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CU Boulder's Chem-E-Car team wins international poster design competition

Five college students stand and smile beside their competition poster and small wheeled car model on a table. The poster, titled “Don’t Zinc and Drive,” is displayed on a board behind them inside a large indoor event hall with high ceilings in the background.

CU Boulder’s Chem-E-Car team took first place in poster design at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ 27th Annual ChemE Car Competition, surpassing 56 teams from around the world. The competition was held in Boston on Nov. 2.

The team—chemical and biological engineering undergraduates William Bierzychudek, Colin McElroy, McKenzie Mazur, Joshua Sherritt and Megan Sullivan—created the poster to showcase the research behind their vehicle, “Don’t Zinc and Drive,” which is powered by zinc-air batteries and uses an exothermic catalytic decomposition reaction mechanism to stop.  

"Initially we were completely surprised, and then excitement and gratitude hit," said Bierzychudek, a chemical engineering senior and the team's captain. "It felt like recognition of the hours we had spent continuously redesigning our car, applying theory and diagnosing and fixing countless errors."

The competition challenges teams to design a shoebox-sized car powered by chemical reactions—such as a battery or internal combustion engine—that must stop at a specified distance using a time-dependent chemical reaction. The target distance is announced just before the competition, and the team whose car stops closest to that point wins. 

Throughout the year, CU Boulder students designed, built and tested their car concepts in the chemical engineering undergraduate teaching lab. CU Boulder’s car finished just a few meters shy of the target line, said Assistant Teaching Professor Ehsan Keyvani, the team’s faculty advisor.

“Congratulations to the entire team for their outstanding achievement, dedication and innovative spirit; a true reflection of CU Boulder’s excellence in chemical engineering education and teamwork,” Keyvani said.

Bierzychudek noted that being transparent about the obstacles they faced—and how they overcame them—helped set their poster apart.

"Getting so many moving parts working can feel like a chore, but acknowledging and finding gratitude in those things was crucial to our success," he said. "It showed we were engaged not only with our project but with the process of struggling and learning."

In April CU Boulder students won the AIChE Chem-E-Car competition at the Rocky Mountain regional held in Bozeman, Montana. At that event, "Don't Zinc and Drive," took first place in both the car competition and the poster presentation; the team's second car, "Ralphie," placed third in the car competition. The first-place win secured CU Boulder a spot at the AIChE competition in Boston.

"There’s definitely a little imposter syndrome when you show up to a conference filled with big international schools and premier US colleges," Bierzychudek added. "We're grateful for the opportunity to represent our school on such a big scale and hope this sparks excitement for future CU Chem-E-Car teams." 

The club is supported by funding from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and has received Engineering Excellence Fund support in the past.

Students interested in joining CU Boulder's Chem-E-Club can send an email to chemecar@colorado.edu. The club can also be followed on Instagram at @boulderchemecar.