What is the difference between research done by chemical engineers and research done by chemists?
When chemical engineers do research, they are normally working to improve efficiency of processes that convert stock materials to other compounds. When chemists do research, they are normally working more distantly from the manufacturing process simply trying to make chemicals by finding what root stocks will make the chemicals desired or researching what happens when certain reactions take place. I would not expect a chemical engineer to discover new chemical compounds while I would expect a chemist to do so. Obviously, there are exceptions and some overlap – the process has to be worked out by chemists before it can be industrialized.
