We are pleased to announce the Workshop Schedule for the 2021 Annual Student Conference.
Featured Student Chapter Workshop
What does it take to host an AIChE conference?
4:30 PM — 5:15 PM
Hynes Convention Center, 302
Hannah Boyce, Northeastern University, AIChE Student Chapter
Is your school hosting a regional conference this spring? Are you thinking about hosting a regional or national conference? Come to this session hosted by Northeastern University and learn from the conference chair of the 2021 AIChE Eckhardt Northeast Regional Conference, and Annual Student Conference Host School about what it takes to host a conference with AIChE. Between logistics, programing, and competitions there’s a lot to manage, and we want to share what we learned with you! If this is your first AIChE conference, come learn about what to expect from conferences and how to get the most out of them at this Featured Student Chapter Workshop to welcome you to Boston.
ChemE Community On & Off Campus
5:20 PM — 6:05 PM
Hynes Convention Center, 302
5:20 PM
Chemical Engineers in the Community
Sean Fernandez, University of Michigan
Will Brown, University of Michigan
Engaging your community is a great way to encourage middle school and high school students to get excited about chemical engineering, STEM, and your institution! Stop by to see how the University of Michigan is creating connections with the local middle and high schools.
5:45 PM
Fostering a Chemical Engineering Community
Rachel Fetter, University of Michigan
Having a close knit ChE department is imperative to student success. Come check out how the University of Michigan fosters a community between students, professors and faculty. Topics will include, but are not limited to, professor/faculty luncheons, research lab tours, and integrated undergrad/grad events.
Making the Most of your Network
5:20 PM — 6:05 PM
Hynes Convention Center, 306
5:20 PM
Making the Most of your Network: How to Form Connections with Alumni and Start an Alumni Mentorship Program
Taryn Sparacino, Northeastern University
Hannah Boyce, Northeastern University, AIChE Student Chapter
As college students, we are often told that our years in school are essential to building our network. But how can you form these valuable connections and how far could your network extend? This workshop will go beyond connecting with your classmates and professors and delve into the world of alumni networking. Many schools maintain sums of alumni who are waiting to help their alma mater, but they are often an untapped resource for students. Northeastern University AIChE has created a unique alumni mentorship program that pairs students with an alumni mentor based on similar interests and career goals. We will teach you how to establish meaningful connections with alumni, solicit a potential alumni mentor, and start an AIChE chapter alumni mentorship program. We will also go further into how to maintain these connections and discuss all the benefits your university alumni have to offer. Please join us for this essential, interactive workshop in order to make the most of your network.
ChemE Outside the Classroom
5:20 PM — 6:05 PM
Hynes Convention Center, 304
5:20 PM
Diversifying Technical Projects: The Chemical Engineering Introductory Project
Jaslyn Brar, University of California, Los Angeles
The Chemical Engineering Introductory Project (ChIP) is a technical project that allows participants to learn about fundamental chemical engineering principles and apply them by designing small-scale continuous process systems in a team-oriented environment. In past years, our members have built coffee machines, self-sustaining boats, cooling towers, and soap batch reactors as their final project. ChIP is aimed toward incoming freshmen and transfer students, and since its introduction four years ago, AIChE at UCLA has seen an increase in student participation in technical projects and other areas of the club. The main challenge over the past year was adapting a traditionally in-person project to an online-only format while maintaining exposure to technical skills, a team oriented environment, and participation among new students. Topics covered in this workshop will include designing new projects, connecting small-scale projects to core engineering fundamentals, and building community amongst chemical engineering students.
5:45 PM
Lifetime Engineering Applications Project: LEAPing into a Lifetime of Learning
Kalea Fajardo, University of California, Los Angeles
LEAP, the Lifetime Engineering Applications Project, is a technical project started by students who are part of AIChE at UCLA. Students learn how to use process design simulation software, called AVEVA PRO/II, to model real industrial processes while also taking economic analyses and ethics into consideration. We have developed a variety of unique projects to expose students to many aspects of chemical engineering, such as alcohol distillation, ammonia production, crude oil processing, biofuel synthesis, and perfume manufacturing. Although this project has a low cost, students complete it with a deeper understanding of chemical engineering fundamentals and preparation for senior design projects as well as industry challenges. The project leads sharpen their presentation skills and gain experience in preparing lesson plans while having fun. In this workshop, current LEAP leads will discuss their experiences and how this project has also been continued virtually.
