Tech Team Fares Well in Chemical-Car Competition

by George Zamora

SOCORRO, N.M., December 17, 2001 -- A team of New Mexico Tech chemical engineering students placed second in the poster contest and sixth in the car performance event at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Third Annual Chemical Car Competition, which was held last month in Reno, Nevada.

In the annual competition, university students from throughout the nation are tasked to design and construct a small-scale ("shoe-box size"), chemically powered car, which carries a specified load of water to a given distance and stops.

By carefully controlling the chemical reactions used to propel the autonomous vehicles, competing teams attempt to stop their cars nearest a predetermined stopping point, with the closest entry winning the performance portion of the competition.

In the poster contest, judges determine through the exhibited displays which teams have implemented the best choices of chemical reactions to use, innovative car designs, testing methods, and safety features in their entries.

New Mexico Tech Chemical Car Team members included Doug Ayon, Kevin Ford, Mitch McBee, Matt McCulley, Matt Price, Brian Reed, and Jared Wyatt, all members of Tech's AIChE student chapter.