ISU CBE students rank high in regional conference competition

Team "Steve" smiles for the camera at the Chem-E-Car competition.
Team “Steve” smiles for the camera at the Chem-E-Car competition.
The "Squirtle Squad" Chem-E-Car team poses with its entry.
The “Squirtle Squad” team poses with its Chem-E-Car entry at the AIChE regional competition.
"Steve" makes a run down the course in the Chem-E-Car battle.
“Steve” makes a run down the course in the Chem-E-Car battle.

Students from Iowa State’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering achieved strong results in two competitions held as part of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Mid-America Student Regional Conference.

Held at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Iowa State’s delegation took part in the Chem-E-Car and Student Poster competitions, vying for honors with teams from a large number of schools – with two ISU students taking first place in the poster competition and fourth and fifth place team finishes in the Chem-E-Car competition.

Catherine Le Denmat and Christopher Isely took first place honors with their poster presentations, a discussion of the work they perform in the laboratory of CBE professor Dr. Kaitlin Bratlie.

Iowa State’s Chem-E-Car entry “Steve” took 5th place and “Squirtle Squad” took 4th in the competition where student teams design and fabricate a car roughly the size of a shoebox – with each car required to be both powered and stopped by a chemical reaction. In the competition, teams are given a target distance to reach.

Iowa State CBE students who took part in the conference included: Arianna Adams, Michelle Ampuero, Laura Appelen, Abigail Bruen, Jiong Da Low, Elizabeth Frank, Derek Gagni, David Gardner, Eve Goh, Amanda Hannash, Quinn Hanson-Pollock, Matt Hendrickson, Eric Hibner, Christopher Isely, Carolyn Jennrich, Catherine Le Denmat, Shridharshna Mailachalam, Joshua Potvin, Eli Reiser, Fengze Sun, Yee Sheian Tan, Carson Wells and Ivy Wu. They were accompanied by CBE professor Dr. Derrick Rollins.