COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Oct. 28, 2008 – Looking to “drive” home the point that chemical engineering can be fun, students from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering “Chem-E-Car” team participated in the 21st Annual Chemistry Open House and Science Exploration Gallery at Texas A&M University, which was held this month.
The award-winning event, which was free and open to the public, included various exhibits, demonstrations and computer activities from several departments, including physics, biochemistry and chemical engineering. In addition, the event featured the “Chemistry Road Show” in which popular science demonstrations of fire, explosions, weird polymers and super-cold materials were conducted.
Supervised by Senior Lecturer and Assistant Head for Upper Division Programs Lale Yurttas, the Chem-E-Car class was on hand to demonstrate its projects – small team-designed vehicles that are powered by various chemical reactions. As part of the exhibit, the students showed a solar car powered by a chemoluminescent reaction, a bio-diesel engine car and a newly designed five-cylinder pneumatic piston engine.
The cars, which are engineered to travel a designated distance and stop, all while carrying a specified cargo, are developed each year by teams of students enrolled in a one-credit-hour chemical car design course sponsored by Texas A&M’s student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Teams from around the state and nation annually compete in regional and national competitions, sponsored by AIChE.
At the open house, the innovative car designs as a recruiting and teaching tool, helping to get both the children and adults who attended the event excited about science. And it was one of a number of exhibits that made for an exciting and educational day.
“I don’t know the proper word for the Saturday, October 25 presentation, but it was awesome,” wrote Ellen Stephenson, a visitor to the open house, in a letter lauding the event. “My grandson, daughter and I moved as quickly as we could to see everything there was to see, feel and hear.
“What a plus for the campus. There’s nothing dull about science. We have two Aggies in the family and are encouraging a third. He was very impressed.”
