UMBC AIChE chapter members and faculty mentors at the AIChE conference in San Diego. (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

UMBC chemical engineering students excelled again at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), held in San Diego this fall. The UMBC ChemE Jeopardy team, led by senior chemical engineering student Colin Jones, claimed third place at the national competition held during the conference; the K – 12 STEM outreach team, led by senior chemical engineering student Jemma Pryzbocki, won the top judges’ award in the high school category for designing a module to teach concepts of heat exchange; and the UMBC AIChE club won a best student chapter award.

The UMBC ChemE car team, which designed a car that starts and stops by chemical reactions, also performed respectably in a competitive field. The team was led by senior chemical engineering student Ben Welling. Several students also received individual recognitions—senior chemical engineering and biochemistry student Pavan Umashankar won a Donald F. & Mildred Topp Othmer Scholarship Award and senior Meredith Morse, chemical engineering, took third place in the student poster session in the food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology division.

K – 12 STEM outreach team members (from left to right) Daniel Miranda, Meredith Morse, and Jemma Przybocki demonstrate their teaching module, “The Chilly Chameleon Heat Exchanger.” (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

ChemE car team members (from left to right) Ben Welling (team captain), David Ni, Afrah Ahmed, Jacob Craft, and Michael Dinan prepare their car for competition. (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

“The students deserve a big round of applause for all their dedication and hard work,” says Neha Raikar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering (CBEE) and one of the advisors to the student AIChE chapter. 

“The chemical engineering major demands exceptional attention to detail and hard work,” says Mariajosé Castellanos, another CBEE faculty who advises the AIChE chapter. “It is truly inspiring to see our students consistently apply their skills and make a lasting mark on the national stage!”

UMBC students have achieved impressive AIChE conference success for many years running. The ChemE Jeopardy team has reached the final every year since 2020, and the K – 12 STEM outreach team, which only began competing last year, has won awards at each event. Earlier this year, the UMBC student chapter showed off their growth and talents by hosting a regional meeting of AIChE for the first time.

ChemE Jeopardy team members (from left to right) Jonathan Wu, Pavan Umashankar, Colin Jones, and Joshua Lewis take their places behind the buzzers. (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

Fifteen CBEE students attended the 2024 AIChE Annual Student Conference in San Diego, CA from October 25, 2024 to October 28, 2024. 

ChemE Jeopardy - 3rd place, National Competition

On the first weekend of April, hundreds of chemical engineering students from across the Mid-Atlantic converged on the UMBC campus for two days of learning, networking, and friendly competition. They heard talks from academic and industry leaders, attended workshops and a career fair, competed in rounds of ChemE Jeopardy, mixed chemicals to power small cars along a track in the ChemE Car competition, and mingled over catered lunches, dinners, and cups of evening hot cocoa. 

The activities were all part of the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Student Regional Conference of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)—hosted by the UMBC student chapter of the national group. Around 400 people attended the event, an increase from last year’s conference at Virginia Tech. Organizing the logistics, recruiting speakers and sponsors, securing rooms, and ordering thousands of plates worth of food presented a formidable challenge—one that the UMBC students tackled with aplomb. 

“I am feeling fantastic after the conference,” says Pavan Umashankar ’25, chemical engineering and biochemistry and molecular biology, who served as the chair of the conference organizing committee. “I am super proud of everyone’s commitment and dedication to make it a resounding success.”

“Truly, I could gush about the UMBC conference planning team all day,” says Alyssa Block, the membership associate of ChemE student programs for AIChE. “These students really are the future leaders of their profession and of AIChE: engaged, excited, collaborative, supportive of each other, and willing to lend a hand.” 

A club on the upswing 

Hosting an AIChE regional conference for the first time at UMBC marked a milestone for a student club that has seen increasing levels of engagement and success in recent years. While many college clubs across the country are in decline post-Covid, UMBC’s AIChE student chapter is on a clear upward trajectory. The club sent its first team to compete in ChemE Jeopardy at the spring 2019 AIChE regional meeting. Just three years later, the UMBC team won the national ChemE Jeopardy competition. 

Neha Raikar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering (CBEE) and one of the advisors to the student AIChE chapter, remembers attending the 2019 meeting: “Back then, we wondered if we would ever be able to host a regional conference at UMBC,” she says. “We’ve achieved that goal.” 

