Our Crowdfunding Groups
Who we are
The Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is an extremely active student organization for students interested in chemical engineering at Iowa State. The group hosts weekly meetings featuring chemical/engineering companies and professional development activities, travels to regional and national AIChE student conferences, hosts K-12 outreach events, and competes in several nationwide chemical engineering competitions.
Nationals (AIChE Annual Student Conference)
From October 25-30, AIChE chapter members attended the national conference in San Diego, CA. While there, AIChE students participated in chemical engineering outreach and car competitions, presented their research posters, attended graduate and professional development fairs, networked with recruiters and other chemical engineers, and much more. Students also won awards for their research and for being outstanding students. The ISU chapter of AIChE also was celebrated as an Outstanding Student Chapter at the conference, for the third year in a row. Your generosity makes these trips more accessible for all students and enables them to develop into future chemical engineers.
Marella Vitelli was awarded the prestigious Donald F. Othmer Scholarship, recognizing outstanding academic achievement and service to the student chapter.
Regional Conference
The Iowa State Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is currently preparing to participate in the 16th MidAmerican Regional Student Conference at the University of Oklahoma in April 2025. This is a great opportunity for AIChE members to showcase their research, compete in various competitions (such as Chem-E Car, Chem-E Jeopardy, and Chem-E Cube), and attend various professional development opportunities. Beyond those, the regional conference is also a great opportunity for students to network with other students and represent Iowa State.
Chem-E-Car Team
Many students in the chapter are active in the design of the Chem-E-Car. The goal is for students to design a device run (and stopped) by chemical reactions that will move a prescribed distance. We have two teams preparing for the next regional conference in April 2025. The teams are experimenting with two different reactions to power their cars, as well as incorporating some new and exciting ideas for their stopping mechanisms. The Iowa State chapter of AIChE has sent a Chem-E-Car team to the national conference for the last 8 years! This is thanks to our excellent traditions and outstanding students willing to work hard to succeed. Your support can help us send and prepare the cars and teams for the next regional conference to continue the trend of qualifying for nationals. Thank you for your generosity!
Iowa State Students Elias Pickit, Derrick Grengs, and David Nelson (in red) preparing “The Bridge” by tilting the car and adding the reactants for the start mechanism at the National Chem E Car competition in 2023.
This competition season, we are looking to extend our streak of qualifying for the national competition by placing in the top three in next spring’s Mid-American Regional Conference. The car for the Nationals team is named "The Bruiser," and runs on a lead-acid electrochemical reaction, stopping with a luminol clock reaction. Our students worked very hard to run their cars at the regional competition successfully. At the 2024 MidAmerica Regional Conference, two Iowa State teams competed in Chem-E-Car, the Cardinal and Gold teams (the lab coats match the team names). New Cardinal and Gold teams have started working for the upcoming Regional conference in April of 2025.
Members of the Iowa State Chem-E-Car Gold team (in gold) troubleshooting the thermo-electric conductors for “Ames Tap Water” at the 2023 MidAmerica Regional Competition
Research
Students from Iowa State attend conferences to present research about the work they do at school. Presenting research is both a competition and a great opportunity for students to build valuable skills to help them in their careers. Two students won in their research category at the most recent annual national conference.
Michael Galvin presents his poster at the Annual Student Conference. Michael won first place in the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering research category.
Professional Development
Students also attend these conferences to advance their careers. AIChE has a wide variety of seminars that will educate students on how to be better engineers and provide valuable advice and insight from professionals. The professional development opportunities are also endless. Many companies and sponsors also had exhibits for students to network and visit while there, including ExxonMobil, Merck, Chevron, and more. Schools were also present to provide post-secondary education information.
Links
http://www.aiche.org/community/students/chem-e-car
Help purchase tools and resources for our car team to compete at the national competition.
Help the team purchase materials to improve their car and experiments, giving them a better chance to win the national competition. At this level, you will receive a social media shout-out!
Help the team pay for PPE supplies and registration for the regional event. This level of donation comes with a social media shout-out as well as a website recognition!
Help the team cover all the previously mentioned costs and help us grow the project for years to come! This level of donation comes with a social media shout-out as well as a website recognition!
Donate at this level to show your immense interest in AIChE at ISU. You will help the club continue to perform at Nationals for Chem-E-Car, host networking nights for students, and provide leadership experience for uprising chemical engineers. Donors at this level receive a social media shout-out, a website recognition, and can have their name or face on the cars that will be competing at the next regional conference in April!
Be at the heart of the ISU AIChE's future success! Donors at this level receive a social media shout-out, a website recognition, and can have their name or face on the cars that will be competing at the next regional conference in April. They will also receive a signed thank-you note by the AIChE cabinet and Dr. Mansell.