REAL-LIFE DESIGN: AIChE NATIONAL STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION

Chemical Engineering Progress, Jan 2004

Since 1932, AiChE's National Student Design Competition has challenged students to solve a "real-life" engineering design problem. Students are given one month to complete the problem, including considerations related to economics, the environment, and production capacity.

This year's design challenge, "Recycling Nitric Acid from a Radioactive Liquid Waste Stream," drew entries from the country's top chemical engineering programs. This design problem was devised and written by NSDC chair Richard Long of New Mexico State University, and Steve Yarbro and Steve Schreiber of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Judges for this year include Long, Yarbro, as well as Galen Suppes, Tom Marrero, and Truman Storvick, all from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

In the individual category, the First Place A. McLaren White Award was awarded to Richard Pass of the University of Kansas. The A. E. Marshall Second Place Award was received by Robert Neumann of the University of Cincinnati. The Third Place Omega Chi Epsilon Award was won by Sean Murphy of the University of Kansas. An honorable mention prize was awarded to Kathryn Baker of Michigan State University.

The William Cunningham Award for the First Place team was awarded to a team from Northeastern University, including Ellen Brennan, Kevin Cash, and Jeffrey Pierce. Derrick Oneal, Jason Scott, and Mark Wilson of the University of Tulsa earned second Place, and Rowan University's Michael Gifford, Johanna Kline, and Rachel Specht received Third Prize. A team honorable mention was won by Northeastern University's Joshua Grilly, Joshua Jondro, and Nicole Winters.

To learn more about this contest and other student awards, visit http://students.aiche.org/honors/.