It was especially remarkable, she adds, to see some members of UMBC’s first ChemE Jeopardy and ChemE car teams return to this year’s conference as industry representatives.

Strong attendance and smooth conference logistics weren’t the only successes of the weekend—UMBC also triumphed in the ChemE Jeopardy and ChemE car competitions. 

“Planning for the conference was already a significant undertaking, and on top of that, many of our students participated, and excelled, in the competitions,” says Raikar. “Their achievements not only showcased their individual capabilities but also the strength of our club as a whole, which is growing and thriving.”

A winning formula

AIChE chapter members and their advisors ascribe the club’s success to the hard work and dedication of the students coupled with the support of the CBEE department, college, and university. Thirteen CBEE students formed the conference planning committee, which met regularly to ensure all conference planning efforts were on track. An additional 37 students and 14 faculty and staff also volunteered their time—as check-in staff, poster and presentation judges, and more. About 10 UMBC alumni actively participated in the conference, and others contributed to fundraising efforts, helping the organizing committee secure sponsorships from notable companies such as AstraZeneca, ExxonMobil, Advanced Thermal Batteries, and Astek Diagnostics and from the chemical engineering department of Columbia University. 

An Dang ’24, chemical engineering, led the fundraising efforts. She gamely approached industry representatives at the UMBC career fair and made the pitch. “I’m not an extrovert, and being in these roles forced me to go out of my comfort zone,” she says.

“Securing sponsorships was vital for making the conference possible, and An did a remarkable job” says Mariajosé Castellanos, another CBEE faculty who advises the AIChE chapter. Castellanos also praised the management skills of conference planning committee chair Umashankar. “Despite his modesty, Pavan is a true mastermind in everything he does,” she says.

For their part, the students applauded the support of the CBEE department, especially the work of their two advisors, Raikar and Castellanos, and the event planning support of Andrea Miller, the CBEE graduate program coordinator. 

The conference was both a marker of the club’s success and an opportunity for individual students to grow their skill sets.

“I have developed leadership and project management skills, which will be incredibly useful throughout my professional career,” says Umashankar. 

Ben Welling ’25, chemical engineering, the leader of the UMBC ChemE car team, believes his experience with the competition helped him land internships. “I talked about it extensively with employers. They like leadership experience and it shows you are willing to do more than is required.” 

Raikar sees a bright future for the student stars of this year’s conference and for the club as a whole. “I hope the conference will boost the club membership and participation of students in other AIChE activities,” she says. And, she adds, the conference shows that with support, “UMBC students can accomplish any task.”

We are excited to share the astounding success of multiple CBEE teams who competed in intellectual competitions at the AIChE 2024 Mid-Atlantic Student Conference April 6-7, 2024 at UMBC. 

UMBC teams, consisting of chemical engineering majors,placed first place in both the ChemE Jeopardy and Chem-E-Car competitions. Thus, both teams earned a spot in the national competition at the 2024 AIChE Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA in October. 

ChemE Jeopardy 

ChemE Jeopardy is a trivia competition that utilizes questions from Chemical Engineering undergraduate coursework. Teams compete at regional competitions to earn a spot in the national competition held during AIChE’s annual meeting.

Two UMBC teams competed at the AIChE 2024 Mid-Atlantic Student Conference. UMBC Team #1 won first place in the competition. With the first place in by UMBC Team #1, UMBC will compete in the National ChemE Jeopardy competition for the fifth year in a row. 

UMBC Team #2 made it to the semifinals but narrowly missed a spot in the final by 100 points. We are so proud of Team #2 strong showing during their first competition together. 

UMBC Team # 1: 

• Ethan Banks, chemical engineering, traditional track ‘24
• Colin Jones (Jeopardy Chair), chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track ‘25
• Paul Loberg - chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track ‘24
• Pavan Umashankar chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track ‘25

UMBC Team #2:

• Jacob Craft, chemical engineering, environmental engineering track
• Joshua Lewis, chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track
• Dylan Hildt, chemical engineering, traditional track
• Jonathan Wu, chemical engineering, traditional track

Chem-E-Car

Chem-E-Car is a design and construction competition where teams develop small-scale automobiles that operate by chemical means, along with a poster describing their research. Each aspect of the competition is judged and awarded separately. During the poster presentations the team members explain the chemical engineering principles behind the design and the construction of the team’s car with the use of visualization on the poster. During the competition, teams must drive their car a fixed distance. One hour prior to the beginning of the first run, teams are informed of the specific distance and the payload for the competition. Each team is given two runs for their car. The teams are judged based on the closest to the finish line. 

