aiche semester newsletter may 2015 newsletter · chem-e-car takes third place at regionals page 4...
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We strive to fulfill our mission
of assisting our fellow Chemi-
cal Engineering students. Next
semester the chapter aims to
host more guest speakers from
more diverse backgrounds to
help educate students of the
multitude of opportunities a
Chemical Engineering degree
can bring.
-Kenneth Mucalo
A lot of exciting things hap-
pened in the Chemical and Bio-
chemical Engineering depart-
ment and in the Missouri S&T
AIChE chapter during this
school year. Last semester (Fall
2014) we moved into a brand
new building, the James E.
Bertelsmeyer Hall, and now
that we have a new building we
are striving to improve services
to students as an organization.
A new committee, the Stu-
dent Advisory Council (SAC),
was formed to help the depart-
ment hear the concerns of the
students. AIChE and the SAC
had members from the Acade-
my of Chemical Engineers host
a variety of seminars and men-
toring sessions during the
month of April. These provid-
ed students with information on
how they can tailor their career
in Chemical Engineering.
In addition to helping to es-
tablish the SAC, the student
AIChE chapter hosted presen-
tations for representatives from
Mississippi Lime, Mustang
Engineering, Cargill, and Hon-
eywell. On top of that, we also
stepped up and began partici-
pating in PRO Days to adver-
tise our organization and the
Chemical and Biochemical
Engineering major to the in-
coming freshmen. This semes-
ter we also offered members a
volunteering opportunity at
Rolla Presbyterian Manor.
Our Chapter went to the Mid
-America regional Student con-
ference in Lawrence, KS. Our
Chem-E-Car team lead by
Gregg McDaniels Jr. and Aa-
ron Latal placed third, qualify-
ing for the national competition
in November. Shayan Sazdar
also placed third in the poster
competition. This Regional
conference was a success.
The changes and successes
this year are exciting for both
the department and the Mis-
souri S&T AIChE Chapter.
Another Step Forward
Missouri University of Science and Technology
May 2015
AIChE Semester Newsletter May 2015
Newsletter
Inside this issue:
All About the SAC 2
A Plethora of Presenta-
tions
3
Chem-E-Car Takes
Third Place
4
AIChE Expands Re-
cruitment Efforts
5
Corporate Mixer 5
We’ve Got a New Web-
site!
6
Thanks to All of Our
Donors
6
President Kenneth Mucalo
stands near our sign during a
highway cleanup.
Member Spotlight 7
Changes to the Consti-
tution
8
Research in Bertels-
meyer Hall
8
Regional Conference
Summary
9
AIChE Volunteers
Benefit Rolla Commu-
nity
9
The Future Leaders of
our Organization
10
The SAC was created to
give the departmental student
body a direct and constant
line of communication to the
department chair, Dr. Al-
Dahhan, in order to make
changes to improve the stu-
dents’ experience. The SAC
is a group of 12 Chemical/
Biochemical Engineering
students: 2 sophomores, 2
juniors, 2 seniors, 2 officers
from AIChE, 2 from OXE,
and 2 from AXE.
So far the SAC has met
with Dr. Al-Dahhan every
two weeks. During these
meetings SAC members
voice any concerns the stu-
dents have or changes they
would like to see made.
Though the SAC was just
created this semester, it has
been productive. Some of the
SAC’s accomplishments in-
clude getting a clock in the
student lounge, getting stu-
dents 24/7 access to the
building, and putting a timer
on the printing computer to
manage sharing of this equip-
ment. Works-in-progress
include adding sound-
dampening in the student
lounge and stools in the
Chem-E-Car lab. The SAC’s
most important current pro-
ject is obtaining 24/7 access
to a computer lab; several
options are being explored at
this point and even more
have been ruled out.
Another task the SAC has
undertaken this semester is
setting up mentoring sessions
in which alumni answer ques-
tions from students in a two
hour Q&A session. So far the
SAC has only had a few
academy members host ses-
sions but they have all been a
big success. The main objec-
tive of the mentoring is giv-
ing students a better idea of
how to achieve their career
goals. These sessions help
answer big questions such as
should I go to grad school?
Should I go into industry,
design, or research? Students
really appreciate getting
opinions from successful
alums, so if you are reading
about these mentoring ses-
sions for the first time, please
consider participating. These
sessions are not restricted to
academy members only and
they can even be over the
internet. The SAC would
love to have younger alumni
involved. If interested, please
call the office and tell the
secretary you are interested in
hosting a session.
Being officially appointed,
the SAC has empowered our
members to enact change.
