Energy supply, waste water treatment, plant engineering, food processing, chemistry, and the pharmaceuticals, plastics, and automotive industries: chemical engineers and process engineers work in all of these areas and are constantly entering new fields as well. A special feature of chemical engineering is its blend of chemistry and mechanical engineering - a combination that makes interdisciplinary work especially important.

Another important feature of this field is practicality: chemical engineers study and develop chemical reactions on an engineering scale and develop product characteristics. Their work also includes the development of processes for generating energy from fuels. Chemical engineers at Karlsruhe are dedicated to protecting both human health and the environment, which means that conserving energy and resources is a major priority.