UMBC’s Chem-E-Car team, VoltsMaxxing, won the Chem-E-Car competition and placed 3rd in the poster presentations. During the Chem-E-Car competition the team’s car stopped 1.3 m away from the target distance of 24.8 m. This is UMBC’s first Chem-E-Car win and only the second year UMBC competed in Chem-E-Car. 

VoltsMaxxing team members: 

• Afrah Ahmed, chemical engineering
• Jacob Craft, chemical engineering, environmental engineering track
• Michael Dinan, environmental engineering 
• Dylan Hildt, chemical engineering, traditional track
• Danny Miranda, chemical engineering, traditional track 
• David Ni, chemical engineering, traditional track
• Jemma Przybocki, chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track
• Ben Welling (Chem-E-car Captain), chemical engineering, environmental engineering track 
• Jonathan Wu chemical engineering, traditional track

In addition to the amazing achievements of our students, we must also acknowledge the efforts of Dr. Neha Raikar, who worked closely with the teams in preparation for the competitions. 

An Dang ’24: A chemical engineer who helped pull off a big student conference

By: Catherine Meyers | Published: May 21, 2024 | UMBC NEWS

An Dang ’24, chemical engineering, an international student from Vietnam, arrived at UMBC in 2021 as a transfer student from Montgomery College. When switching colleges, she also switched majors: from biology to chemical engineering. She quickly became involved in activities in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering and this year helped the student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) pull together a major student conference for the first time. 

Q: What drew you to UMBC?

A: I talked to Mark Marten, the chair of the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering (CBEE), and I got the sense that the department is small and they really support their students. That caring environment is what I wanted. It’s also, honestly, an affordable option.

Q: Who were some of your mentors?

A: I’m working in the lab of Lee Blaney, one of the environmental engineering professors. He’s my research advisor and really helped me navigate the process of applying to grad school. In the fall, I’m going to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to pursue my Ph.D. And Neha Raikar, a senior lecturer in the department, devotes so much of her time to making sure students are supported. She’s like a motherly figure for a lot of us.

Q: What clubs and activities were you involved in?

A: I was a CBEE student ambassador. We went to high schools and community colleges to advertise the department and answer student questions. I’m also involved in the AIChE student chapter. At first I was the service chair and I mostly helped with planning K-12 outreach events. This year, we hosted the AIChE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference and I was on the planning committee. I was in charge of corporate and university relations—I helped secure sponsors for the conference, and made sure we had funding.

Q: What were some of the skills you developed serving in these roles?

A: I’m not an extrovert, and being in these roles forced me to go out of my comfort zone. I learned how to speak professionally with people in higher positions, so they take me seriously, and maybe even want to give us money. The other big thing I realized is that no matter how well I prepare, sometimes things will go wrong, and that’s okay. We all need to give ourselves grace.

Q: How did it feel to host a big conference?

A: It was a lot of hard work! The student organizers spent a lot of time together, and we really got to know each other well and develop close relationships. There are only 28 people from the department in my graduating class, and many of them are in AIChE. When the conference went well, it felt great!

Q: What other places did you find community at UMBC?

A: I am an international student, and I worked for International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). I got to know some of the staff in the office really well. One problem that I ran into while I was here is that I lost my social security card. I had a lot of challenges getting a new one because there was a mix-up in the social security office with my middle and first name. ISSS helped me write a very good letter to justify my case, and I finally got my card. I’m very grateful that I got that help from them because it’s an important piece of documentation.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: I’m continuing in chemical engineering and plan to go to grad school to study catalysis engineering, which is studying how to speed up chemical reactions. I’d like to work in industry, particularly in the field of renewable energy. Anything that helps with the environment—that’s what I want to focus on.

Photo credit: An Dang (Marlayna Demond '11/UMBC)

Congratulations to the AIChE Student Chapter on receiving the Event of the Year Winner during UMBC Office of Student Affairs annual end of the year event, CelebratingOrgs which honors and recognizes student organizations for their valuable work at UMBC. 