The SAC has made quick
work of issues that may have
otherwise taken a whole se-
mester to remedy. The SAC
has been a catalyst for change
for the students by the stu-
dents. If there is anything
you would like to see
changed, leave a comment in
the SAC comment box in the
lounge.
-William Cowley
All about the SAC (Student Advisory Committee)
Page 2
AIChE Semester Newsletter May 2015
This computer has a 15 mi-
nute time limit to give stu-
dents quick access to print-
ing.
“Being officially
appointed, SAC has
empowered our
members to enact
change.”
The new clock in the student
lounge.
Members of the Missouri University of Science and Technology chapter of AIChE had the
opportunity to hear from many inspiring guest speakers this semester. Topics such as the
production and application of industrial/food grade lime, project management/operations
administration, and broad solutions to worldwide agricultural and energy issues provided
students quite the variety of presentations to listen to and opportunities to grow.
The Missouri S&T student chapter of AIChE would like to thank all of our speakers this
semester for the time they took to come and share their knowledge, experiences, and advice
with all of us. AIChE wishes you well and hopes to have you visit again!
-Jacob Tuia
A Plethora of Presentations
Mississippi Lime—AIChE welcomed Tom McCoy and Spencer Gillespie from Mississip-
pi Lime. These Missouri S&T alums shared exciting stories from the perspective of a long
time worker at Mississippi Lime (Tom), and of a “fairly new” employee (Spencer). They
told stories of climbing into massive grinding machines and blasting new quarry sections
in this engaging presentation. Good conversations between students and Mississippi
Lime’s representatives took place after the meeting.
Wood Group Mustang—Ed Palmer from Mustang Engineering visited the chapter and
spoke about his many different experiences at multiple different companies culminating
with his current position as the Downstream Process Design Manager at Wood Group Mus-
tang. It was great to hear his story about how he got to Rolla and decided on Chemical En-
gineering. He was able to offer the students a perspective that is quite different than that
of many other speakers.
Cargill—Brandi Andersen and Katie McCasey from Cargill gave a wonderful presentation
about their responsibilities at Cargill and various positions they have held. Their presenta-
tion gave members a look at what it would be like to work in the agriculture industry by
including some very intriguing real world example problems .
Honeywell—Ellen Kirk and Tricia Wilson drove to Missouri S&T from Honeywell to
speak to the members of the chapter about their different roles in the company and how
they interact with each other and other teams at their plant. It was very neat to see the pic-
tures of their new facilities to bring what students learn in the classroom to life. They not
only showed our members what they did on the job, but also gave advice on how to ad-
vance throughout our careers.
Page 3
AIChE Semester News Letter May 2015
Tom and Spencer from
Mississippi Lime give a
presentation during a meet-
ing.
“Good conversations
between students and
Mississippi Lime’s
representatives took
place after the
meeting.”
Representatives from Honey-
well pose with the chapter
officers after a meeting.
The first run resulted in a disqualification because the team had to stop the car from run-
ning into a wall immediately beyond the stopping line to prevent damage to components of
the car. Despite this, the team tracked how long the reaction ran and calculated the difference
needed to improve for the second run. By factoring in additional delay time, the car was able
to travel within ten feet of the line on the second run, close enough to win 3rd place! This
means that the team qualified to compete at the 2015 Annual Student Conference. The con-
ference will be held at Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
-Gregg McDaniels Jr.
Chem-E-Car Takes Third Place at Regionals
Page 4
AIChE Semester Newsletter May 2015
The Spring 2015 Chem-E-Car
Team .
“(Box)7 is powered by
a six cell lead acid
battery, created by
alternating plates of
lead and lead oxide in
a sulfuric acid
electrolyte.”
The Missouri S&T Chem-E-Car Team traveled to the University of Kansas in Lawrence,
Kansas for the 2015 AIChE Mid-America Student Regional Conference which took place
April 3-4. The day began with the poster competition and safety review, with the performance
competition taking place later that afternoon. For the performance competition, the car must
be prepared to travel a distance between 15 and 30 meters while carrying a load between 0 and
500 mL of water. The car must be both powered and stopped by chemical reactions. The
teams receive the distance and load an hour prior to the competition’s start. The requirements
for this specific competition consisted of the car traveling a distance of 15.076 meters while
carrying a load of 400 mL of water.
Leading up to the conference, the team put a lot of time and effort into trying to implement
a thermo-electric generator. A few weeks prior to the conference, a lead-acid battery was used
in place of the generator when the generator failed to produce the amperage necessary for the
motor to run. From previous experience with the lead-acid battery, the team was confident in
its ability to run the car. The car received the name “(Box)7” because if the thermo-electric
generator had been used, there would have been a total of seven boxes all with a different
function on the car. The research team is currently working to find new stopping and power
mechanisms to implement into the next car.
