Chemists and chemical engineers: divided by a common discipline?

A novel word-pair approach is used to highlight the differing focus, scope, motivation, approach and scale of the distinct but complementary disciplines of chemistry and chemical engineering. A wider appreciation of these differences and their underlying relevance to the discovery and development process would aid the selection, direction and exploitation of academic research, particularly that leading to cleaner chemical technology.

► Chemistry and chemical engineering complement each other in technology development. ► Key differences of focus, scope, motivation, approach and scale are identified. ► Wider appreciation of these differences will aid development of cleaner technology.