Engineers finish third in regional ChemE car contest
Scene from the ChemE car competition regionals.
Posted: April 13, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. — Bucknell University chemical engineering students finished third in the regional ChemE competition sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
The third-place finish advances the team to the national competition in Minneapolis in October. Bucknell finished behind No. 1 University of Maryland and No. 2 University of Pittsburgh. || Related coverage: The Daily Targum
Last year, Bucknell's entry placed second in the nationwide event.
Damon Vincguerra '11
Bucknell's Damon Vinciguerra '11 took second place in the student paper competition for his work titled, "Assessing the validity of brain glucose concentration measurement using microdialysis." For his presentation, he won $100 and a subscription to AIChE's monthly magazine.
All told, 13 Bucknell students and four faculty members attended the April 9 regional conference that was hosted by Pennsylvania State University.
While at the conference, students attended several chemical engineering workshops and networking events in addition to competing in the ChemE Car competition and the AIChE Student Paper Competition.
Chemical reaction
The goal of the ChemE Car competition is to design and construct a shoebox-sized car running on a chemical reaction that will carry a specified load an exact distance. The distance and load are only announced on the morning of the competition, so students must have an excellent understanding of the chemical reactions powering their car so that they can adjust the reactants appropriately. The winner is the car able to stop closest to the finish line.
Bucknell's team, sponsored by Air Products, came in third, finishing four feet, seven inches from the line, more than 17 feet closer than the fourth-place entry.
Contact: Division of Communications
