Welcome

Chemical and Petroleum engineering graduates receive broad training in college that equip them well for solving a range of technical problems. Chemical engineers are involved designing and improving chemical processes across industries including petroleum refining, traditional and novel methods of energy production, food, biomedicine and pharmaceuticals, electronics, materials, and pulp and paper. Petroleum Engineers provide for the world’s every-increasing demand for readily available and economically-advantageous sources of energy. Their training equips them for oil and gas reservoir discovery, assessment and development; advanced drilling technologies for resource recovery; and, production of energy resources.

Chemical and Petroleum engineers work hand-in-hand for wisely stewarding and developing the world’s resources for maintaining and growing access for all people groups to advanced technologies.

The advantages of a chemical or petroleum engineering degree are especially true for the graduates of the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering. We offer one of the best undergraduate educational experiences in the nation, and as such our graduates have been serving industry and academia and providing technical expertise and project leadership for nearly 75 years. Our students receive hands-on experience through internships and cooperative education programs. They also have the opportunity to solve brand new problems in research labs side-by-side with faculty, staff, and graduate students.

The Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering is housed in a state-of-the-art building which opened in the fall of 2000. The Swalm building boasts modern, fully equipped research laboratories, state-of-the-art classrooms with wireless internet access, multiple small conference rooms, and a large lecture hall for classes and guest lectures. The Petroleum Engineering bachelor’s degree program was re-started within the School in the fall 2015 semester, after almost 25 years’ absence. The excitement with the revival of this program has been palpable—with steady growth in enrollment, accompanied by growth in alumni involvement and industry interest for our students through summer internships and full-time employment.

We have over 20,000 students at Mississippi State University, but we’re one big family. There is a strong sense of collaboration between chemical and petroleum engineering and among departments across the Bagley College of Engineering. Our students enjoy life in the college town of Starkville, MS, and there is a strong sense of pride revolving around our athletic programs, which are competitive both within the Southeastern Conference and nationally.

Feel free to surf our website and please contact me at elmore@che.msstate.edu if you have any questions, would like more information, or would like to schedule a visit to see MSU first hand. You can like us on Facebook at Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering. I believe you will be impressed by what we have to offer at Mississippi State.

Go Bulldogs!

Bill B. Elmore, Ph.D., P.E.
Director and Earnest W. Deavenport, Jr. Chair