Technology development in, and the application of, proteomics are emerging areas among chemical engineers and others who presented at the 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting. Overall, the centennial meeting offered a broad current perspective on the discipline of chemical engineering as it enters its second century. Biomedical and biochemical engineering continue to grow as important facets of the discipline. Within these, the value and applicability of proteomics were demonstrated in a number of interesting presentations. This year, as in the recent past, the AIChE Annual Meeting was held in conjunction with the American Electrophoresis Society Annual Meeting. American Electrophoresis Society presenters offered further academic and industrial viewpoints on the still-developing role of proteomics and proteomic technologies in biological and clinical analyses.