UF AIChE’s Outreach is composed of activities related to K-12 students, our Gainesville community, and our international Sister Chapter. In addition, the team competes annually in the National AIChE K-12 STEM Outreach Competition.
STEM Outreach Competition
The K-12 STEM Outreach Competition invites student chapters to present a discussion, experiment, or demonstration that promotes youth involvement in STEM-related fields, especially chemical engineering. A few of UF AIChE’s qualifying & award-winning submissions are briefly described below.
- Chromathreads (2023): Students consider three types of dye applied to a piece of cotton string: beet juice, hibiscus tea, and food coloring. They consider the different polarities and structures of each compound or mixture to investigate how the dye is transferred to the fabric before widening their lens to discuss the textile industry and the social connotation of natural dyes.
- Guac, Inc. (2022) – Best Module for Grades 9-12: Students must translate the process of making a small sample of guacamole to a large-scale factory! To do this, presenters talk through the principles of unit operations, considerations of scaling up. The group dives further into the impact of time on food processing with a mini experiment that uses an apple slice as a model to test different preservatives (water, salt and acid).
- Saving Lives with Centrifugation (2020) – Best Module for Grades 9-12: Students are tasked with building a centrifuge using only cardboard and cotton twine. They will investigate the medical, physics, and engineering concepts behind blood processing by creating and centrifuging their own “blood” solution. The purpose of this experiment is to raise awareness for and encourage blood donations, especially during the shortage we have experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Thinking Like a ChemE: Building a Humanitarian Filter (2019): Students are tasked with building a water filter using common objects. Students must think critically while using very basic separation principles to analyze how a water filter can be made from everyday objects. As background, we ask students to think about the real-life application of this exercise: the example we give the students is the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico who may need a cost-efficient water filter from materials they already have.
Experiment Demonstrations & K-12
We take the experiments developed for the National STEM Outreach Competition & bring them to local schools! UF AIChE regularly performs demonstrations at the Cade Museum, a children’s museum; for Girl Scouts; and at elementary & intermediate school STEAM nights, where students can celebrate and explore STEM with their friends and families.
Sister Chapter
UF AIChE collaborates with our sister chapter, Universidad ICESI in Cali, Colombia, to learn about the experiences of chemical engineering students and professionals abroad. We meet on Zoom to exchange ChemE terminology in our languages, holiday traditions, recipes, and experiences from university life. Some of us also have the opportunity to meet in-person at National AIChE Conference!
Community
We don’t stop at the national and international levels. UF AIChE gives back to the community by beautifying the streets with Keep Alachua County Beautiful, preparing meals with A Reason to Give, gardening at Grow Hub, building for Habitat for Humanity, and much more.
