CU Boulder's Chem-E-Car team wins international poster design competition
CU Boulder’s team took first place in poster design at theAmerican Institute of Chemical Engineers’27th Annual ChemE Car Competition, surpassing 56 teams from around the world. The competition was held in Boston on Nov. 2.
The team—chemical and biological engineering undergraduates William Bierzychudek, Colin McElroy, McKenzie Mazur, Joshua Sherritt and Megan Sullivan—created the poster to showcase the research behind their vehicle, “Don’t Zinc and Drive,” which ispowered by zinc-air batteries and uses an exothermic catalytic decomposition reaction mechanism to stop.
"There’s definitely a little imposter syndrome when you show up to a conference filled with big international schools and premier US colleges with big names," said Bierzychudek, the team's captain. "Initially we were completely surprised, and then excitement and gratitude hit. It felt like recognition of the hours we had spent continuously redesigning our car, applying theory and diagnosing and fixing countless errors."
Throughout the year, CU Boulder students designed, built and tested their car concepts in the chemical engineering undergraduate teaching lab, said Assistant Teaching ProfessorEhsan Keyvani, the team’s faculty advisor.The competition challenges teams to design a shoebox-sized car powered by chemical reactions— such as a battery or internal combustion engine — that must stop at a specified distance using a time-dependent chemical reaction. The target distance is announced just before the competition, and the team whose car stops closest to that point wins.
“CU Boulder’s car finished just a few meters shy of the target line in a fiercely competitive field,” Keyvani said.
In AprilCU Boulder students won the AIChE competition at the Rocky Mountain regional held in Bozeman, Montana. At that event, "Don't Zinc and Drive," took first place in both the car competition and the poster presentation; the team's second car, "Ralphie," placed third in the car competition. The first-place win secured CU Boulder a spot at the AIChE competition in Boston.
“Congratulations to the entire team for their outstanding achievement, dedication and innovative spirit; a true reflection of CU Boulder’s excellence in chemical engineering education and teamwork,” Keyvani said.
The club is supported by funding from theDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering and has receivedEngineering Excellence Fund support in the past.
鶹Ժ interested in joining CU Boulder's Chem-E-Club can send an email tochemecar@colorado.edu. The club can also be followed on Instagram at @boulderchemecar.