biology Lab. (fall and summer semesters)

We also recommend our bioprocessing lab because it’s a good introduction to the entire manufacturing process for making products using microorganisms.

  • CM 3025 Bioprocessing Lab (spring semesters, can be taken anytime after University Chemistry I)

After that, you have lots of choices, depending on your interests. Dr. Ong has put together a list of possible courses. This information was accurate as of the 2023-24 academic year, so be sure to look in the current catalog of classes and schedule of classes for the most up-to-date information.

Course Title Credits Type of Course Prerequisites Semester
CM 4710 Biochemical Processes 3 lecture CH 2410 fall of odd years
CM 4780 Biomanufacturing and Biosafety 3 lecture CH 4710 or CM 4710 or (CM 3110 (C) and Intro to Bio) or undergrad research in bio or bioengineering fall of even years
BE 4200 Cellular & Molecular Bio II 3 lecture BE 2400 spring and summer
BE 2200 Genetics 3 lecture Intro to Bio spring
BL 2210 Genetics Lab 1 lab BL 2200 (C) concurrently spring
BL 2700 Principles of Computational Biology 3 lecture Intro to Bio fall
BL 3020 Biochemistry I 3 lecture Intro to Bio and CH 2410 fall and summer
BL 3210 General Microbiology 4 lecture and lab Intro to Bio fall and summer
BL 3300 Intro to Genomics 3 lecture BL 2200 or FW3320 fall
BL 3310 Environmental Microbiology 3 lecture and lab Intro to Bio spring
BL 3820 Biochemical Lab Techniques I 2 lab BL 3020 (C) or CH 4710 (C) or BL 3025 (C) concurrently spring
BL 4020 Biochemistry II 3 lecture BL 3020 spring and summer
BL 4030 Molecular Biology 3 lecture BL 3020 or CH 4710 or BL 3025 fall and summer
BL 4153 Applied Genome Editing 3 lecture and lab BL 2200 or FW 3230 fall of odd years
BL 4200 Microbial Physiology 3 lecture BL 3210 or BL 3310 fall of even years
BL 4300 Applied Bacterial Genomics 3 lecture BL 2200 fall of odd years
BL 4310 Applied Eukaryotic Genomics 3 lecture BL 2200 and BL 2210 fall of even years
BL 4805 Molecular Diagnostics 5 lecture and lab BL 2200 and BL 3025 spring
BL 4840 Molecular Biology Techniques 3 lecture and lab BL 2200 and BL 4030 (C) concurrently fall
CH 3200 Chemistry and Biology of Brewing 2 lecture and lab CH 1150 and CH 1151 spring
CH 3540 Biophysical Chemistry 3 lecture Intro to bio and CH 1160 and CH 1161 and MA 2160 spring
CH 3541 Biophysical Chemistry Lab 2 lab CH 3540 (C) concurrently spring
CH 4110 Medicinal Chemistry: Mechanism of Drug Action 3 lecture CH 2410 spring
CH 4120 Medicinal Chemistry: Drug Design 3 lecture CH 2420 fall
CH 4140 Intro to Pharmaceutical Analysis 3 lecture and lab CH 2410 spring
CH 4710 Biomolecular Chemistry I 3 lecture CH 2420 fall
CH 4720 Biomolecular Chemistry II 3 lecture BL 3020 or CH 4710 spring

What do I need to know to plan out a minor in Alternative Energy Technology?

Here is some additional scheduling information to help you plan. Go to the Registrar’s Office minor page for the most current list of requirements.

Thermodynamics Course

Check with the department offering the course for the expected planned schedule.

Circuits Course

Select one course below.

  • EE 3010 Circuits and Instrumentation for Cyber Physical Systems. This is the circuits course that most students take because it is an introductory course designed for non-EE majors. It is usually offered every fall, spring, and summer, in-person and/or online. This course includes a required lab.
  • EE 2111 Electric Circuits I is intended for EE majors and is usually offered every fall, spring, and summer.
  • EET 1121 Circuits I is usually offered every spring and requires an additional lab EET 1122.
  • EET 1141 Basic Electronics is intended for College of Computing majors and is usually offered every fall and spring.

Energy Technology Courses

Take three or more credits from this list.

  • CM/ENT 3979 Alternative Energy Technology and Processes is usually offered every fall.
  • EE 3120 Electric Energy Systems is usually offered every fall and spring, in-person and online.
  • EE/MEEM 4295 Intro to Propulsion Systems for Hybrid Electric Vehicles, and EE/MEEM 4296 Experimental Studies in Hybrid Electric Vehicles are usually offered every fall.
  • MEEM 4200 Principles of Energy Conversion, MEEM 4235 Wind Energy, and MEEM 4260 Fuel Cell Technology are usually offered every fall.

Energy & Society Courses

Take three or more credits from this list.

  • CM 3980 Sustainable Chemical Engineering is usually offered every fall and spring.
  • EC 4620 Energy Economics is usually offered every spring semester and can be also used as a HASS class. It is an upper-level HASS course and on the Social and Behavioral Science list. For chemical engineering students, this course usually has a time conflict with senior ChE classes.
  • ENG 4515 Introduction to Sustainability and Resilience is usually offered every fall.
  • ENG 4525 System Analysis for Sustainability and Resilience is usually offered every spring.
  • MEEM 4240 Combustion and Air Pollution is usually offered every fall.
  • MEEM 4685 Environmentally Responsible Design & Manufacturing has not been offered recently.
  • SS 3280 Anthropology of Energy is usually offered in the spring of even years and is a HASS course on the Social and Behavioral Science list.
  • SS 3800 Energy Policy & Technology is usually offered every spring and is a HASS course on the Social and Behavioral Science list. It’s also occasionally offered in the summer as an online course.
  • SS 3811 Energy Security and Justice and SS 3815 Energy and Society are usually offered fall of odd years and are HASS courses on the Social and Behavioral Science list.

Optional Elective Courses

Remaining credits can be additional courses from the Energy Technology and Energy & Society lists above or those listed below.

  • CM 4080 Undergraduate Research in Biofuels Engineering is offered on demand. If you are interested in doing undergraduate research in the chemical engineering department then you will need to talk to the faculty who are doing research in the biofuels engineering area to see if they have a project that you can work on with them. The chemical engineering faculty currently doing research in this area are Dr. Ong and Dr. Shonnard.
  • EE 4219 Intro to Electric Machinery and Drives is usually offered every spring, in-person and online.
  • EE 4226 Power Engineering Lab is usually offered every spring and occasionally summer and requires instructor permission to enroll.
  • EE 4227 Power Electronics is usually offered every fall, in-person and online.
  • EET 3390 Power Systems is usually offered every fall.
  • Enterprise Project Work with the Alternative Energy Enterprise team is approved for the minor. Project work in the alternative energy area with other Enterprise teams may also be approved. Email a brief description of your project to the chemical engineering advisor for approval.
  • MEEM 4220 Internal Combustion Engines I is usually offered every fall.
  • MEEM 4250 Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning is usually offered spring of odd years.
  • MEEM 4820 Intro to Aeropace Propulsion is usually offered every spring.
  • MET 4350 Principles and Application of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems is usually offered every spring.
  • MET 4390 Internal Combustion Engines is usually offered every fall.
  • MSE 4410 Science of Ceramic Materials is usually offered every spring.
  • Undergraduate Research in the alternative energy area from other departments may be approved. Email a brief description of your research to the chemical engineering advisor for approval.