New TU grads place first in 2023 AIChE student design competitions - The University of Tulsa
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New TU grads place first in 2023 AIChE student design competitions

Left to right: Cunningham Award winners Sammur, Reed, and Braun with AIChE official (Herrington not pictured)

Four recent graduates from The University of Tulsa’s College of Engineering & Computer Science who participated in the 2023 AIChE Student Design Challenge received first place in the William A. Cunningham Award for their outstanding work. They are 2023 alumni Nicolaus Braun, Megan Herrington, Kylee J. Reed, and Zaina Sammur. Professor Ty Johannes and Professor Emeritus Keith Wisecarver served as faculty advisers.

Each year, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) hosts the Student Design Challenge where chemical engineers from a designated company devise and judge a student contest problem that typifies a real, working, chemical engineering design situation. The problem’s solution requires a wide range of skills in calculation and evaluation of technical data and economic factors.

As part of the award, students received a plaque for each member, a cash prize of $600 to be divided equally among the team members, and recognition at the student awards ceremony during the AIChE Annual Student Conference in Florida on Nov. 5.

Left to right: Alliance to End Plastic Waste Award winners Braun, Reed, and Sammur with AIChE official (Herrington not pictured)

Their design competition submission also won first place in the Alliance to End Plastic Waste Student Award, which includes a cash prize, as well.

“I am extremely proud of the students who participated in the 2023 AIChE Student Design Challenge and won the William A. Cunningham Award and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste Student Award,” said Johannes, chair of the Russell School of Chemical Engineering. “They demonstrated remarkable creativity and innovation in solving a real-world problem involving plastic waste in Bali. Their project showcases the potential of chemical engineering to make a positive impact on the environment and society. They are an inspiration to their peers and to me as their professor.”