(Box)7 is powered by a six-cell lead-acid battery, created by alternating plates of lead and
lead oxide in a sulfuric acid electrolyte. These plates are connected in series to provide a volt-
age of approximately 12.5 volts. A hydrogen peroxide reaction with potassium iodide was
used for the stopping mechanism. The concentrations are varied to control the amount of pres-
sure produced which pushes colored water to a photosensor, which then sends a signal to
switch a mechanical relay that cuts the power to the motor and stops the car.
Chem-E-Car team members work
on the car during one of their
meetings.
The Spring 2015 semester
marks the second semester
that James E. Bertelsmeyer
Hall has been in use by stu-
dents and faculty of the
Chemical and Biochemical
Engineering Department here
at Missouri University of
Science and Technology. In
these two semesters, as the
building comes closer and
closer to being completed,
the department has fallen in
love with what the building
has to offer, and the opportu-
nities it will afford in the near
future. And while those al-
ready in the department are
enjoying the building, pro-
spective students continue to
be impressed by it during
tours given by the many tal-
ented members of the recruit-
ment committee.
As in the past, AIChE con-
tinues to administer depart-
ment and Open House tours
via the Recruitment Commit-
tee, a group of students quite
familiar with the department
who wish to see it grow.
With all the visitors to cam-
pus during the spring semes-
ter, the Recruitment Commit-
tee has been hard at work.
AIChE has begun participat-
ing in PRO Days on campus,
drawing interest from incom-
ing students. Participating in
PRO Days enables AIChE to
reach out to new students
earlier in their time at Mis-
souri S&T so that they can
begin learning about careers
in Chemical and Biochemical
Engineering sooner.
-Michael Niehoff
AIChE Expands Recruitment Efforts
Corporate Mixer
wards, giving students the
chance to inquire about their
specific interests and to hear
a response from each repre-
sentative.
After the formal presenta-
tions and Q&A session, stu-
dents and representatives
engaged in a casual mixer.
Refreshments were provided
for those present, as many
were hungry by this point.
After getting something to eat
and drink, students and repre-
sentatives began striking up
conversations. This was per-
haps the most important part
of the event, as it gave stu-
dents the opportunity to net-
work with representatives
from companies that might be
their future employer. Since
most of the representatives
present would also be at the
Career Fair the next day, this
was a beneficial way to have
a more extensive conversa-
tion with these companies.
Everyone present was not
only able to network with
companies of interest to
them, but also had a great
time. And that, ultimately, is
what AIChE seeks to offer
students.
-Michael Niehoff
The Corporate Mixer is an
important pre-Career Fair
opportunity for students and
companies. This semester
representatives from Clorox,
Honeywell, ADM, Cargill,
and Mississippi Lime came to
network with AIChE stu-
dents.
The mixer began with the
representatives from each
company giving a short
presentation about their com-
pany covering their business
goals and culture. All in all,
these presentations were very
informative, but they could
not possibly cover every top-
ic that students wanted to
hear about. For that reason, a
Q&A session was held after-
Page 5
AIChE Semester News Letter May 2015
President Kenneth Mucalo presents
the AIChE booth during a PRO Day.
“Everyone present
was not only able to
network with
companies of interest
to them, but also had a
great time.”
Members network with a representa-
tive from Clorox at the Corporate Mix-
er.
This semester a new web-
site for the Missouri S&T
AIChE chapter was created.
Previously, our chapter paid
$750 annually to maintain the
website domain. In order to
reduce this expenditure, the
chapter requested a domain
hosted through the Student
Life and Campus Support
Facility and built a new
AIChE webpage for the S&T
Chapter at no cost.
The new AIChE webpage
features a simplified setup
scheme and OrgSync integra-
tion. OrgSync provides a
public URL, website hosting,
and a website builder that
allows changes to be made to
page contents, templates, and
other elements.
The webpage is not only
for the AIChE student chap-
ter members, but also pro-
vides information to the pub-
lic and people interested in
the S&T AIChE chapter. In
the future the chapter hopes
to add even more features to
the website like an AIChE
sponsor page, online event
sign-ups, and a way for mem-
bers to pay dues through the
webpage. Check out the new
page at mst.orgsync.com/org/
aiche.
