Student Projects for Engineering Experience & Design
Chem E Car:
Here’s the problem:
- You have to transport material a pre-determined distance, but you can’t carry it.
- You have the materials to build a car, but no gas.
- You have access to a wide range of chemicals, so your car must be propelled by chemical reaction.
- Your car also has to stop after traveling that pre-determined distance.
- And it has to go faster and carry more than the cars developed by some of the best teams in the Northeast.
Work on a solution to this problem and you will:
- Design and build a small vehicle
- Set up and replicate powerful chemical reactions
- Learn to stop powerful chemical reactions
- Extend your knowledge of chemistry beyond the lab and put it to use
- Get firsthand experience with chemical reactions in this unique, competitive environment
You’ll also develop real-world engineering and teamwork skills that will set you apart and make you stand out in today’s ultra-competitive job market.
Test your skills against other teams at collegiate competitions sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
Clarkson students recently developed a car using Peltier junctions, which create a voltage when a temperature difference is applied across the junction. This voltage was used to power a small Lego motor and move the car. In order to stop the car, an iodine clock reaction was placed on a photo-resistor.
The Northeast Chapter of AIChE organizes Chem E Car competitions around the region each year.