July 10, 2024
Members of the University of Missouri’s chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) recently earned five awards at regional conferences.
“Our chapter is ecstatic to have such a successful year in AIChE,” said Ashley Kemm, former vice president of Mizzou AIChE. “Each and every one of our members works very hard to put forth their best work, and this really showed through our recent successes at both the conference and the St. Louis AIChE awards banquet. After hosting the conference last year, we all learned and grew so much and are better engineers for it. We were able to take a step back and focus on being outstanding participants in the conference rather than the hosts this year, and this really allowed us to shine.”
AIChE Mid-America Regional Conference
Students took home three awards from the AIChE Mid-America Regional Conference. Senior Marissa Moore earned first place in the conference poster competition and the Chem-E-Car team won most innovative car design for their vehicle, Mizzoom. In addition, a group of organization members, which included students Marissa Moore, Elizabeth Proctor, Emma McDougal and Ethan Simpkins, placed third in the ChemE Jeopardy competition.
At the poster competition, Moore presented her research with Associate Professor Bret Ulery around using polymerization to incorporate antioxidants into biomaterials to prevent spinal cord injuries during surgeries.
Moore said her favorite part of the conference was the chem-e-car competition, where she cheered on the team, which earned Most Innovative Design. At Mizzou, Chem-E-Car is a suborganization within Mizzou AIChE that designs a car powered by a chemical energy source.
St. Louis AIChE Chapter Awards Ceremony
Ashley Kemm received the Emerson Virtus Dynamica Award as an outstanding senior in chemical engineering at Mizzou. Last year as vice president of Mizzou AIChE, Kemm led the group’s efforts to host the Mid-America Regional Conference.
“Being a first-generation student from a small town in Southwest Missouri, I never would have thought I would be receiving an award for being the top ChemE senior at Mizzou, and I am incredibly grateful for all of the resources I have been given to get to this point,” Kemm said. “None of this would have been possible without our amazing faculty in the ChemE department and my peers who have supported me throughout this degree.”
Arren Mallott, co-president of the Chem-E-Car team, also received the Rising Star Award, which is awarded to outstanding juniors in chemical engineering at Mizzou.
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