Chem-E Car Places 3rd in Region, Moves on to Nationals

Clarkson’s Chem-E Car SPEED team pulled off a 3rd place finish in the 2022 regional competition, guaranteeing them a spot to compete in the national competition in Phoenix in November at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) annual meeting.

On the day of the competition, the teams were told the distance that the mini-car needed to travel, complete with a chemical power system and a stopping reaction. This year the distance was 20 meters, and the top winners were within just a couple of centimeters.

“To be this close is unusual; typically the 2nd and 3rd place finishers are within meters, not centimeters,” said ELIZABETH PODLAHA-MURPHY, professor and chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Clarkson and the safety judge for the event.

The University of Toronto placed first at 20.04 meters, and Cornell University placed second at 20.24 meters. Clarkson placed third with 20.28 meters.

The SPEED Team president is CAROLYNE SHULTES ’23; the faculty advisors are SIMONA LIGUORI and IAN MCCRUM.