The role of computers in chemical engineering endeavors has grown enormously and shows little sign of slowing. Computer skills in chemical engineering are often taught as ‘soft skills' that are left to students to learn as self-taught subjects or instruction as short, intensive hands-on modules within specific courses.

After outlining and connecting all the essential computer skills chemical engineers require we then may subsequently identify the role that ‘computer thinking' relates to other learning and skills that students might gain with more considered and perhaps more formal instructional experiences in computational chemical engineering.