Student AIChE Chapter plows ahead

A little pandemic can't stop students of engineering!

Facing limitations, students worked hard this semester to fulfill AIChE objectives. The mostly-online semester led to some creative event-hosting with the goal of keeping the AIChE community engaged and connected. The group was even able to host the usual Information Sessions and Networking Night, which was well-attended by representatives from Dow, LyondellBasell, and Marathon. Networking Night proved fruitful and enjoyable for everyone who attended.

The first virtual information session of the semester featured Arkema. Company representatives shared their experiences and offered insight into opportunities for careers at Arkema. Members got to see the familiar face of former AIChE President Josie Miller, who has been working for Arkema since graduating this past spring!

Students also benefitted from Dow's Virtual Information Session, which was insightful and gave students a chance to talk to representatives about different career paths at the company.

A big thank-you to everyone who participated in Networking Night and the Arkema and Dow Virtual Information Sessions!

AIChE also implemented virtual "coffee chats" every other Friday and hosted meetings and activities online, including a "Clue"-themed scavenger hunt, a Halloween “murder mystery” and costume contest, and videogame and fitness sessions.

In November, the group held its Interview Advice Panel to assist students who are getting ready to enter the job market.

Students have appreciate the efforts, and AIChE Officers are also happy with the results.
 
“We’re very excited for some big changes and additions this year as well, like expanding our Mentorship Program,” President Matt Greenwaldt said. “We are also beginning to host events to teach interested students about instilling the values of embracing diversity and inclusivity within themselves and their communities.”

With events being limited to the virtual setting, AIChE's executive team has implemented a feature in their monthly newsletter that highlights alumni and current students as means of helping the community feel more connected.

Take a look.

Alumni Spotlight

Tori Krebs

Former AIChE President Tori Krebs graduated from our CBE department in December of 2017. Tori is currently a process engineer for Marathon Petroleum Company. Tori started working for the company upon graduation, after two internship terms with the company as an undergrad. She was interested in working in the oil industry after her internship experience because she enjoyed the people that she worked with, and felt that her intern projects were truly challenging and interesting.

Tori's day to day job can change often depending on the needs of the refinery, which is part of what keeps her work engaging. As a process engineer, she is always looking for ways to run processes more efficiently, effectively, and safely. This includes daily optimization as well as long-term improvement projects. In addition to being able to do something different and face new challenges every day, Tori also loves the opportunity to work with so many people of different backgrounds and experience levels. She feels that she is constantly learning from her work as well as her coworkers, and loves getting the chance to really see and understand the processes she learned in school.

Tori originally started with Marathon 2.5 years ago in Houston, Texas, but has since transferred to one of their refineries in Los Angeles, California. Out in LA, Tori has picked up hiking, running, and surfing as some new hobbies since college, but still keeps and rides her horse, Hailey, in her free time as well.

One piece of advice Tori would like to share with our CBE undergraduates is "Don't ever underestimate yourself. Take the class that you think is too hard, apply for the job that you don’t think you’re quite qualified for, and take on the project that feels a little over your head. You’ll be surprised with what you can achieve with a little hard work and dedication." 

Student Spotlights

Antara Rath

Antara is a senior Chem E planning to graduate in December 2021. Around campus she is involved in SWE and AIChE, serving as an outstanding mentor in each organization’s respective mentorship program. With SWE, Antara is involved in their Big/Little and High School PenPal programs, and with AIChE, she is a part of the Mentorship and Regional Conference Committees. She has also conducted research in Dr. Palmer’s Artificial Blood Research Lab since freshman year, where she is creating a circuit to study the oxygenation and deoxygenation of hemoglobin regarding physiological conditions.

In her free time, Antara plays the violin in an orchestra at Ohio State, plays tennis on the Buckeye Club Tennis team, and enjoys doing Indian classical dance. As part of the Ohio State Honors and Scholars Program, Antara is an Eminence Fellow, an honor awarded to individuals and groups who devote themselves to tackling academic and societal challenges. Outside of school, Antara is a co-founder of the nonprofit organization SmileChild, which aims to tackle infant mortality in the Columbus area. She has also completed a co-op in Boston last fall with Bristol-Meyers Squibb, a biopharmaceutical company, where she studied freezing and thawing cycles of large-scale drug substance containers to ship to drug product facilities around the world and ensure drug stability.

