what is biomolecular engineering; how is it connected to chemical engineering; and how does it differ from biomedical engineering?
The answers to these questions are relatively simple once one recognizes that biological systems are inherently chemical in nature. Since chemical engineers are taught how to link chemistry and engineering, chemical engineers with a knowledge of biology and biochemistry are well suited to engineer biological processes that involve chemical changes and chemical signals. This special role for chemical engineers has even been recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In a meeting in 1992 they defined the term, “Biomolecular Engineering,” as “Research and development at the interface of chemical engineering and biology with an emphasis at the molecular level.” Chemical engineers are taught formally to think across length scales that span from the molecular to the macroscopic, particularly for systems that involve chemical change. For example, chemical engineers study chemical changes at the molecular level in order to elucidate the mechanisms of chemical reactions and to devel
