Chemical engineering students competed in Oklahoma State University’s Chem-E-Car competition held in the Wes Watkins Center on the Stillwater campus.
The OSU Chem-E-Car project is a multi-semester effort that involves sophomore, junior and senior chemical engineering students. Junior chemical engineering students work in teams to design and construct a chemical powered car. Each junior team is assigned a senior mentor, who serves as consultant for the project. Each team also works with a sophomore team to create a poster that gives an overview of the project, including a description of the chemical reaction or power source, unique features of the vehicle, design creativity, and the environmental and safety features.
“Basically, any chemical reaction, as long as it’s within the safety limitations, can be used to power the vehicle,” said Heather Fahlenkamp, an assistant professor in chemical engineering at OSU and faculty advisor for this competition. “There are various designs for this year’s competition. We have some reactions that give off a gas to pressurize the vehicle that drives a piston assembly. Another reaction is lead-acid battery to power a small motor to move the vehicle.”
The top three teams advance to the regional competition at the University of Oklahoma in April against schools from Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. Team members design and construct a chemically powered vehicle within certain size constraints. The vehicle must be designed to also carry a specified cargo. Teams learn the cargo and distance specifications an hour prior to competition. The winner is determined by three elements: a combined score, traveling the correct distance and creativity. In design, the students determine the reaction system they believe will most enable them to control the car. The cars are typically slightly larger than a shoe box.
The winners of the OSU competition were:
Car Competition
1. Tesla Tornadoes — Austin Bell, Jie Hao Chong, James Dickson, Kevin Ireland, Meg Lees, Huy Nguyen, Robin Warnecke
2. Golden Geese — Leighton Clark, Alex Hyatt, Adam Kopf, Thinh Tu, Sean Wood
3. engiNERDS — Roaa Al-Ogaili, Drew Belcher, Cassaundra Cortez, Ashley Granger, Ashlee Keenum, Eddie Martin
Safety Award
1. engiNERDS– Roaa Al-Ogaili, Drew Belcher, Cassaundra Cortez, Ashley Granger, Ashlee Keenum, Eddie Martin
Poster Competition
1. engiNERDS — Chloe Hix, Gordon Aufill, Daniel Hagan, Kody Harper, Brandon Jaworowski, Nick Luu, Audra Kimbrell, Austin Satterfield
2. Geeks to Min — Alec Thomits, Mohammed Alanazi, M. Almahmood, Preston Booth, Marvelle Elleddge, Steven Fritze, Ryan Santa-Pinter, Bron Shoffner
3. Golden Geese — Julie Partner, Mark Blanchard, Mandi Blenn, Joseph Marigny Brown, Josh Madden, Brian Metallaoui, Stephen Ogle, Zach Spiegel
