ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to introduce R to chemical engineering students and, more broadly, chemical engineering professionals interested in statistics and data science. R, ranked the 6th most popular of all data science languages in 2017, is a free, multiplatform and open-source software for statistical analysis, programming and data visualization supported by a vibrant community of users. It combines a large number of powerful built-in functionalities with a flexible programming language and a vast array of libraries (packages) easily added-on to further enhance its capabilities. The basics of R, its programming language, visualization tools, and statistical analysis capabilities are introduced by means of a series of simple examples relevant to Chemical Engineering. RCommander, a Graphical User Interface natively available in R, is also introduced for those interested in an open-source statistical analysis software without the complications of the programming component.
