Auburn University AIChE
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Left to Right: Minjae Jung, Taylor Tompkins, Caleb Kirk, Barbara Allen, Matthew Do, Eric Nguyen, Peter Abraham, and Christopher DeRocher.
Founded in 2005, the AIChE Chemical Engineering Car Team Auburn Chapter is an ongoing tradition for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
The team is comprised of undergraduate Chemical Engineering students who are annually tasked to develop a car powered entirely by chemical reaction in order to accurately traverse a specified distance given a certain load. To do this, students design, build, test and modify a car.
Competition takes place twice a year. Teams Compete at regional AIChE conferences in the spring to qualify for the national competition in the fall. Auburn has consistently performed well, qualifying for the national competition for the last four years!
Auburn's 2020 Chem-E Car (The Box) placed 6th place in the world!
2021 Team: We Are Performance (WAP)
Powered By: Aluminum-Permanganate Galvanic Cell
Stopped By: Iodine Clock
Team Members: Barbara Allen, Bryan Holmes, Caleb Kirk, Christopher DeRocher, Davis Lutz, Eric Nguyen, Hudson Hargrave, Ishan Patel, Jerin Thomas, Michael Hale, Ken Zhou, Matthew Do, Miranda Haney, Minjae Jung, Peter Abraham, Ravi Patel, Taylor Tompkins, and Will Northcut
Regional Competition: University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky
National Competition: Boston, MA
2020 Team: The Box
Powered By: Aluminum-Permanganate Galvanic Cell
Stopped By: Iodine Clock
Team Members: Barbara Allen, Bryan Holmes, Caleb Kirk, Christopher DeRocher, Davis Lutz, Eric Nguyen, Grace Kovakas, Hudson Hargrave, Ishan Patel, Jerin Thomas, Michael Hale, Ken Zhou, Matthew Do, Megan Hoffman, Mitchell Vines, Miranda Haney, Minjae Jung, Peter Abraham, Ravi Patel, Taylor Tompkins, and Will Northcut
Regional Competition: Auburn University, Virtual Conference
National Competition: Virtual Conference
2019 Team: Chem Car-en
Powered By: Magnesium Air Battery
Stopped By: Iodine Clock
Team Members: Bryan Holmes, David Drinnon, Hunter Whitehurst, Jihyuk Kim, Kareem El-Kattan, KJ Jeon, Michael Morey, Montoia Davis, Ramsay Fairbank, Ravi Patel, Steven Jones, Tarun Kore, Tate Butler, and Will Pannell
Regional Competition: Mississippi State, Starkville, MS
National Competition: Orlando, FL
2018 Team: New Roots IV
Powered By: Aluminum-Permanganate Galvanic Cell
Stopped By: Iodine Clock
Team Members: Ali Al Farhan, Ana Ospina, David Drinnon, David Hall, Dontavious Sippial, Hunter Whitehurst, Jeremy Isenburg, Jihyuk Kim, Kareem El-Kattan, KJ Jeon, Matt White, Michael Morey, Montoia Davis, Ramsay Fairbank, Ravi Patel, Spencer Frost, Steven Jones, Tarun Kore, Tate Butler, and Will Pannell
Regional Competition: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2017 Team: New Roots III
Powered By: Aluminum-Air Galvanic Cell
Stopped By: Ascorbic Acid-Iodine Clock
Team Members: Hunter Whitehurst, Steven Jones, Ana Ospina, Charles Costas, David Drinnon, David Hall, Dontavius Sippial , Josh Ducote, Jihyuk Kim, Kareem El-Kattan, Kaylee McCormack, Micheal Morey, Ramsay Fairbank, Spencer Frost, Erin Nalley, Stephen Adams,Tate Butler, Tarun Kore, Travis Purser, Tyson Youngblood, Will Pannel, and Matt White
Regional Competition: University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee
2016 Team: New Roots II
Powered By: Potassium Permanganate and Aluminum Galvanic Cell
Stopped By: Ascorbic Acid-Iodine Clock
Team Members: Hunter Whitehurst, Steven Jones, Ana Ospina, Charles Costas, David Drinnon, David Hall, Dontavius Sippial , Josh Ducote, Jihyuk Kim, Justin Sutherland, Kareem El-Kattan, Kaylee McCormack, Kaylyn Sayers, Micheal Morey, Ramsay Fairbank, Spencer Frost, Stephen Adams, Tate Butler, Tarun Kore, Travis Purser, Tyson Youngblood, Will Pannel, Matt White, and Therese Roa
Regional Competition: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Al - Placed third in the Chem-E Car Competitio
National Competition: Hilton San Francisco Union Square, San Francisco, CA - Won Best Video Award
2015 Team: New Roots
Powered By: Potassium Permanganate and Aluminum Galvanic Cell
