UT Tyler Engineering Students Gain Insights at Eastman Chemical

September 26, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan

More than 30 chemical engineering students at The University of Texas at Tyler recently participated in a site visit at Eastman Chemical Company in Longview.

The students toured the plant learning about the different areas of the global specialty materials company, which produces a broad range of products found in everyday items. The visit concluded with a lunch with Eastman engineers.

“Eastman was incredibly gracious to provide this opportunity for our students,” said Margot Purdy, career success coach for the UT Tyler College of Engineering. “The students asked a lot of questions, and the Eastman engineers were very accommodating and facilitated a great experience.”

While there, the UT Tyler group also participated in a career panel discussion.

“There is so much value in site visits,” said Dr. Carla Lacerda, UT Tyler assistant professor. “They provide an opportunity for students to see firsthand what they could potentially do with their degree, as well as real life application in the classroom.”

The trip was coordinated by the university’s career success office in collaboration with the college.

Housed in the Jasper Department of Chemical Engineering, UT Tyler’s undergraduate chemical engineering degree program was built on strong partnerships with the local industry, providing a practice-based approach to learning. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology or ABET. For more information, visit uttyler.edu/academics/colleges-schools/engineering/departments/chemical/.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.