-Yae Lin Lee
would like to thank all of the
volunteers who came out and
made these events prosper-
ous. As always, fundraising
would not be effective with-
out the support of all of the
chapter members. With the
help of these volunteers, the
chapter was able to raise over
On the behalf of the chapter,
AIChE thanks all of the or-
ganizations for their generous
donations. Alongside dona-
tions, the chapter has had 3
very successful fundraisers
this semester: a pancake
brunch, a trivia night, and a
donut fundraiser. The chapter
$430 this semester. There are
already fundraisers planned
for next semester; with the
help of AIChE members
these fundraisers can be even
more successful than ever.
-Ehab Dabbagh
We’ve Got a New Website!
Thanks to all of our Donors!
Page 6
AIChE Semester Newsletter May 2015
Members enjoy hot chocolate and
games during the hot chocolate
social at the beginning of the se-
mester.
“The chapter would
like to thank all of the
volunteers who came
out and made these
events prosperous.”
Volunteers make pancakes for hun-
gry ChemE students at the Pancake
Fundraiser.
It has been a long and exciting semester for the Missouri S&T AIChE student chapter, but
instead of reading another article, perhaps you may just want to learn about what some of
our fantastic members have to say about this semester. Whether it be through participating
in general meetings, recruitment events, Chem-E-Car, or showing leadership, Valerie
Teson, Aaron Latal, Joseph Myers, and Cody Spratt help make our events and organization
great. When asked why they enjoy participating in AIChE and what their favorite memory
from AIChE this semester was, this is what they had to say!
Member Spotlight
Page 7
AIChE Semester News Letter May 2015
Members hang out under the
pavilion at the End of Semester
outing.
“AIChE has helped
facilitate my growth as
a person, as a student,
and as a
professional.”
Valerie Teson, Freshman Why I enjoy AIChE: “It helps me to learn about more companies that attend the career fair as well as the jobs of chemical engineers within them.” Favorite memory: “The end of the year outing.”
Aaron Latal, Sophomore Why I enjoy AIChE: “I enjoy getting to hang out with all of the other mem-bers of AIChE and all of the (career and networking) opportunities that AIChE offers.” Favorite memory: “The Regional Conference at the University of Kan-sas. It was great to get to compete and take third place at the Chem-E-Car competition.”
Joseph Myers, Junior Why I enjoy AIChE: “I enjoy participating in AIChE because it allows me to get to know both students and teachers in the department and gives me contact with people in industry.” Favorite memory: “I really enjoyed the Corporate Mixer. It allowed me to
talk to reps in a relaxed environment and gave me a better idea of what companies are looking for in a new hire and what some jobs entail.”
Cody Spratt, Senior Why I enjoy AIChE: “AIChE greatly enhances student professional de-velopment. AIChE has helped facilitate my growth as a person, as a stu-dent, and as a professional.” Favorite memory: “I particularly enjoyed the discussion with Mississippi Lime in which the company guest speakers provided a comedic anec-dote regarding the hiring of Mizzou engineering students for their co-op positions.”
-Shayan Sazdar
Members listen to Ed Palmer
speak about his experiences in
industry at a meeting.
The S&T AIChE chapter
will be seeing some changes
with the new revisions to the
constitution. These changes
will streamline operations
and encourage more paying
members and national mem-
bers.
The number of officer po-
sitions has been reduced from
11 to 7; some positions are
being combined and the du-
ties have been shifted to bet-
ter distribute the work load.
The vice president positions
have been combined, and the
new position will oversee all
fundraising and employer
contacts. The national liaison
position has been removed
and the President will now
fulfill those duties. The Ex-
ternal Activities Coordinator
will now oversee all volun-
teer efforts in addition to rep-
resenting AIChE in the Stu-
dent Council.
In addition to officer
changes, the chapter will re-
duce local dues by $5 for
national AIChE members.
-Nathan Breshears
dioxide from the flue gas
coming from the power
plants. This process will be
much cheaper than the cur-
rent benchmark technology
which uses amines dissolved
in water. The carbon dioxide
can then be safely stored un-
derground or used for synthe-
sizing other commodity
chemicals.
Patrick's main focus is
Among all the greenhouse
gases, carbon dioxide is the
main cause of climate
change. With carbon dioxide
emissions on the rise, new
methods need to be created to
capture the chemical from
large sources of emissions,
such as power plants. The
research being done now uses
amines in porous hollow fi-
bers to capture the carbon
functionalizing various types
of polymeric and ceramic
hollow fibers with the amines
and other chemicals and test-
ing the samples to find which
one can hold the greatest
amount of carbon dioxide.
-Patrick Brennan
Changes to the Constitution
Research in Bertelsmeyer Hall
Page 8
AIChE Semester Newsletter May 2015
External Activities Coordinator
Nathan Breshears explains the
changes to the constitution
before a vote.
