American Institute of Chemical Engineers FundISU

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.

Regional Conference 

The Iowa State Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) participated in the 16th MidAmerican Regional Student Conference at the University of Oklahoma in April 2025. This was 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. Additionally, the regional conference provided a valuable opportunity for students to network with peers and represent Iowa State.

^{Chem E car team won the 2025 MidAmerican Regional Conference and qualified to compete at the national level}

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. 

This year, the winner teams of ChE Jeopardy and Chem E car will be representing ISU at AIChE ASC 2025 in Boston, MA. The ISU chapter of AIChE was also recognized as an Outstanding Student Chapter at the conference for the fourth consecutive year. Your generosity makes these trips more accessible to all students, enabling 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.}

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. Every year, we have two teams preparing for the regional conference. 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 9 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 at the Regional Chem E Car competition in 2025.}

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 "H2Glow", which is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell; the hydrogen is generated with an aluminum, sodium hydroxide, and water reaction. The stopping mechanism for the car is an iodine clock reaction. Our students worked very hard to successfully run their cars at the regional competition. At the 2025 MidAmerican Regional Conference, two Iowa State teams competed in Chem-E-Car, the Cardinal and Gold teams (the lab coats match the team names). The new Cardinal and Gold teams have begun working on the upcoming Regional conference in April 2026.

^{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.}

Students from Iowa State attend conferences to present research about the work they do at school. Presenting research is both a competition and a valuable opportunity for students to develop essential skills that will benefit 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.}

Students also attend these conferences to advance their careers. AIChE offers a diverse range of seminars that educate students on how to become better engineers and provide valuable advice and insights from professionals. The professional development opportunities are also endless. Many companies and sponsors also had exhibits for students to network and visit during the event, including ExxonMobil, Merck, Chevron, and others. Schools were also present to provide information about post-secondary education.

^{Iowa State Students at the MidAmerican Regional Conference 2025.}

http://aiche.cbe.iastate.edu/

http://www.aiche.org/community/students/chem-e-car

linkedin.com/in/aiche-isu-b82159269