Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Chem-E-Car Design Team won first place at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Mid-American Regional Conference, held April 11-12 at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

In this competition, student teams build a model car that relies on a chemical reaction to start and stop. Missouri S&T’s car, dubbed “Barbie’s Dream Tank,” is powered by a custom-designed nickel-zinc battery that is triggered by a luminol-clock reaction. Once the reaction is set off, the car must travel a distance between 15 and 30 meters. Teams are informed an hour before competition how far their car will need to travel and must correctly adjust the fuel so the chemical reaction will meet the target.

Each team was required to pass a safety inspection and then had two chances to get their car to travel the target distance. The best run counted toward final placement. Missouri S&T’s closest run was 0.37 meters, or about 1.2 feet) past the target distance of 19 meters (62.34 feet).

S&T’s poster placed second in the safety and poster competition.

The team will travel to Boston in October to compete at the annual AIChE Student Conference.

Team members who traveled to the conference are:

· Andrew Armstrong, a senior in chemical engineering from Kansas City, Missouri

· Wil Andren, a senior in chemical engineering from Saint Charles, Missouri

· Michael Brown, a senior in chemical engineering from Grain Valley, Missouri

· Dylan Dush, a senior in electrical engineering from Cape Girardeau, Missouri

· Kate Fogarty, a senior in chemical engineering from O’Fallon, Missouri

· Caleb Long, a junior in chemical engineering from Republic, Missouri

· Elena Milloshewski, a junior in chemical engineering from Smithton, Illinois

· Anna Reese, a senior in chemical engineering from Troy, Illinois

· Josh Riti, a senior in chemical engineering from Saint Charles, Missouri.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.