Over the weekend, UMBC's American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) ChemE Jeopardy team returned to the National competition and came home with second place in the National Championship, for the second year in a row.
The 2021 national competition team members were:
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John Laporte, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology & Bioengineering track;
Sumana Peddibhotla, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology & Bioengineering track;
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Erin Huber, Chemical Engineering, Traditional track;
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Max Bobbin, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering & Sustainability track.
To prepare for this year's competition, the team practiced virtually and in person regularly with other students in the department and were coached by Dr. Neha Raikar.
The AIChE ChemE Jeopardy team is part of the UMBC AIChE Student Chapter that houses ChemE Jeopardy, ChemE Car, and ChemE-Sports; co-advised by Dr. Mariajosé Castellanos and Dr. Neha Raikar.
The team reached the national competition after winning the AIChE Regional competition in April 2021. There are nine AIChE Student Chapter Regions, with approximately fifty teams total. UMBC belongs to the Mid-Atlantic Region. The national competition took place in Boston, MA at the 2021 AIChE Annual Student Conference. The team made it through two rounds of competition, including a tie breaker, to reach the finals.
In the finals, UMBC faced off against Iowa State and University of Iowa. We are so proud of the UMBC-CBEE team members and the continued success in the AIChE Jeopardy competition!