The AIChE Annual Meeting is the premier educational forum for chemical engineers interested in innovation and professional growth. Academic and industry experts from across the world come together for this event to cover a wide range of topics relevant to cutting-edge research, new technologies, and emerging growth areas in chemical engineering.
One of the major sessions encompassed during the meeting is the student conference. Over a series of days, students participate in mock interviews, networking mixers, ChemE jeopardy, recruitment fairs, Chem-E-car competitions, and research poster sessions. This year, eleven undergraduate students from the Chemical and Biomolecular Department (ChBE) of Lehigh University had the opportunity to attend the conference in San Diego, CA.
Nine of the student attendees were able to present the research they have worked on with different ChBE faculty, and four of them (Volheim, Ostrand, Courtenay, Richardson) were able to place within their groups.
Morgan Galvao '25: Novel Fouling Release Coating Based-Dynamic Surface Instability
Sydney Volheim '25: Utilizing Low Volumes Samples to Construct Phase Diagrams for Coacervate Systems
Maria Rizio '25: Cycling Effects and Stability of Polythiophene-Coated LFP Cathode Current Collectors
Allison Courtenay '26: Solution Blow Spinning of Complex Coacervates for Wound Healing Applications
Shane Haycock '26: Modeling Telechelic Triblock Polymers for Nanoemulsion Stabilization
Zach Ostrand '26: Revealing Microplastic-Water Interactions in the Atmosphere via Coarse-Grained Simulations
Alyssa Weeks '25: Direct Investigation of Hair Care Deposition and Removal
Tyler Richardson '26: Exploring Janus Particle Microroller Swarms in Mazes
Sam Miller '26: Evidence of CORE Coupling in Heterogenous Catalysis through Galvanic Current Analysis
The interactive sessions help to polish students for the next chapter of their career journey and left them humbled. “Attending the AIChE conference was such a great experience to share my research, connect with fellow chemical engineers, and explore new opportunities” says Ostrand. Courtenay was grateful to attend as it was "a formative experience in my professional development as a chemical engineer".Gavin Seymour '25 and Cece Wekstein '25 also joined the student group to represent the Lehigh Un. AIChE Student Chapter and collaborate with fellow student reps on club engagement strategies and STEM initiatives. Seymour spearheaded a special project this year for a social media takeover, highlighting conference experiences from the student lense. Make sure to follow @lehighchbe to discover all the ventures!
Faculty could also be found networking with colleagues amongst the workshops and university receptions. Lehigh's very own President and ChBE alum, Joseph Helble '82 joined the festivities and was named an AIChE Fellow. Daniel Burkey ’98 was also named an AIChE Fellow and continues to be an active member of the Lehigh ChBE Department Advisory Council which plays a key role in inspiring the future makers.
Next year, AIChE heads to Boston, MA. – catch ChBE there Nov. 2 - Nov. 6, 2025!
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