CU 麻豆影院's Chem-E-Car team takes home first place
In an impressive comeback, CU 麻豆影院 students won the American Institute of Chemical Engineers听 competition at the Rocky Mountain regional.听The event was held in Bozeman, Montana from April 11-12.
CU 麻豆影院's Chem-E-Club club dissolved during the COVID-19 pandemic but was revived in 2021 by five students, said Claire Ely, a senior majoring in chemical engineering and one of the students who helped bring it back. Since then, it has grown to a team of about 20 members.听
"This year's success is unbelievably exciting," Ely said. "The four seniors in the club feel like proud parents."
One of their cars, "Don't Zinc and Drive," took first place in both the car competition and the poster presentation; the team's second car, "Ralphie," placed third in the car competition. The first-place win secured CU 麻豆影院 a spot at the national AIChE competition in Boston this November.
Throughout the year, CU 麻豆影院 students designed, built and tested their car ideas in the chemical engineering undergraduate teaching lab, supported by Assistant Teaching Professor听Ehsan Keyvani.听
"Don't Zinc and Drive" is powered by zinc-air batteries and stopped using an acid-base neutralization. "Ralphie," is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and stopped using an enzyme-catalyzed digestion.听听
"The club is a fun and low-stakes way to reinforce engineering principles hands-on, regardless of experience,"听 Ely said. "Students, not just chemical engineering majors, develop a ton of skills, including electronics, mechanical design CAD prototyping, reaction engineering and experimental design.鈥
"We look forward to what Chem-E-Car brings next!," she said.
The club is supported by funding from the听Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and has received听Engineering Excellence Fund support in the past.
Students interested in joining CU 麻豆影院's Chem-E-Club can send an email to听chemecar@colorado.edu. The club can also be followed on Instagram at @boulderchemecar.