Welcome to AIChE’s What’s Trending feature, where you'll discover some of our most viewed and read content from prior months. Check out the video above for a short recap. Want to be featured in our next AIChE trend report? Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and use hashtag #AIChEtrends when you share.
Readers' Top Pick: "What Chemical Engineers Do" Video Debuts at 2019 Gala
The 2019 AIChE Gala raised approximately $725,000 to support the advancement of the chemical engineering profession, including efforts to expand programs to help recruit, retain, and promote the equitable inclusion of women and other underrepresented groups in their pursuit of careers in STEM.
The film above premiered at AIChE's 2019 Gala on December 3. This film illustrates the substance and breadth of chemical engineering's contributions, and hopes to inspire young people and the public to seek a better understanding and take more interest in chemical engineering.
At the gala, AIChE honored Merck & Co., Inc., and the Procter & Gamble Company, along with those companies’ leaders, for exemplifying the good works that apply chemical engineering expertise to benefit society. Read more.
We Recognized: Virginia Tech Wins H. Scott Fogler 1st Place Award in 2019 Chem-E-Car Competition®
The student team from Virginia Tech clinched the top trophy in the 2019 Annual Student Conference Chem-E-Car Competition® finals, winning with a distance of 9 cm. The target distance was 25 m and the required load was 450 ml of water.
The second place winner was the Missouri University of Science and Technology, followed by the University of North Alabama, City College of New York, and NTU of Athens. See the final run results. Read more.
35 Under 35 Nominations Open
AIChE and its Young Professionals Committee are shining a light on the next generation of chemical engineers with the AIChE 35 Under 35 Award program. The award promotes the achievements of 35 younger members of AIChE who are making a mark on the profession in the early stages of their careers. It also seeks to acknowledge those young professionals who are increasing the vitality and success of AIChE through their involvement in the life of the Institute.
The Young Professionals Committee looks to members of the chemical engineering community to nominate early-career candidates who exemplify the profession at its best, in a range of endeavors and fields of practice. Nominees may represent the breadth of chemical engineering career paths, including graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, faculty, and those working in industry in both traditional and non-traditional fields. Categories include safety, energy and environmental, chemicals and materials, bioengineering, education, innovation and entrepreneurship, and leadership.
The AIChE 35 Under 35 Award recipients will be celebrated during an awards reception at the 2020 AIChE Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA (Nov. 15-20, 2020). Each honoree will receive $500, complimentary registration to the 2020 AIChE Annual Meeting, a commemorative plaque, and publicity in AIChE media. Read more.
We Shared: Post-Graduation: What's the Next Step?
After finishing your undergraduate degree, it can be daunting to think about what steps to take next. There are many new graduates who pursue their master's right away, but there are also those who choose to promptly join the workforce and gain solid work experience. If you choose the latter route, it's important to make all the right moves to stand out to future employers.
This article shares tips to help chemical engineering majors weighing their options after graduating. Read more.
A Green Thumbs-Up for the Future of Cosmetics
Our skin is our largest and fastest-growing organ. It is a part of the integumentary system and plays roles in our excretory, immune, and nervous systems, among others. Skin is the body’s first defense against the outside elements, helps regulate body temperature, and permits the sensations of touch, warmth, and cold. In the past century, the use of cosmetics, defined as products that we put on our skin, has become immensely popular. Whether it is to accentuate facial features or to improve skin health, cosmetics are widely available to enhance our skin.
However, after use, cosmetic products are either rinsed off and sent to the sewers, or disposed of and sent to a landfill. This waste is driving cosmetics companies to consider their impact on the planet and the sustainability of their products. Like many other sectors, the cosmetics industry is following a growing trend to create products that are ethically sourced, have eco-friendly formulations and supply chains, and have a minimal manufacturing footprint on the environment. Researchers are using these principles to enhance cosmetic formulations and their packaging. Read more.
Safety and Chemical Engineering Education (SAChE) Certificate Program
Process safety is an important but often overlooked aspect of a chemical engineer’s early and continuing education. When working in chemical engineering, it’s simply not possible to learn by trial and error when the error can have catastrophic or dangerous implications.
That’s why, as part of the AIChE’s Doing a World of Good campaign and in conjunction with the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), industry and academia have come together to launch a major global initiative to improve and accelerate process safety education at the university level.
We’ve completely updated and redesigned the SAChE Certificate Program with new interactive learning modules and a dynamic curriculum that makes incorporating process safety education easy, engaging, and free. Read more.
We Discussed on AIChE Engage
Your top engage discussion was about Reducing SO2 emissions from industrial/petrochemical complexes. Join the conversation. Other popular discussions on Engage include:
- How to get young students (K-12) interested in chemical engineering
- The Order of the Engineer
- CSB Report on Reactive Chemical Incident
- Tips for becoming an effective company spokesperson?
We Networked at Conferences
We learned, networked, and shared at recent conferences, such as the 2019 AIChE Annual Meeting, 2019 Annual AIChE Student Conference, 2019 Food Innovation and Engineering (FOODIE) Asia Conference, Engineering Sustainable Development 2019, and Cell Free Systems Conference. Make sure to save the date, submit an abstract, and register for an upcoming conference here.
Stay up to date with AIChE and join the discussion. #AIChEtrends
Need more? Download our 2019 What's Trending at AIChE Recap here.