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Success at the Virtual AIChE Annual Meeting
Award photo from the 2019 AIChE Annual Meeting in Orlando.
The 2020 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) was held virtually on Nov. 1620. The virtual format didn’t stop UF students and faculty from participating and receiving many notable awards.
The UF AIChE Student Chapter received the Outstanding Student Chapter Award, for the 4th year in a row. The award is presented annually to student chapters that show an exceptional level of participation, enthusiasm, program quality, professionalism, and involvement in the university and community.
“I am so honored to be the advisor to our amazing UF ChE engineering students!” said Sindia RiveraJimenez, Ph.D., Instructional Assistant Professor and AIChE Chapter Adviser.
At the virtual AIChE Annual Meeting, the chapter also won the K-12 Module
Competition
with their Module Saving Lives with Centrifugation. In the module, students demonstrated the process and physics behind centrifugation in the context of blood processing. The goal was to ensure that all students understand what happens during and after donating blood in order to demonstrate its importance and to promote blood donations.
Caroline Hamric won 2nd place in her division at the AIChE annual student conference poster presentation. Caroline is a University Scholar student and is mentored by Whitney L. Stoppel, Ph.D.
Sean Kochanowsky received the Freshman Recognition Award. This distinguished and well-deserved award is presented to one AIChE student member in each student chapter who has been the most active in their student chapter during his or her freshman year.
UF AIChE partnered with A Reason to Give to prepare lunches for the homeless. Caroline Hamric
Sean Kochanowsky
Zachary Lambert Zachary Lambert received the Donald
F. Othmer Sophomore Academic
Excellence Award. This distinguished award is presented to one AIChE student member in each student chapter who has attained the highest scholastic grade point average during their freshman and sophomore years.
Joseph Selected for Highly Competitive Graduate School Workshop
Nedgine Joseph, a senior in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida, is one of 50 students who was selected to attend the Women+ of Color Project (WOCP) virtual Graduate School 101 Workshop on October 10-12, 2020. Participants chosen for the workshop were among some of the best and brightest emerging scholars and show promise as future scientists.
“I feel honored, grateful, and humbled to have been accepted into this highly competitive WOCP workshop,” Joseph said. “It serves as further validation of my potential in the research field and encourages me to persevere in my professional life.”
As a freshman, Joseph was passionate about water and air pollution research, and immediately became involved in undergraduate research on a wastewater treatment project.
“As I took more chemical engineering technical electives, I was captivated and intrigued by the diversity, potential, and promise of energy research, specifically in bioenergy and nuclear energy. I hope to contribute to the energy field in my future,” Joseph said.
As an active participant in this year’s virtual workshop, Joseph had the opportunity to interact with other participants in the program, speakers, panelists, and network with partnered exhibitors.
The WOCP communicates best practices and addresses the disparity amongst underrepresented minority women who are pursuing careers as academic scientists.
Students presented to peers at the 22nd Annual Graduate Association of Chemical Engineers (GRACE) Research Symposium, which was conducted online via Zoom on Oct. 30, 2020. This is the first time the organization has conducted a symposium using an online format.
Five University of Florida Department of Chemical Engineering students won awards from the NanoFlorida Conference on Sept. 25, 2020.
Congratulations to Andrew Garcia (Honorable Mention in Materials, Devices, and Enabling Technologies); Calen Leverant (Honorable Mention in Materials, Devices, and Enabling Technologies Awards); Stephen Michel (Best Overall Undergraduate Awards); Gibson Scisco (First Place in Environmental, Agriculture, and Energy); and Minghan Xian (Honorable Mention in Materials, Devices, and Enabling Technologies Awards).
The NanoFlorida Conference unites student researchers from across the state of Florida to share their discoveries in nanotechnology and learn from distinguished speakers from around the United States. The conference is interdisciplinary, covering many areas of nanotechnology in biological, chemical, and environmental media. This year’s conference was free of charge and hosted virtually by the University of Miami.
GRACE Research Symposium Goes Online
Wyatt Casey LaMarche, Ph.D., (UF ChE Ph.D. ‘13) Project Leader at Particulate Solid Research, Inc. (PSRI), and Adrian Roitberg, Ph.D., a Professor in the UF Department of Chemistry, delivered the keynote presentations.
The symposium is a one-day research showcase where chemical engineering Ph.D., M.S., and undergraduate students have the opportunity to present their research to their peers and a panel of judges.
GRACE appreciates the commitment, efforts, and dedication of all the participants and extends congratulations to the winners.
Session 1
First place: Ani Kulkarni Honorable mention: Vikram Mehar
Poster session
First place: Caroline Hamric Honorable mention: Dirk Steyn
Session 2
First place: Chaker Fares Honorable mention: Ruwen Tan
