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  • Swanson School of Engineering
  • Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
Accolades & Honors

Pitt Students Qualify for International Chem-E-Car Competition

Preparing for a race without knowing how far you have to go is a difficult test of skill. It’s even more demanding when you have to compete virtually.

A team of Pitt students met that challenge in October when their model car—propelled by a chemical mix of their own creation—finished fourth in the regional leg of the Chem-E-Car Competition, qualifying them for the international finals on Nov. 15.

The annual Chem-E-Car Competition, sponsored by AIChE, the global association of chemical engineers, requires student teams to create a small car with chemical propulsion and stopping mechanisms that allow it to travel a specified distance and carry a payload (0-500 mL of water).

This is the second year in a row that the team has qualified for the international competition, finishing 12th overall and winning the Chem-E-Car poster competition last year.

“I’m so proud of what the team has accomplished, especially under such challenging conditions,” said Taryn Bayles, vice chair of undergraduate education and professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at Pitt. “Their hard work paid off, and I look forward to seeing them succeed again at the international competition.”