Chemical engineering (ChE) education requires a paradigm shift to address the needs of the modern chemical industry which is focusing more and more resources towards biotechnology. Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology are employing a growing fraction of graduating BS chemical engineers. Even in the chemical industries, biocatalysis and bioprocessing are increasingly more common, requiring a new familiarity with such concepts of B.S. level chemical engineers. Therefore, the ChE core curriculum must be evolved to help students and faculty develop the skills necessary to apply engineering principles to biological, biochemical, or other bio-based (bioX) processes. Research has shown that students have difficulty integrating science and engineering without educational experiences that integrate the appropriate science in an engineering context. Thus, the addition of biology and biochemistry courses in the portfolio of undergraduate instruction is only a partial solution to the students' lack of preparation. There remains a need for educational materials that develop chemical engineering concepts in an integrated biotechnological context.

Modern web programming and secure database tools have enabled the development of a repository of problems addressing biological applications that can be woven into the established ChE curriculum. Initial efforts are aimed at integrating bioprocessing coursework into the material and energy balance syllabus. A workshop to inaugurate chemical engineering faculty with basic biotechnology concepts was also held for interested material and energy balance instructors. Finally, the evaluation of students' abilities to apply chemical engineering principles to biological applications is an important aspect of this project.