Impact & Inspiration
6:10 PM — 6:55 PM
Hynes Convention Center, 302
6:10 PM
Remote Reach: Innovating K-12 Education in a Time of Social Distancing and Beyond
Nadia Owen, UCLA
In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, parents and educators were tasked with the enormous responsibility of creating a dedicated learning environment for their students at home. While shifting to an online medium was challenging, it provided a unique opportunity for AIChE at UCLA to support K-12 students through its new Remote Reach project. In Remote Reach, designing and delivering personalized interactive lessons to students has proved to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for members involved. The prospect of online education has enabled our chapter to establish several connections with schools and community groups and develop a new approach to outreach. This year, our chapter’s Remote Reach, was a year-long project that was dedicated to helping elementary and high school students learn and get excited about STEM topics while learning from home. We partnered with 3 main schools, 2 elementary schools and 1 high school. For each elementary school, we had a team of 5 - 10 AIChE members make and present a unique STEM module biweekly to 100+ students. Topics were chosen based on teacher, school, and member input and were designed to include demos, videos, and interactive content. The goal was to facilitate learning and discussion amongst the students using different mediums, rather than just our members lecturing them. These biweekly modules gave the elementary students the opportunity to learn new topics on a regular basis and become comfortable with our members. For the high school, we designed modules that would teach them about what ChemE’s do and how wide-ranging our careers can be with videos and an interactive Process Flow Diagram activity. At this workshop, we will introduce innovative ways our chapter has served hundreds of students in the Greater Los Angeles community online, and how all student chapters can grow their own outreach programs in this ever-changing climate. Additionally, we will detail how Remote Reach’s techniques can be utilized in both an in-person and online format to best serve your community as guidelines change.
6:35 PM
The Importance of Philanthropy
Madison Alexander, Purdue University
The chapter at Purdue University is known for its unique relationship with the surrounding community. Our philanthropy committee holds events that are highly sought after by our members and provide impactful services to organization in the Lafayette community. We have a unique relationship with one of our industry sponsors where we will collaborate on a philanthropy event and build houses in the community. The Outreach K-12 Program hosts events at local schools and educates elementary, middle school or high school students on Chemical Engineering Fundamentals. What I would like to discuss is how the Purdue Chapter’s philanthropic and outreach events engages our members and educates them on the importance of giving back to a community and inspiring a younger generation. Next after showing how Purdue plans philanthropy events, I would like to open up a discussion on how the audience can get involved in their communities or plan outreach events. I believe that philanthropy and outreach events enrich members with communication skills, relationship building, and the ability to motivate others.
Peer Mentorship Programs
6:10 PM — 6:55 PM
Hynes Convention Center, 306
6:10 PM
Undergraduate Mentor-Mentee Program
Grace Williamson, University of Iowa
Nina Laskowiecki, University of Iowa
Join to hear about the University of Iowa AIChE Student Chapter’s Mentor-Mentee Program.
6:35 PM
Developing Your Mentorship Program
Lauren Molloy, University of Michigan
Bryce Tyburski, University of Michigan
Mentorship is a great way to involve and develop underclassmen in your chapter while fostering a tight-knit community within your ChE department. Come learn how the University of Michigan AIChE Chapter runs their undergraduate and graduate mentorship programs!
Expanding and Involving your Chapter
6:10 PM — 6:55 PM
Hynes Convention Center, 304
6:10 PM
Leveraging Existing Resources to Increase Involvement and Benefit Membership
Emily Spero, North Carolina State University
Alexis Voulgaropoulos
Officers from NC State’s student chapter of AIChE will describe their initiatives to increase involvement and benefit membership. The initiatives include implementing events for casual conversations between undergraduates and professors, leveraging the alumni network for mentorship opportunities and speaking engagements, and utilizing the Engineering Career Fair to gain new sponsorships. They will describe how to identify and take advantage of existing frameworks available at your university.
6:35 PM
Freshmen and Transfer Involvement: AIChE at UCLA’s Inaugural Intern Board
Brandan Taing, UCLA
Mark Keller, UCLA,
Mitchell Rogers, University of California, Los Angeles
Diya Kapur, UCLA
Incoming freshmen and transfer chemical engineering students are often thrust into the complex and unfamiliar world of engineering without a clear idea of what to expect or how to make connections (not to mention in the unprecedented state of remote learning). Officer service is a great way for students to gain invaluable leadership and mentorship experience, building up their professional accomplishments and profile. Here, we plan to discuss the UCLA AIChE Student Chapter’s newly conceived Intern Board (founded 2020), where freshmen and transfer chemical engineering students supported more senior members over a six-month assignment. To improve how we engage with students entering UCLA who are interested in becoming more involved with our chapter, we implemented the Intern Board to be N.I.C.E.
- Networking-friendly by allowing direct mentorship between department heads and their interns as a smaller-scale unit than in committees
- Inclusive of club departments that have no history of committees
- Cohesive in new member identity-- with a shared intern identity and social intern events
- Expansive in our event offerings and professional initiatives by allowing interns to directly partake in their development
We will first begin with a description of the pre-existing committee model, and cover the associated issues of engagement and retention. We will then proceed to discuss the areas interns served in: Internal Events, Treasury, Alumni & Outreach, and Publicity. We will also be going over intern testimonials, the continuity of the interns’ involvement with AIChE after the end of their internship, and future directions we will pursue based on feedback.