"What Chemical Engineers Do" Film

On December 3, the 2019 AIChE Gala raised $730,000 to support programs to help recruit, retain, and promote the equitable inclusion of women and other underrepresented groups in their pursuit of careers in STEM. The “What Chemical Engineers Do” film premiered at Gala. 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 Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Merck & Co., Inc. for Merck’s development of therapies for the prevention and treatment of society’s most challenging diseases, along with David S. Taylor, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Procter & Gamble Company for their leadership in the development of new technologies which make recycling and recovering plastics simpler and for their part in helping to reduce the flow of plastic waste into the world’s oceans.

The gala also honored Jay D. Keasling, Director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, who received the AIChE Foundation’s Doing a World of Good Medal, a prize that salutes the achievements of an individual who has advanced the societal contributions of engineers. Keasling was honored for his groundbreaking contributions to resource sustainability and human welfare, as well as for his commitment to fostering inclusive educational and working environments for people of all backgrounds.

For more information on the Gala, read the press release.

See photos from the 2019 AIChE Gala