Event of the Year Winner - AIChE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference

Event of the Year Award Description - While events are made to better the UMBC community and celebrate our grit and greatness as a campus, the events made by student organizations are like no other. Student organization events celebrate the diversity of our cultures and beliefs, educate the community, and provide a space to unwind from the stress of the school year. This award recognizes the student organization for the Event of the Year. 

AIChE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference details - As the premier chemical engineering student conference in the region, this event brought over 350 attendees from 30+ different universities and industry sponsors to the UMBC campus. While the conference is geared toward undergraduate students, the conference hosted several graduate students, post-docs, faculty and staff, and industry professionals. The conference was a hub for extensive student networking, professional development opportunities, and friendly competition. Specifically, the event included a career fair alongside several industry-sponsored workshops and keynote addresses which helped attendees build their networks and shape their careers. A committee of 13 undergraduate students planned the event, which allowed numerous students to gain invaluable leadership and project management experience. These students worked tirelessly to connect with and coordinate the efforts of numerous UMBC departments and services including the CBEE Department (Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering), COEIT College of Engineering and Information Technology), OIA (Office of Institutional Advancement), Career Center, UMBC Graduate School, and ECS (Event and Conference Services). Through these efforts, over $60,000 in total was raised. 

Committee Members: 

Sponsorship & Funding Sub-Chair                      Raey Hunde

Corporate & University Relations Sub-Chair      An Dang

Corporate & University Relations Sub-Chair      Danny Sebrosky

ChemE Car Sub-Chair                                         Afrah Ahmed

ChemE Car Sub-Chair                                         Ahmed Al-Anesi

ChemE Car Sub-Chair                                         Jacob Craft

ChemE Jeopardy Sub-Chair                               Anh Bui

Workshops Sub-Chair                                         Nelanne Bolima

Workshops Sub-Chair                                         Meredith Morse

Research Presentations Sub-Chair                   Sarah Yoda

Logistics Sub-Chair                                            John Velkey

Communications Sub-Chair                               Terra Miley

Committee Chair                                                 Pavan Umashankar

Hundreds of East Coast chemical engineering students to gather at UMBC for regional conference

 By: Catherine Meyers | Published: Mar 29, 2024 | UMBC NEWS

Over the weekend of April 6 – 7, the UMBC student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) will host the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference on campus. The event will feature workshops, research presentations, and a career fair with companies such as AstraZeneca and Astek Diagnostics and schools including Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, the University of Delaware, and Lehigh University. It will also feature the conferences’ two signature competitive events: Chemical Engineering Jeopardy and ChemE Car—a competition to build and operate a car powered and stopped by chemical reactions.

Organizers expect more than 350 attendees from more than 30 universities across the region. UMBC students are encouraged to register to attend, even if they aren’t chemical engineering majors. “As the premier student chemical engineering conference in the region, this event will offer great opportunities for networking, presenting research, landing internships and jobs, and general professional development,” says Terra Miley ’25, chemical engineering, who is serving as the communications chair for the student organizing committee.

Photo credit: The UMBC campus will host hundreds of chemical engineering students in early April for a regional meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

UMBC intellectual sports programs were featured in the fall Baltimore Sun Education supplement, published on Oct. 15. The article, "More than just having fun: Being active in student organizations has long-reaching benefits," includes an interview with Lesa Goodhue.

"'UMBC's use of 'intellectual sports' as a category is unique,' says Lesa Goodhue, special assistant to the AVP, intellectual sports and applied learning. 'While other universities have similar groups, outside of UMBC those groups are often separated and 'owned' by their respective academic departments or colleges. At UMBC, on the other hand, intellectual sports are student organizations recognized by the Student Government Association (SGA). Being an SGA entity ensures that all of our undergraduate students have the opportunity to be a member.'"

"According to Goodhue, student organizations are viewed by the university as ideal spaces for students to develop as leaders, build communities of peers, collaborate across interests and acquire power skills. She notes that UMBC student organizations write constitutions, attend regular roundtables, have access to scheduled professional development workshops, follow budgeting timelines, and adhere to processes designed to maximize equity and ensure their safety."

The article, which begins on page 1, also includes the full interview with Goodhue and quotes from Mock Trial member Samisha Connor '25, financial economics, and American Institute for Chemical Engineers member Benjamin Welling '25, chemical engineering.

ORIGINAL POST: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/vpsa/posts/136468

UMBC chemical engineering students win ChemE Jeopardy national championship

Road to the finals

Making a name for themselves