AIChE North Central Regional Conference at The Ohio State University

Competitions

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ChemE Jeopardy Competition: Jeopardy will utilize questions from common chemical engineering undergraduate curricula. Each team can have up to four members and each school can have more than one team.  First-place team wins $200 and second-place team wins $100.  First-place team and possibly second-place team will qualify for the ASC.  Rules here.

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Chem-E-Car Poster Competition: Prior, Regional Safety Coordinators will have provided final feedback on the videos and safety inspection.  During, ChemE Car teams will present their posters, followed by Q&A and judging.  First through third -place poster finishers will earn certificates.  Rules here. Submit poster and video here by Saturday 4/10.

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Chem-E-Car Competition: ChemE Car teams will introduce themselves and then run their cars in two rounds.  First-place team wins $200 and second-place team wins $100.  First through fifth -place teams qualify for ASC (if a team places sixth-place or after, the team can send an email to studentchapters@aiche.org requesting to be waitlisted for the ASC).  Rules here.

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Paper Competition (Student Technical Presentation Competition): Students will present their research on topics that are left to the student’s discretion but focus on recent advances in some branch of chemical engineering, original research, or plant design.  You may present any research you have completed during your undergraduate degree.  Research must be conducted during your undergraduate degree.  If you have competed with research before, you may compete again as long as you present new findings/updates to that research.  First-place wins $200, second-place wins $100, and third-place wins $50. Rules here. 

Click here to view the abstracts of the students presenting at this competition!

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Poster Competition: Students will present posters on their findings in topics involving chemical engineering principles, such as sustainability/environment, catalysis and reaction engineering, computing and process control, pharmaceuticals, bioengineering, fuels, petrochemicals, energy, materials, and separations.  This is a great opportunity to meet faculty from a large variety of chemical engineering U.S. graduate programs as they tour (and potentially judge) the posters.  Research must be conducted during your undergraduate degree.  If you have competed with research before, you may compete again as long as you present new findings/updates to that research.  First-place, second-place, and third-place finishers will earn certificates. First-place wins $200, second-place wins $100, and third-place wins $50. Rules here.

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Networking Events

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Social Mixer: Multiple simultaneous events, including a virtual happy hour and some game rooms. Complete this survey here, if interested. This will be more informal.

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Coffee Networking: Breakout rooms based on different topics for post-graduation plans or aspirations. Discuss, meet other students, and connect on LinkedIn before the day’s events begin!  This will be more informal.

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Career Fair: Breakout rooms where students can talk to recruiters from companies and institutions to learn more about roles and to exchange personal details.  Participating students should submit their resume here. List of attending companies and institutions TBD.  This will be more formal. Please upload resume here if you plan to attend. 

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Grad School Panel: Graduate students and program coordinators from various universities and engineering disciplines will be on a panel to discuss graduate school and answer questions. Afterwards, there will be breakout rooms with individual graduate students so that attendees can ask more specific questions, including about connecting with faculty, funding, thesis selection, and offer letters. 

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Workshops

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Company Spotlight – pH Matter Workshop: Paul Matter, the founder of pH Matter (a materials company specializing in catalysts and nanoparticles for advanced energy storage and aerospace applications), will talk about what it's like to create a start-up, what the fuel cell industry is like, and where his company fits in within that industry.

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Refining 101 with Marathon Petroleum Corporation Workshop: Representatives from Marathon Petroleum Corp. will discuss the basics of petroleum refining, how a typical refinery works, and the products a refinery makes.

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How To Start, Effectively Operate, and Improve a Chapter Mentorship Program: A top-to-bottom run-through and discussion on chapter mentorship programs, including initial conception, how chapters currently run their own programs, how OSU is looking to improve its chapter for future, and Q&A, led by OSU’s President Matthew Greenwaldt.

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Integrating Engineering in Business with Dow Chemical Company: Representative Matthew Rees will discuss how to leverage engineering skills in the business world.

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Solving Plastic Pollution with Alterra Energy Workshop: Representatives from Alterra Energy (a company developing solutions to transform waste plastic into usable products) will give a presentation on what Alterra Energy does to reduce plastic waste, what it is like to work there, and what roles are available for chemical engineers at Alterra.

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Process Safety Workshop: OSU Alumni Jeff Thomas will explain how safety is essential to a workplace and how you can develop safety skills that recruiters like to see on your resume.

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What Does a Future in the Pharmaceutical Industry Look Like? Workshop: OSU Alumni Leonore Witchey-Lakshmanan will speak on career options in the Pharmaceutical Industry, benefits of working in it, and the best way to guide your education in that direction.

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Encouraging Global Engagement of Chemical Engineers in Humanitarian Development Workshop: Miami University professor Catherine Almquist will discuss how to implement local and global change in environmental, humanitarian, and sustainable engineering.

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Financial Responsibility and Wellness Workshop: OSU professor Dr. Andrew Maxson will present on how to manage your finances and plan for a future after college.

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Pathway to Management Workshop: OSU Alumni Christian Sistrunk will give a workshop on how to move from an engineering degree to upper management, with additional details on his personal journey.

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Working in Food Industry Workshop: OSU Alumni Jim Trout will speak on career options in the food and beverage industry, benefits of working in it, and the best way to orient your education in that direction.

 

How to Host a Networking Night Workshop: OSU’s External Vice President Ben Carpenter and former Professional Development Coordinator Anjali Tewari will outline the steps, tools, and advice on how a chapter can host both virtual and in-person networking events with large turnout and positive reviews.

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Keynote and Awards

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Keynote/Welcome Address: Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell (one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world), will give a speech.

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Awards Banquet and Keynote Speaker: Awards will be given for top finishers of the ChemE Car, Jeopardy, STPC, and poster competitions.  If the raffle will be held, raffle winners will also be announced and awarded with prizes like conference apparel or gift cards.  Bob Patel will give a second speech on different topics than those given in his morning address, followed by Q&A.