Many professional fields rely on chemical engineering skills, knowledge and expertise, from environmental and energy to medical, gastronomical and technological. Indeed, chemical engineering is essential to pretty much every area of human activity. A chemical engineer is involved in the research, design, development, construction, modification and operation of industrial processes and machinery that are used to produce a diverse range of items. Depending on the specific role, one might be researching and developing new products from trial to commercialization, managing processes from testing in a small plant to full industrial-scale manufacturing, developing improvements to product lines, modifying processing plants, and designing and commissioning new plants.