Chemical Engineering

Department History

The history of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tennessee Tech begins with its first chairperson, John C. McGee. Dr. McGee, a Ph. D. from North Carolina State University, was hired in 1966 and, along with a colleague from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, formed the first Department of Chemical Engineering. Within the next few years, the department added W. D. (Denny) Holland, David W. Yarbrough and Clayton P. Kerr. Professors McGee, Holland, Yarbrough and Kerr remained together at Tennessee Tech for an astounding thirty years building and growing the Department of Chemical Engineering. Around the turn of the century, these four stalwarts of the Department retired and were named Emeritus faculty members. 

The recent history of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tennessee Tech is filled with young and dynamic faculty members engaging in top-quality scholarly research and cutting-edge pedagogy. The results are award winning faculty and students, with record-breaking enrollments. We invite you to read more about the history of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tennessee Tech as highlighted in a recent edition of Chemical Engineering Education.