International Benchmarking of U.S. Chemical Engineering Research Competitiveness

Book excerpt: More than $400 billion worth of products rely on innovations in chemistry. Chemical engineering, as an academic discipline and profession, has enabled this achievement. In response to growing concerns about the future of the discipline, International Benchmarking of U.S. Chemical Engineering Research Competitiveness gauges the standing of the U.S. chemical engineering enterprise in the world. This in-depth benchmarking analysis is based on measures including numbers of published papers, citations, trends in degrees conferred, patent productivity, and awards. The book concludes that the United States is presently, and is expected to remain, among the world's leaders in all subareas of chemical engineering research. However, U.S. leadership in some classical and emerging subareas will be strongly challenged. This critical analysis will be of interest to practicing chemical engineers, professors and students in the discipline, economists, policy makers, major research university administrators, and executives in industries dependent upon innovations in chemistry.