Building a Career at the Intersection of Computing and Chemical Engineering

Computing, data science, and digital technologies are becoming more and more important for chemical engineers on a daily basis. Chemical engineers who work in a modern plant have access to more data than ever before, and these engineers will need data science tools and computational methods to take advantage of this increasing amount of data. Many companies are recruiting chemical engineers who have a computer science skillset — including programming experience — to automate and optimize industrial processes with a focus on machine learning methods. In this article, Manish Aggarwal (Aspen Technology) discusses his journey from process engineering to software development and shares his tips for chemical engineers who are looking to branch out into this developing field.

Manish Aggarwal is a software developer at Aspen Technology. As part of his current role as a Senior Engineer, Aggarwal works in the development of Aspen Capital Cost Estimator, and interfaces with Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus. He has more than a decade of experience in process design, petrochemical units, and utility systems. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in chemical engineering from National Institute of Technology (Surathkal, India) and a Master of Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon Univ. Primary focuses of his graduate degree included mathematical modeling of chemical engineering processes, data science and machine learning, and process system modeling. Aggarwal is highly skilled in developing process flow diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and process equipment and instrument datasheets, as well as developing machine learning models and programming in computer...