Chem-E-Car Wins Regionals
HOUGHTON--A Michigan Technological
University team took the gold in the regionals of the national ChemECar
competition, held Feb. 7-10 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In the ChemECar Competition,
sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, students use
a chemical reaction to power a model car. The car must carry a specific
amount of water a designated distance (280 milliliters and 52 feet, in
this case). The car that comes the closest to the finish line wins. Students also must present
a poster prior to running the cars. The poster must receive a score of
at least 70 percent in order for the car to be run. Out of the 10 cars
that were entered, only five qualified for the running. MTU's ChemECar 4 took first
place by coming within 6 inches of the finish line, beating out the second-place
University of Dayton car, which exceeded the finish line by 9 inches.
MTU's ChemECar 3 took fifth place. Both MTU cars qualify to compete in
the national AIChE ChemECar Competition next fall in Indianapolis. Both cars used a lead-sulfuric
acid battery reaction to power an electric motor. In addition, ChemECar
used a sophisticated iodine clock reaction to control the distance travelled.
The success of this approach is demonstrated by how close this car came
to the finish line. Nine undergraduate chemical
engineering students attended the AIChE North Central Regional Student
Conference: Adetoun Ayerinde, Casey Behles, Justin Ceterski, Brian Hassler,
Christopher Kimojino, Shwu Yi Lee, Rajan Singh, Kit Mun Wee, and Shu Yat.
Other MTU students who worked on the cars but did not attend the conference
are Nicholas Ballor, Kevin Lamkin, Lyle Lash, Rachel Smith, and Jeremiah
White. Dr. Tony Pintar is their advisor. The ChemECar trip and research
were funded by the Tech Parents Annual Fund, Department of Chemical Engineering
and the local chapter of AIChE. 2/26/02--MTN011
