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CHEMICAL engineering students from Cornell University, US have won first place in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ 14^th annual Chem-E-Car competition.

In the competition, each university team builds a load-carrying car and fuel system. The designs vary wildly, neatly demonstrating that there can be many possible solutions to a single problem. Cars this year, ranged from one made of Lego bricks powered by handwarmers and dry ice to one powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and modelled on a Mario Kart car.

The teams do not know in advance of the competition the size and mass of the load their car will have to carry or the distance it will have to travel. The students must rush to calculate how they will get their car to stop at the set distance. This year, the cars had to carry 300 ml of water for 21 m.

Cornell University’s car, called ‘Zapdos’ used a zinc air battery and stopped at exactly 21m, winning US$2,000.

“The Chem-E-Car competition is a great way for our future engineers to apply chemical engineering principles in a creative way, in a team setting – much as they will in the ‘real world’ once they graduate,” says David Rosenthal, AIChE president. “These students show real creativity and promise, and some day, these technologies could be used commercially.”

The second place award went to the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez for its car using a motor powered by a hydrogen peroxide reaction. Oklahoma State University came third using a baking soda and vinegar reaction.

The annual Chem-E-Car competition featured 35 cars that qualified through regional competitions held throughout the year. The final was held yesterday at AIChE’s annual meeting in Pittsburgh.