Antara plans to use her degree in the biopharmaceutical industry to work on novel therapeutics that can target different types of cancers in the body. 

Calli Krebs

Calli is a senior ChemE planning to graduate in May 2021. She has been heavily involved in AIChE, serving currently as its Secretary and previously as its Freshman Outreach Chair and Sophomore Class Representative. Her freshman year, she conducted research in Dr. Ozkan’s Heterogeneous Catalysis Research Group for fuel cell projects and has since had an interest in fuel cell and renewable energy technology. Calli also enjoys doing programming projects for fun. Last year, she participated in HackOHI/O for the first time, and her team ended up winning an award for “Best New to Hack!”

Calli has had multiple diverse work experiences, starting with a process engineering co-op on the chemicals manufacturing side of ExxonMobil in Spring 2019 in Baton Rouge, LA. This past summer, Calli interned in a process development engineering role at Illumina, a biotechnology company based out of San Diego, CA that manufactures genome sequencing technology. The experience taught her a great deal about genome sequencing and uncovered a passion for biotechnology she didn’t know she had, influencing her to hopefully pursue a career in the industry after graduation.

In her free time, Calli likes to read, cook, and do yoga, and—when she gets the chance—snowboard and travel.

Calli is the writer and creator of AIChE's Student Spotlights and newsletters! Her classmates surprised her by nominating her for a Spotlight, and wrote this one for her.

"Thank you all for your support and kind words—you truly are a breath of fresh air in these crazy times and I could never have had the experiences and opportunities I’ve enjoyed in college without help from the amazing people in this organization!" Calli said.

Jerrod Shackelford

Jerrod is a third year pursuing a dual degree in Chemical Engineering and Jazz Composition with a minor in business. He is planning to graduate in Spring 2023. In addition to his hefty academic schedule, Jerrod is treasurer of Jazz Club, a member of the Integrated Business and Engineering program, and a Sesquicentennial Scholar!

In his free time, Jerrod enjoys practicing his music and arranging music for jazz orchestras. He has written a handful of arrangements for the Famous Jazz Orchestra led by Vaugh Weister. Though the orchestra is not currently performing due to COVID-19, they typically play every Monday night, and in addition to writing music for them, Jerrod has also sat in with the band and sung for them a few times as well.

In the future, Jerrod hopes to use his chemical engineering degree to contribute to renewable energy, healthcare, or anything nonprofit. AIChE is proud to see our students embrace their passions outside of chemical engineering, and it’s amazing to hear about all that Jerrod does within engineering and out.

Erin Kelleher

Erin is a 4th year ChemE graduating this coming spring. She was nominated for her outstanding effort and impact as an undergraduate teaching assistant in CBE. Last year, she worked with Dr. Koelling for his CBE 2200 class, and currently works with Dr. Rathman as a TA for his experimental design class. As a TA, Erin demonstrates excellent knowledge of the material and is always keeps a positive and encouraging attitude when helping students.

Aside from her role as a TA, Erin is very involved in different organizations around campus. Within CBE, she currently serves as the Team Lead for the ChemE Car Fuel Cell Car, and previously worked on the team that won the AIChE Regional Competition in 2019. Currently, Erin is getting the fuel cell car team ready for the Regional Competition that will be hosted by Ohio State this spring!

In addition to her roles around campus, Erin previously worked for Synergy Flavors, Inc. this past summer as an intern in their Research and Development team. After her enjoying her internship, she hopes to pursue a career in product development or R&D.

Outside of CBE, Erin also serves as the Director of Fundraising for Phi Sigma Rho, a sorority for women in engineering at Ohio State. In her free time, Erin enjoys doing anything outside, like running, soccer, and watching Ohio State football.

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To contact AIChE, email aicheohiostate@gmail.com or President Matt Greenwaldt at greenwaldt.2@osu.edu

Become an AIChE Professional Partner!  Contact Jessica Srail (srail.6@osu.edu) about sponsorships, even hosting, mentorship and more!