Contact: aicheuw@gmail.com
American Institute of Chemical Engineers - UW is an undergraduate student run organization committed to creating a sense of community and inclusion within the Chemical Engineering department on campus. Our organization also focuses on community outreach.
AIChE is “the global home for chemical engineers”, providing information and resources for chemical engineers across a wide range of fields and industries. It brings together the global community of ChemE, providing a network of leaders in research and industry.
Chem-E Car!
AIChE's Chem-E-Car is a competition organized by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) where student teams design and build small, self-powered cars that run on chemical energy. The main goal is to create a car that can travel a specified distance using a chemical reaction as its power source.
Design and Engineering: Teams must apply principles of chemical engineering to design their cars, including considerations for energy sources, reaction types, and vehicle mechanics.
Distance Target: Each car must travel a predetermined distance (often around 20-30 feet) and stop as close as possible to a specified endpoint without overshooting or undershooting.
Judging Criteria: Teams are judged based on their car's performance, design innovation, safety, and their ability to explain the chemical principles involved.
Educational Focus: The competition emphasizes teamwork, problem-solving, and the application of chemical engineering concepts, making it a valuable educational experience for participants.
Regional and National Levels: The competition typically starts at regional levels, with winning teams advancing to a national competition held at the AIChE Annual Meeting.
Overall, the Chem-E-Car competition is a fun and engaging way for students to apply their chemistry and engineering knowledge in a practical setting!
Interested in joining the team? Contact Lauren Ellis at laurene6@uw.edu
ChemE Brew Club!
Curious about brewing or distilling? Join us to learn the science and craft behind home-brewed ciders, beers, kombucha, and distilled spirits. We offer hands-on brewing experience, tour local breweries and distilleries, and explore how chemical engineers contribute to large-scale beverage production. All students are welcome, regardless of age, experience, or course of study!
Each year, AIChE nationals hosts a Beer Brewing Competition, where teams of early-career professionals (not undergraduates) over the age of 21 brew their own beer of any category. Professional beer tasting judges will then score beers according to a standard beer tasting rubric. Teams will also flex their chemical engineering muscles through a poster competition describing their processes and creative design that has gone into their brew.
Interested in joining? Fill out our interest form here: https://forms.gle/4GUe4PaR1CWLozjt9
Want to get involved in AIChE, WChE, ACES, or other cool ChemE events? Check out the calendar below for our upcoming events!