Department
The Department of Chemical Engineering (DEQM) works on topics ranging from the development of catalysts and advanced materials to clean technologies and environmental solutions, promoting projects with a strong academic, industrial, and social impact. Integrated into the Scientific and Technological Center of PUC-Rio (CTC/PUC-Rio), it has highly qualified professors and state-of-the-art laboratories in areas such as process engineering, microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and computational simulation.
Created as a pioneering initiative in Brazil, the DEQM Graduate Program stands out for its scientific excellence, partnerships with companies and funding agencies, and international cooperation, offering exchange and internship opportunities abroad.
With this solid foundation and vision for the future, DEQM is consolidating itself as a hub for training and innovation, committed to sustainable technological development and the training of professionals capable of transforming knowledge into solutions for a more balanced world.
Its main objectives include the development of sustainable and innovative technologies, the encouragement of applied research with social impact, and the strengthening of cooperation with national and international companies and institutions. The Department seeks to train professionals capable of working in strategic areas such as energy, health, environment, transport and electronics, contributing to technological advancement and the sustainable development of the country.
Since the creation of its postgraduate programs, the master's program in 1971 and the doctoral program in 1991, the DEQM has maintained a commitment to academic excellence and the continuous updating of its research lines and curricular structure. It has already trained hundreds of masters and doctoral students who now work in universities, research centers, and companies in Brazil and abroad.
With this history of tradition and innovation, DEQM has established itself as a dynamic, collaborative, and excellent space, dedicated to training professionals capable of transforming knowledge into solutions that drive the future of engineering and society.
The current Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering (DEQM) at PUC-Rio has a consolidated trajectory of over five decades in teaching, research, and the training of highly qualified human resources, with a strong scientific and technological presence in national and international scenarios. Its origins date back to 1968, with the creation of the then Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy (DCMM), resulting from the merger of the Department of Metallurgy with the Materials Science Group linked to the Department of Physics, marking the beginning of structured activities in materials science and engineering at the University.
Since its creation, the DCMM has been responsible for implementing the undergraduate course in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering and for developing the Postgraduate Program in Materials Engineering and Chemical and Metallurgical Processes, whose Master's program began in 1971 and the Doctorate was created in 1991. This program was originally structured in two areas of concentration — Materials Science and Chemical and Metallurgical Processes — consolidating advanced training, interdisciplinary research, and the generation of knowledge aligned with the demands of industry and society.
Throughout its institutional evolution, the Department has undergone significant adjustments, reflecting the expansion of its scientific and educational scope. In 2008, attentive to global trends in the field and incorporating the interdepartmental course in Nanotechnology Engineering, the DCMM became known as the Department of Materials Engineering (DEMa), initiating the offering of the undergraduate course in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology. In 2015, with the incorporation of the undergraduate course in Chemical Engineering, created at PUC-Rio in 1948 and until then offered in an interdepartmental manner, the Department assumed its current name, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering (DEQM), becoming responsible for two undergraduate courses: Chemical Engineering and Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology.
As a natural development of this academic maturation process, between 2018 and 2020 the Department of Chemical Engineering (DEQM) promoted a profound restructuring of its Graduate Program, which became known as the Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering, Materials and Environmental Processes. Starting with the 2020.1 class, the new curriculum was officially implemented, structuring the Program into three areas of concentration: Chemical Engineering; Materials and Nanotechnology; and Environmental Processes, with a modernized curriculum matrix, balanced between mandatory and elective courses, and aligned with contemporary scientific challenges, sustainability and technological innovation.
This revamped Program, belonging to the Engineering II area of CAPES (Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education), achieved a score of 6, a concept of excellence at the international level, in the evaluation for the four-year period 2021–2024, released in January 2026, raising the concept of the predecessor Program from 5 to 6. Currently, the DEQM (Department of Chemical Engineering) maintains consolidated and emerging research lines, qualified laboratory infrastructure, and a strong presence in the training of masters and doctoral students for academia, industry, and research centers, reaffirming its strategic role in the scientific and technological development of the country.
