51社区

April 27, 2020

Author: Colleen Carow

Bringing home first place took on new meaning this month for an 51社区 chemical engineering student competition team. For more than 20 years, Russ College students have traveled to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to compete in the  at New Mexico State University. After collaborating on campus all year, this year's teams suddenly had to compete virtually 鈥� and one of them earned a win.

The annual competition asks students to address six real-world . Students first submit a research essay, then make an oral presentation and demonstrate their work at the event. OHIO鈥檚 鈥淭ask 4鈥� student team won the first place, a $2,500 award, repeating last year's student team victory.

鈥淎lthough the students were disappointed not to be able to travel to New Mexico and present in person, they really followed through on their commitment with a quality design and presentation,鈥� said Valerie Young, chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. 鈥淚 think the key to success was their consistent progress throughout fall and early spring because they were able to test their ideas on the bench scale and collect convincing data before spring break.鈥�

Two 10-member teams  to compete in Task 5, 鈥淧roduced Water: Rare-Earth Element Recovery and Clean Water Production," and the winning challenge: Task 4, 鈥淔luoride Water Treatment and Recovery."

Task 5 asked students to clean the elements europium, lanthanum and neodymium from water to make it suitable for farm use, ultimately producing elements for use in the electronics industry.

Meanwhile, Task 4 required removing high levels of fluoride, which can be detrimental to aquatic life, from streams near mining operations.

鈥淲e had an innovative design that used a waste product, steel slag, from another industry to remove the fluoride,鈥� said Charlotte Kapral, a graduating senior and president of the student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 鈥淭he team worked hard researching solutions, testing our proposed design in the lab, writing our paper, formatting and refining the paper, and presenting the paper and bench-scale design to the judges.鈥�

Matthew Shone, also a senior, said the research was rewarding for the team as well as the community 鈥� and that the judges were so impressed with the design, they recommended the team鈥檚 paper for publication.

鈥淭his was one of the best learning experiences any student could have as an undergraduate. We were able to deliver a promising solution that uses a waste product from a manufacturing process,鈥� Shone said. 鈥淗aving the competition move to a virtual format was definitely a challenge, but our team was able to quickly overcome that due to the amount of experimental data we had collected before the pandemic.鈥� 

In addition to Kapral and Shone, the team comprised members Brian Blanchard, Alex Busby, Collin Elwell, Katarina Greathouse, Lauren Hibbard, Melissa Kuchta, Shawn Smith and Kelsey Turner.

鈥淭he students did an excellent job. Their solution was well received by the judges,鈥� said adviser and Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Darin Ridgway, who is also assistant chair for undergraduate studies. 鈥淚 was very proud of how both teams got through the disappointment of not getting to take the trip in person and worked very hard to finish the task.鈥�

The teams were supported by last year鈥檚 prize winnings of $2,500, Russ Vision funds 鈥� and the many OHIO alumni and friends who donated to the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Student Activities Fund, including $6,000 received in response to the students鈥� crowdfunding campaign and .  to support next year鈥檚 team.