Team Members: Alex Morrow, Amirah Hill, Ana Ospina, Andrew Hightaian, Angel Truong, Brandon Booth, Brianna Mae Sullivan, Colin Dorsten, Darrell Butler, David Hall, Elizabeth Fairbanks, JD Reynolds, Jon Simmons, Josh Boor, Katie Martin, Kaylee McCormack, Matt White, Montoia Davis, Rory Greer, Steven Jones, Tate Butler, Therese Roa, Travis Purser, Yev Gavrikov (Advisor: Dr. Bill Josephson)
Regional Competition: University of Southern Florida, Clearwater, FL - Placed fifth in the car competition and third in the poster competition
National Competition: Salt Palace Conference Center, Salt Lake City, UT
2014 Team: Rusty
Powered By: Magnesium and Oxygen Galvanic Cell
Team Members: Josh Boor (co-Captain), Alex Morrow (co-Captain), Mieke Groothuizen, Andrew Hightain, Harrison Forder, Therese Roa, Christopher Hughes, Dharsan Soundarrajan, Sean Bittner, Jimyeong Park, Ken Yang, Colin Dorsten, (Advisor: Dr. Bill Josephson)
Regional Competition: University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR - Placed 2nd/16 teams and qualified for Nationals, Won 1st Place Overall in Best Car Design, Won 1st Place Overall Most Creative Drive Train
National Competition: Atlanta, GA
2013 Team: For the Oaks
Powered By: Copper and Magnesium Galvanic Cell
Team Members: Josh Boor (co-Captain), Alex Morrow (co-Captain), Andrew Jones, Ben Todd, Mieke Groothuizen, Andrew Hightain, Therese Roa, (Advisor: Dr. Bill Josephson)
Regional Competition: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY - Won 1st Place in Car Poster Competition, Won 1st place Most Creative Design Award
National Competition: San Fransisco, CA
2012 Team: Voltaic Tiger
Powered By: Copper and Magnesium Galvanic Cell
Team Members: Andrew Jones (Captain), Ben Todd, Sean, Chris Hughes Paige Holliday, Josh Boor, Mieke Groothuizen, Andrew Hightain, Therese Roa, (Advisor: Dr. Bill Josephson)
Regional Competition: Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina - Won 1st Place Most Creative Design Award
National Competition: Pittsburg, PA
2011:
Powered By: Carbon Dioxide Producing Reaction That Runs a Pneumatic Motor
Team Members: Mieke Groothuizen (Captain), Andrew Jones, Brett Mallinak, Allison Glasscock, Ben Todd, Josh Boor (Advisor: Dr. Mark Byrne)
Regional Competition: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA - Placed 5th/20 Teams and Qualified For Nationals, Won 4th Place in Car Poster Competition
National Competition: Minneapolis, MN
2010:
Powered By: Carbon Dioxide Producing Reaction That Runs a Pneumatic Motor
Team Members: Steve Crace (Captain), John Johnson, Jordon Tench, Jeffrey Taylor, Davis Bradford, Adam Warnke, Mieke Groothuizen, Andrew Jones, and Christopher Hughes (Advisor: Dr. Mark Byrne)
Regional Competition: North Carolina State, NC - Placed 5th/14 Teams and Qualified For Nationals
National Competition: Salt Lake City, Utah - Placed 15th/32 Teams
2009:
Powered By: Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Team Members: Steven Crace (Captain), Amar Tiwari, Austin Bobo (Advisor: Dr. Bob Ashurst)
Regional Competition: University of Alabama, AL - Did Not Place/11 Teams
2008:
Powered By: Ethanol Combustion Engine
Team Members: Amar Tiwari (Captain), Steven Crace, Justin Gorman, Mohammad Biswas, and Jeney Zhang (Advisor: Dr Bob Ashurst)
Regional Competition: Auburn University, AL - Placed 5th/12 Teams and Qualified for Nationals
National Competition: Philadelphia, PA - Did Not Place
2007:
Powered By: Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Team Members: Amar Tiwari (Captain), Meryl Harsadi, Steven Crace, and Justin Gorman (Advisor: Dr. Bob Ashurst)
Regional Competition: University of South Carolina, SC - Placed 5th/11 Teams and Qualified for Nationals
National Competition: Salt Lake City, Utah - Did Not Place/29 Teams
2006:
Powered By: Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Team Members: Austin Westenhofer (Captain), Allison Collins, Amar Tiwari, Parker Sizemore, and Chris Angel (Advisor: Mr. David Mills)
Regional Competition: Mississippi State University, MS - Placed 3rd/15 Teams and Qualified for Nationals
National Competition: San Francisco, CA - Did Not Place/31 Teams