Faculty and students of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering attended the 2014 AIChE Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Dr. M. Nazmul Karim, holder of the T. Michael O'Connor Chair II, department head and professor of chemical engineering, hosted guests at a department banquet during the November meeting.
“Our faculty and students were well-represented in the AIChE Annual Meeting at Atlanta. They presented papers in cutting edge technologies; many faculty members served as session chairs and as division officers. Some students received awards. It is a great occasion to interact with colleagues from other universities, government agencies and industry. This premier event in chemical engineering is a watershed event in the profession. I am happy that our department has appropriate visibility and has provided intellectual leadership in this conference,” said Karim.
Thomas Fuller (left), sophomore, received the AIChE 2014 Donald F. & Mildred Topp Othmer Scholarship Award, with a cash prize of $1000.
Holly Butcher, graduate student in the research group of Dr. Benjamin Wilhite, associate professor, received a $400 travel grant from the Catalysis & Reaction Engineering Division (CRE). At the meeting, Butcher presented on the topic: "Enhancing Catalyst Effectiveness and Loading in Microreactors."
Ph.D. candidate Bin Zhang received the "Fuels and Petrochemicals Division of AIChE Best Paper Award: Honorable Mention" along with Dr. M. Sam Mannan, regents professor, director of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center and holder of the T. Michael O'Connor Chair I.
Undergraduate students (above) from both Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University-Qatar participated in the "CHEM-E Car Event" which required teams of students from around the world to create a mini "car" that would travel a required distance, among other rules by which teams abided. Two rounds for each team determined the winner. To see the official results, visit the 2014 Official AIChE Chem-E-Car YouTube video.
For students at Texas A&M who would like to join the local AIChE chapter, please visit the Texas A&M University Student Chapter of AIChE page.
AIChE is the world's leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with over 45,000 members from over 100 countries. AIChE has a breadth of resources and expertise for those in core process industries or emerging areas, such as nanobiotechnology.