Chemical engineering for a solar economy (2017 P. V. Danckwerts Lecture).

• Unprecedented innovation opportunities for chemical engineers in the emerging solar economy. • Energy Systems Engineering Analysis critical for optimal solutions. • Aglectric farming for coproduction of food and electricity. • Local photons for local needs. • Interdisciplinary approaches will be required for problem solving in the solar economy. Chemical engineering evolved in the twentieth century with rise in the use of fossil resources and the myriad of products derived from them. Those products required great innovations and had a huge impact on the human race. Going forward as we transition from fossil resources to renewable resources such as solar energy, we again have unprecedented opportunities for innovation that would not only make great impact but redefine chemical engineering. My Danckwerts lecture focused on my own experiences with challenges and opportunities presented to us as chemical engineers in the emerging solar economy. In particular, the importance of careful energy systems engineering for identifying optimal solutions that seeks synergy between different applications of solar energy is emphasized. The need to acquire and use knowledge beyond our traditional chemical engineering discipline to create new solutions is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]