“With these
nanoparticles we have
seen excellent
purification of
endotoxin.”
The focus of Mason’s
research, supervised by Dr.
Sutapa Barua, is to engineer
nanoparticles and use their
properties to better the health
of society. His project focus-
es on the development of
polymeric nanoparticles to
purify endotoxin from water.
Endotoxin causes sepsis in
the body and is the leading
cause of death in hospitals. Dr.
Barua and Mason have seen
excellent results with these
nanoparticles.
-Mason Donnell
Patrick works in the lab.
This semester the AIChE
Mid-America Conference
was held at the University of
Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
Ten members of the chapter
participated by attending
presentations and cheering on
chapter members who were
competing in various compe-
titions that day.
The group left at noon on
Friday and began the 5 hour
drive. The group arrived
around 5:30, checked in, and
got settled. Not long after the
group arrived, they attended
the opening meeting of the
conference where they heard
from the dean of the KU en-
gineering department and a
member of the AIChE Young
Professionals. Afterwards,
the group went to dinner on
Massachusetts Street, return-
ing to the hotel after a deli-
cious Thai meal to rest up for
the big day ahead of them.
The Chem-E-Car Poster
competition was held at 8
AM on Saturday. Directly
after that, the Research Poster
competition was held, which
Shayan Sazdar competed in.
Members watched Shayan
present his poster and then
headed out for lunch. After
lunch it was time for the
Chem-E-Car competition
which was very exciting for
all those in attendance. The
venue was barely large
enough for the competition
and the walls created more
drama than a typical competi-
tion.
After the competition was
over the group went out to
Massachusetts Street to ex-
plore some of the unique
stores and restaurants. Final-
ly, at 6 PM the group headed
to the awards dinner where a
KU professor offered advice
for budding chemical engi-
neers and awards were an-
nounced. The group returned
to Rolla directly after the
dinner, which meant that the
trip was a very short one.
Regardless, the members in
attendance managed to pack
many different events and a
lot of fun into that time.
-Aaron Latal
our many fundraisers this
semester.
In addition to the normal
volunteering opportunities,
AIChE began a new volun-
teer program at the Rolla
Presbyterian Manor, a retire-
ment home here in Rolla.
The students brought cheer to
the facility by playing board
games with the residents,
talking with them about their
AIChE has always provided
volunteering opportunities to
its members and this semester
there were even more oppor-
tunities to take advantage of.
The chapter held two very
successful highway cleanups.
After finishing the clean up,
the volunteers were treated to
Steak ‘n Shake as per tradi-
tion. Members also had the
opportunity to volunteer with
many different experiences,
and planting flower pots to
brighten the rooms.
AIChE is proud of our
service-minded members and
is pleased to offer these vol-
unteering opportunities.
Thank you to our members
for making them successful.
-Aaron Latal
Regional Conference Summary
AIChE Volunteers Benefit Rolla Community
Page 9
AIChE Semester News Letter May 2015
Members enjoy dinner at a Thai
restaurant in Lawrence during the
conference.
“AIChE is proud of
our service-minded
members and is
pleased to offer these
volunteering
opportunities.”
Participants of the highway clean up
stand at a sign near the section of I-
44 that AIChE maintains.
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Congratulations to those who will be
leading AIChE next semester. The of-
ficer positions were restructured to
streamline future operations. There
were many great candidates that ran for
all of the positions this year. There was
much discussion before the chapter vot-
ed on these officers.
We also welcome a new faculty advisor,
Dr. Christi Patton Luks, who joined the
faculty in August 2014. She invites you
to contact her at luksc@mst.edu.
The Future Leaders of Our Organization
We’re on the Web! mst.orgsync.com/org/aiche
Acknowledgements
The newsletter was prepared by news-
letter committee leader Aaron Latal.
This newsletter would not have been
possible without the help of all those
who prepared articles and Dr. Luks.
Spring 2015
Officers
President
Kenneth Mucalo
Vice President Internal Julie Nguyen
Vice President External Jacob Tuia
Secretary Aaron Latal
Treasurer Ehab Dabbagh
National Liaison Mason Young
External Activities Coordinator
Nathan Breshears
Student Advisory Council Rep.
William Cowley
Recruitment Officer Michael Niehoff
Chem-E-Car President Gregg McDaniels Jr.
Fall 2015 Officers
President
Kenneth Mucalo
Vice President Shayan Sazdar
Secretary Mathias Whitworth
Treasurer Michael Clemmons
External Activities Coordinator
Tarique Ahmad
Recruitment Officer Mickey-Lee Branscum
Chem-E-Car President Folabomi Opakunle
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