Chemical Engineering

This course teaches students to consider the challenges posed by climate change, and the technologies and systems that are required to mitigate it. Students are introduced to key mitigation technologies and given the skills to perform basic economic analysis of the options. Lectures cover technoeconomic assessment and emissions estimation methods, possible future technology developments, and approaches to systems thinking, as well as the policy background on climate change. 

The course develops the tools required for the application of new energy and renewable energy systems to the problems faced by climate change and global energy security while transitioning to a zero emissions economy. The focus is on the application of materials for the development of new energy recovery systems such as nanostructured surfaces for solar harvesting, solar fuels, batteries/capacitors, and fuel cells/electrolysers. Biomass as a potential alternative to clean energy is also discussed along with its different scenarios and the associated advantages and risks. 

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering II refers to any technological applications of chemical and biological systems, such as biomolecules and environmental materials to make or modify products or green processes for specific purposes. This class focuses on biomaterials, biomedical engineering, membrane transport, protein engineering, environmentally benign materials and reactions, biomass conversion, fluid dynamics, green process and industrial processes. Basic aspects of engineering for biotechnology, biological and environmental materials will be discussed.

Knowledge of organic chemistry and biochemistry is required for this course.

In this research course, students chose from a range of research topics in various academic fields and receive one-on-one training from an experienced mentor who helps them refine research ideas, formulate questions, define methods of data collection, execute a plan, and present findings. Students review background information for their project, summarize its key outcomes, write a clear and concise research paper or report, and present results orally.

The course has its starting point in yesterday's raw materials and describes the development of the petrochemical revolution to the chemical process industries of today. The course contains the following sections: historic development of the process industry, catalysis, common feedstocks in the process industry, refinery processes, production of organic and inorganic chemicals, specialty chemicals, biotechnical processes as well as paper and pulp production.

The course is practically oriented, and students work in project groups with the different concepts/change management methods before seminars and with a major project work together with a company (or other organization) during the course. A significant part of the course is made up of literature seminars, where the students actively discuss and analyze research articles in the field.

This course provides individual research training for students in the Junior Year Engineering Program through the experience of belonging to a specific laboratory at Tohoku University. Students are assigned to a laboratory with the consent of the faculty member in charge. They participate in various group activities, including seminars, for the purposes of training in research methods and developing teamwork skills. The specific topic studied depends on the instructor in charge of the laboratory to which each student is assigned. The methods of assessment vary with the student's project and laboratory instructor. Students submit an abstract concerning the results of their individual research each semester and present the results near the end of this program.

This course contains fundamentals of homogeneous and heterogeneous reaction engineering processes. The basic concepts of chemical kinetics, reactor behavior, and catalysis are introduced and applied to the design of isothermal and non-isothermal reactors.

The Individual Research Training Senior (IRT Senior) Course is an advanced course of the Individual Research Training A (IRT A) course in the Tohoku University Junior Year Program in English (JYPE) in the fall semester. Though short-term international exchange students are not degree candidates at Tohoku University, a similar experience is offered by special arrangement. Students are required to submit: an abstract concerning the results of their IRT Senior project, a paper (A4, 20-30 pages) on their research at the end of the exchange term, and an oral presentation on the results of their IRT Senior project near the end of the term.

This course provides research training for exchange students. Students work on a research project under the guidance of assigned faculty members. Through a full-time commitment, students improve their research skills by participating in the different phases of research, including development of research plans, proposals, data analysis, and presentation of research results. A pass/no pass grade is assigned based a progress report, self-evaluation, midterm report, presentation, and final report.