AIChE Chem-E Car Competition
The Chem-E Car competition is an undergraduate design competition hosted by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in which teams of engineers from universities from across North America design and build small cars powered and stopped exclusively by chemical reactions. According to the competition rules, the car has to be able fit in a 40 cm x 30 cm x 20 cm box and can’t exceed $2000 worth of material. Gas-producing reactions and electrochemical cells are the most common types of power sources at the competition.
The primary objective of the competition is a performance competition in which the car must carry a weight between 0 and 500 grams a precise distance between 15 and 30 meters. Awards are given to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners whose cars arrive most closely to the desired distance. The competition also places a heavy emphasis on economical, sustainable and safe designs as well as the employment of sound and advanced engineering concepts; awards are thus also given for original car and drive systems designs as well as for performance in a poster presentation.
McGill’s Chem-E Car team placed 1st in Nationals 2015 and qualified to attend the 2018 Nationals Competition in Pittsburgh after a 2nd place prize in Regionals 2018 in Rochester!
McGill’s Chem-E car team will be competing in 2019 in the Northeastern Regionals Competition at UMass against teams from Cornell, Rensselaer and several State schools. The top two highest scoring teams from the regional performance competition and the poster presentation will qualify to proceed to the AIChE national championships.
For more information please visit the AIChE Website:
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS WEBSITE
