UMBC AIChE chapter members and faculty mentors at the AIChE conference in San Diego. (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

UMBC chemical engineering students excelled again at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), held in San Diego this fall. The UMBC ChemE Jeopardy team, led by senior chemical engineering student Colin Jones, claimed third place at the national competition held during the conference; the K – 12 STEM outreach team, led by senior chemical engineering student Jemma Pryzbocki, won the top judges’ award in the high school category for designing a module to teach concepts of heat exchange; and the UMBC AIChE club won a best student chapter award.

The UMBC ChemE car team, which designed a car that starts and stops by chemical reactions, also performed respectably in a competitive field. The team was led by senior chemical engineering student Ben Welling. Several students also received individual recognitions—senior chemical engineering and biochemistry student Pavan Umashankar won a Donald F. & Mildred Topp Othmer Scholarship Award and senior Meredith Morse, chemical engineering, took third place in the student poster session in the food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology division.

K – 12 STEM outreach team members (from left to right) Daniel Miranda, Meredith Morse, and Jemma Przybocki demonstrate their teaching module, “The Chilly Chameleon Heat Exchanger.” (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

ChemE car team members (from left to right) Ben Welling (team captain), David Ni, Afrah Ahmed, Jacob Craft, and Michael Dinan prepare their car for competition. (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

“The students deserve a big round of applause for all their dedication and hard work,” says Neha Raikar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering (CBEE) and one of the advisors to the student AIChE chapter. 

“The chemical engineering major demands exceptional attention to detail and hard work,” says Mariajosé Castellanos, another CBEE faculty who advises the AIChE chapter. “It is truly inspiring to see our students consistently apply their skills and make a lasting mark on the national stage!”

UMBC students have achieved impressive AIChE conference success for many years running. The ChemE Jeopardy team has reached the final every year since 2020, and the K – 12 STEM outreach team, which only began competing last year, has won awards at each event. Earlier this year, the UMBC student chapter showed off their growth and talents by hosting a regional meeting of AIChE for the first time.

ChemE Jeopardy team members (from left to right) Jonathan Wu, Pavan Umashankar, Colin Jones, and Joshua Lewis take their places behind the buzzers. (Photo courtesy of Neha Raikar)

Fifteen CBEE students attended the 2024 AIChE Annual Student Conference in San Diego, CA from October 25, 2024 to October 28, 2024. 

ChemE Jeopardy - 3rd place, National Competition

UMBC chemical engineering students win first place in the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Regional AIChE ChemE Jeopardy Competition. Thus, qualifying for the 2023 National AIChE ChemE Jeopardy Competition in Orlando, FL in November as part of the AIChE National Conference. This is the fourth year in a row a UMBC team qualified for the National AIChE ChemE Jeopardy Competition.

Eighteen teams competed during the AIChE ChemE Jeopardy Mid-Atlantic Competition held at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, including two teams from UMBC. After the preliminary rounds, the UMBC teams placed first and second in the semi-finals, tied at 9 points each. The semifinal round was a knockout round, and UMBC’s ‘Team One’ advanced to the finals. The final round of competition was between UMBC, Johns Hopkins University (2nd place) and Stony Brook University (3rd place). 

The success of both teams is the result of consistent hard work and support from the teams’ faculty advisors are Dr. Neha Raikar and Dr. Mariajosé Castellanos as well as other students. Taylor deSilva, chemical engineering ‘23, is instrumental in preparing the teams for competition by organizing weekly practices including setting up sample game boards. 

Team One

• Ethan Banks, chemical engineering, traditional track ‘24
• Paul Loberg, chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track ‘24
• Max Bobbin, chemical engineering, environmental engineering & sustainability track ‘23
• Catherine Wraback - chemical engineering, traditional track ‘23

Team Two

• Pavan Umashankar, chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track ‘24

• Colin Jones,  chemical engineering, biotechnology and bioengineering track ‘25

• Jacob Craft, chemical engineering, environmental engineering & sustainability track ‘24
• Zachary Bogart, chemical engineering, environmental engineering & sustainability track ‘23

UMBC CBEE students and advisor at the AIChE 2023 Mid-Atlantic Student Regional Conference, April 22-23

Photo Credit: Max Bobbin

Back to front;  Pavan Umashankar, Paul Loberg, Caton , David Ni, Zachary Bogart, Ben Willing, Catherine Wraback, Jacob Craft, Colin Jones, Neha Sian, Dr. Neha Raikar, Sarah Donyaee, Afrah Ahmed, Ethan Banks, Max Bobbin. 

AIChE Conference Chem-E Jeopardy Competition Bracket 

UMBC teams placed 1st and 2nd in the Semi Finals round, tied at 9 points. 

After participating in rigorous peer reviews of their online and hybrid courses, five UMBC faculty earned Quality Matters certification as part of the campus’ Quality Matters Impact (QMI) pilot. In partnership with the Provost’s Office, the QMI pilot launched in Fall 2021 as an extension of the award-winning PIVOT program to recognize exemplary course design. 

Faculty participants received feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers at UMBC and other online learning experts in the QM community.

[read original story by UMBC's DOIT]