From Slide Rules to AI: Reflections on the Evolution of Chemical Engineering Tools

Cristian J. Calderón

doi:10.62762/JCERF.2025.832895

CiteScore

Impact Factor

Volume 2, Issue 1, Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels

Volume 2, Issue 1, 2026

Submit Manuscript Edit a Special Issue

Article QR Code

Scan the QR code for reading

Popular articles

Case Studies on Integrating Artificial Intelligence in Finance to Transform Decision Making and Risk Management for Enhanced Financial Outcomes Reinforcement Learning for Prompt Optimization in Language Models: A Comprehensive Survey of Methods, Representations, and Evaluation Challenges AI and the Future of Education: Advancing Personalized Learning and Intelligent Tutoring Systems Plant Disease Detection Using Deep Learning Techniques Modeling Brain Functional Networks Using Graph Neural Networks: A Review and Clinical Application Bridging Modalities: A Survey of Cross-Modal Image-Text Retrieval Research on A Ship Trajectory Classification Method Based on Deep Learning Acrylamide in Food: Sources and Prevention Enhancing Fake News Detection with a Hybrid NLP-Machine Learning Framework Analyzing the Translation and Impact of Popular Science Literature in China: A Case Study Approach

Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2026: 6-8

Open Access | Commentary | 06 November 2025

From Slide Rules to AI: Reflections on the Evolution of Chemical Engineering Tools

Cristian J. Calderón 1,2 *

1 Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Carretera Lago de Guadalupe Km 3.5 Atizapán de Zaragoza Col. Margarita Maza de Juarez, Cd López Mateos 52926, México

2 Facultad de Química, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico

* Corresponding Author: Cristian J. Calderón, [email protected]

DOI: 10.62762/JCERF.2025.832895

Received: 07 August 2025, Accepted: 20 August 2025, Published: 06 November 2025

PDF (511.54 KB)

Article Metrics Cite This Article

Abstract

Chemical engineering, like other engineering disciplines, has evolved from manual calculations to advanced process simulators and artificial intelligence tools. This perspective piece reflects on how such technological shifts have transformed both professional practice and engineering education. Drawing from historical perspectives and current teaching experiences, it examines the balance between leveraging modern tools and fostering deep conceptual understanding. The discussion invites educators to critically assess how and when to integrate digital resources into the chemical engineering curriculum.

Keywords

chemical engineering

education

technology

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Funding

This work was supported without any funding.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate

Not applicable.

References

What do chemical engineers do? (2024, March 27). AIChE | The Global Home of Chemical Engineers. Retrieved from https://www.aiche.org/k-12/what-do-chemical-engineers-do
[Google Scholar]
Chemical engineering. (n.d.). American Chemical Society. Retrieved from https://www.acs.org/careers/chemical-sciences/areas/chemical-engineering.html
[Google Scholar]
Álvarez-Borroto, R., Stahl, U., Cabrera-Maldonado, E. V., & Rosero-Espín, M. V. (2017). Los paradigmas de la ingeniería química: las nuevas fronteras. Educación química, 28(4), 196-201.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Davis, G. E. (1901). A handbook of chemical engineering. Davis Bros.
[Google Scholar]
History. (n.d.). MIT ChemE – Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Retrieved from https://cheme.mit.edu/about/history/
[Google Scholar]
Perry, J. H. (Ed.). (1934). Chemical engineers' handbook. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
[Google Scholar]
Bird, R. B., Stewart, W. E., & Lightfoot, E. N. (1960). Transport phenomena. John Wiley & Sons.
[Google Scholar]

Cite This Article

APA Style

Calderón, C. J. (2025). From Slide Rules to AI: Reflections on the Evolution of Chemical Engineering Tools. Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels, 2(1), 6–8. https://doi.org/10.62762/JCERF.2025.832895

Export Citation

RIS Format

Compatible with EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, and other reference managers

RIS format data for reference managers

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Calderón, Cristian J.
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/06
TI  - From Slide Rules to AI: Reflections on the Evolution of Chemical Engineering Tools
JO  - Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels
T2  - Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels
JF  - Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
SP  - 6
EP  - 8
DO  - 10.62762/JCERF.2025.832895
UR  - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JCERF.2025.832895
KW  - chemical engineering
KW  - education
KW  - technology
AB  - Chemical engineering, like other engineering disciplines, has evolved from manual calculations to advanced process simulators and artificial intelligence tools. This perspective piece reflects on how such technological shifts have transformed both professional practice and engineering education. Drawing from historical perspectives and current teaching experiences, it examines the balance between leveraging modern tools and fostering deep conceptual understanding. The discussion invites educators to critically assess how and when to integrate digital resources into the chemical engineering curriculum.
SN  - 3070-1058
PB  - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge
LA  - English
ER  -

BibTeX Format

Compatible with LaTeX, BibTeX, and other reference managers

BibTeX format data for LaTeX and reference managers

@article{Caldern2025From,
  author = {Cristian J. Calderón},
  title = {From Slide Rules to AI: Reflections on the Evolution of Chemical Engineering Tools},
  journal = {Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels},
  year = {2025},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {6-8},
  doi = {10.62762/JCERF.2025.832895},
  url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JCERF.2025.832895},
  abstract = {Chemical engineering, like other engineering disciplines, has evolved from manual calculations to advanced process simulators and artificial intelligence tools. This perspective piece reflects on how such technological shifts have transformed both professional practice and engineering education. Drawing from historical perspectives and current teaching experiences, it examines the balance between leveraging modern tools and fostering deep conceptual understanding. The discussion invites educators to critically assess how and when to integrate digital resources into the chemical engineering curriculum.},
  keywords = {chemical engineering, education, technology},
  issn = {3070-1058},
  publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}

Article Metrics

Citations:

Google Scholar

Crossref

Scopus

Web of Science

Article Access Statistics:

PDF Downloads: 49

Publisher's Note

ICCK stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and Permissions

Copyright © 2025 by the Author(s). Published by Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

Journal of Chemical Engineering and Renewable Fuels

ISSN: 3070-1058 (Online)

Email: [email protected]

Portico

All published articles are preserved here permanently:
https://www.portico.org/publishers/icck/

Google Scholar

Crossref

Scopus

Web of Science

We use cookies