Penn State hosts AIChE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference
4/15/2019
More than 350 chemical engineering faculty and students from various universities gathered at University Park on April 5-6 for the American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE) Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference.
The Regional Conference was highlighted by first-place finishes by Penn State students in two event competitions. Andrew Pei, a sophomore chemical engineering major, won the student paper competition with “Enhanced Virus Removal in a Practical Sand Filter” and Michele Fromel, graduate student in chemical engineering, won the student poster competition with “SI-PET-RAFT: Surface-Initiated Photo-Induced Electron Transfer-Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization.”
Other event competition winners included Virginia Tech’s “Team Ride or Iodide,” who took first place in the Chem E Car Competition and will advance to the National Chem E Car Competition to be held at the AIChE National Conference in October. The competition is based on how far a model car, designed completely around chemical reactions, could carry a weighted load. Points were also awarded for creativity, environmental and safety features.
“The Chem E Car Competition is an event that really tests the student's creativity and understanding of chemistry, physics, design and chemical engineering,” Anni Ko, Penn State sophomore-chemical engineering and AIChE Mid-Atlantic Regionals chair, said. “The dedication and hard work that each student puts into their car is amazing.”
The winners of the Chemical Engineering Jeopardy competition were a team from Johns Hopkins University, while the winner of the Chem E Car Poster competition was the team from Rutgers University.
Other activities at the regional conference included seminars, workshops, a student dinner, a career fair, a tour of the new Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Building and a banquet.
Ko said planning the conference was a good experience for her, noting that she worked with the Penn State AIChE student board members and chemical engineering faculty and staff to coordinate the event.
“Overall, I had such an amazing time planning this conference,” she said. “It was a great opportunity to develop my leadership, teamwork and event coordination skills. I would definitely do it again if I had the chance.”
Based on feedback from attendees, Ko said, the event was a success.
“The feedback we have received has shown how much the students enjoyed each event,” Ko said. “I really want to express how thankful I am for all the support and volunteers we had. This event could not have had the amount of success without them.”
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