OSU Chemical Engineering Students Win the SNC-Lavalin International Design Competition

Recent OSU graduates Aleisha McCabe, Grant McCool and Derek Sumner won 1st place at the SNC-Lavalin International Design Competition hosted at the 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering in Montreal, Canada, on August 25th, 2009.

Entries for this international competition were received from many national chemical engineering societies around the world. From those entries a panel of international judges from industry, government and academe selected three finalists, which included Oklahoma State University (the United States), Monash University (Australia) and the University of Western Ontario (Canada).

The OSU team was selected by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) to represent the US in this international competition after winning 1st Place in the AIChE National Student Design Competition in 2008 for their “Coal to Methanol” project.

Student teams designed a plant with the goal of creating Methanol form synthesis gas produced in coal gasification. Their work was evaluated on both technical and economic aspects of the project, real world implementation factors such as safety and loss prevention, and technical communications. Judges included engineers from industry and engineering professors.

The rules of the competition prohibit the contestants from discussing the design challenge with anyone, including their professors. Thus, the winning design is a true reflection of the students’ technical abilities, knowledge, and creativity.

The AIChE competition is open to all 160 chemical engineering departments in the United States. In the 14 years that AIChE has sponsored the team design competition, OSU students won 1st place five times. No other university has won the team competition more than twice.

This tradition of excellence is a product of a rigorous engineering curriculum, motivated students, and knowledgeable, dedicated faculty the likes of Drs. Jan Wagner and Rob Whiteley. It is the intersection of quality and dedication!

Aleisha McCabe is from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma where she attended Pauls Valley High School. She graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2008 with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and now works for Zeeco, Inc. as an Applications Engineer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her position consists of design and sales of flare systems for refineries and chemical plants world-wide.

Grant is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma where he attended high-school at Metro Christian Academy. Grant is also a 2008 OSU ChE graduate and is presently employed by Linde Process Plants, Inc. in Tulsa as a Plant Engineer. The position mainly consists of developing P&IDs, for a variety process facilities, with other roles such as designing safety systems, sizing vessel/piping components and performing commissioning and startup duties.

Derek Sumner is from Liberal, KS where he attended Liberal High School. Derek is a 2008 OSU CHE graduate, and currently works for ConocoPhillips in Sweeny, TX as a Production Engineer on the Coker Team. His current job role includes the optimization of daily operations and implementation of projects.