ChemEng v. AstroPhysics v. Math(Pure)

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>My dream would be getting a PhD in chemical engineering and getting a bachelor's in both astrophysics and pure math(the latter two just for self-fulfillment). I know though that I'm thinking too far ahead, and this is most likely impractical due to the heavy workload that follows triple majoring. I haven't started college yet, so I don't even know the work that just one major entails either.</p>

<p>Anyways, all I want is some input on each of these majors.</p>

<p>For chemical engineering, I'm interested in the major's broadness/versatility. When I read this snippet on Wikipedia:
"application of physical science (e.g. chemistry and physics), and life sciences (e.g. biology, microbiology and biochemistry) with mathematics"
I knew that this was the major I'd definitely pursue. I want to know, however, how much math and physics are actually used, and what kinds of work specifically do chemical engineers perform, since the career is so broad. Does chemistry dominate the field?</p>

<p>With the physics involved, I'm assuming that you work mainly on the quantum(minuscule) level of things. However, I want to explore the world on a macro scale as well, as to study astrophysics/cosmology. This way, I could learn about light-years, heat death, eternal recurrence, multiverse, and time dilation, all subjects of which heighten my curiosity. Is there usually any course overlapping that would help me achieve this, or would I just have to take such macro-issue courses as electives(and not be able to major in it)?</p>

<p>I also feel as though the math I'll be learning is too applied, and would like to learn math even though such math may never have practical application. I consider math a form of art after all, and wouldn't want to be limited on my knowledge of the subject throughout the span of my life. Creating some theorems of my own would be pretty cool too. I'm guessing that pure math courses don't really overlap with astrophysics or chem eng. courses though, huh?</p>

<p>Anyways, just wondering what I should do. I won't let this thread seriously decide for me, but it'd be nice to get some input from engineering folks.</p>

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<p>the name ‘pure math’ is pompous as hell. just call it math dude.</p>

<p>from your post it sounds like you are interested in physics or math. study one of those. maybe study both as an undergrad.</p>

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<p>um actually silence_kit, you are wrong, he is calling it pure math because he specifically says that he wants to study math that is not “too applied.” Pure math is just that; math that is not necessarily the most applicable, but is very "beautiful to people who like math.</p>

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<p>OP, if you’re still in HS, I would strongly suggest you go to a school that offers all the options you’re interested in and explore - that’s the best thing about college. Unless you’ve done a lot of math above and beyond what’s typically taught in HS, you may find that your notion of pure math and what it is are two different things. Go to a school as an engineering major and indulge yourself in areas that you think you fancy and see how it works out. You may want to back out, or just settle for a minor, or even double up with no real adverse consequences.</p>

<p>I’m probably prejudiced, but I feel that math has been explored a lot more thoroughly than the newer sciences by all those dead Greeks and such, and that the people now in this field are doing some very esoteric stuff that us mere mortals don’t really get exposed to in our normal curricula. I’m contrasting that with something like bio or computer engineering which are very evolving fields where you can be close to the forefront because it is happening right now, and not be playing catch-up by competing against Euclid, Newton, and others like them.</p>

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<p>i know what it is. it’s still a pompous name for a subject. a plain ol mathematics degree is a ‘pure math’ (bleh) degree.</p>

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<p>Ah well, I just wanted to distinguish between applied math and the majority of the content a Mathematics major would learn. What I really wanted to know was more about the Mathematics major(as part of the overall post) and how it relates to the other majors I’ve listed in terms of double/triple majoring.</p>

<p>Good responses so far, thanks guys!</p>

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<p>I totally understand your differentiation between ‘pure math’ and others… My school does not offer a plain ol’ math degree… you must pick either a ‘pure,’ ‘computational’, etc. track, and those upper division courses do vary substantially. Sure you’ve got some core courses they share, but the differences between some theoretical proof and the simulation of population dynamics or chaos theory are MONUMENTAL.</p>

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<p>Ah, I see. At the UCs I plan on going to(if I get accepted), they offer either Applied Math or Math as a major. Anyways, if you guys could give me further insight on ChemE and astrophysics as well, that’d be cool.</p>