Undergraduate Student Organizations
Mines American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Chapter
The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is a proud supporter of the AIChE chapter at Mines. The AIChE group is consistently looking for ways to have current CBE undergraduate students connect with companies and alumni. AIChE’s most notable events include their Lunch and Learn on Fridays and bi-annual Rotational Dinner. If you are interested in supporting the AIChE group or joining one of their events, please reach out to cbe@mines.edu.
The group was chartered in 1957 and is currently advised by Assistant Professor Kevin Cash and Professor John Jechura.
Mines AIChE President Neil Reich
Current Board
President & Co-Vice-President: Neil Reich
Co-Vice-President & Treasurer: Preston Guest
Secretary: Jackson Danley
Social Chair: Joshua Tnoe
Liaison: Shrian Jivan
Liaison: Cesar Rodriguez Soto
ChemE Car: Maggie Hurst
Future Board (Fall 2023)
President: Neil Reich
Vice-President: Preston Guest
Treasurer: Zane Sokowski
Secretary: Jackson Danley
BSO/Sail Representative: Daniel Ngo
Social Chair: Alison Giachino
ChemE Car: Emma Peters
Student Liaison: Misheel Shijir
Rotational Dinner & Networking
The AIChE Rotational Dinner is an event held bi-annually and usually during the weekend before Career Fair. The event sees representatives from many companies interested in hiring Mines Chemical Engineering graduates networking with students. The event is generally held at Table Mountain Inn and involves a dinner. The main event allows students to rotate around different tables to connect with different companies they may be interested in working for in the future.
If your company is interested in attending the rotational dinner and/or networking with our students, please reach out to cbe@mines.edu.
Lunch and Learn
Lunch and Learn is an event held each Friday during the academic year where companies visit and provide information to potential employees about what a career in their organization would look like. The talk is usually accompanied by a lunch sponsored by the visiting company.
If your company would like to learn more about taking part in a Lunch and Learn, please reach out to cbe@mines.edu.
Other Student Groups
Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
Although a campus organization, the department would like to show our support for the female representation at Mines and in the department. We are excited to see our female population at Mines continue to grow each year and institutions like SWE help foster an environment were females feel welcome in STEM fields.
2019 iGEM Team Members
Top Left: Isabelle Pugliese, Danae Burseth, Tyler Schraeder, Soren Loyland, Luke Williams; Bottom: Amanda Aurigemma, Mitchel Hale
iGEM
Mines sent an iGEM team to compete in the Giant Jamboree for the first time in October 2018.
What is iGEM? The international genetically engineered machine competition is the premiere synthetic biology competition for high school and university students. It allows students to explore the boundary between engineering and biology by designing their own organism to solve a problem.
The inaugural team at Mines was made up of 10 students, all students in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. Under the supervision of Professors Nanette Boyle and Josh Ramey the team developed their own design to solve a problem closely related to Mines’ emphasis on Earth, Energy and Environment. The team designed a strain of E. coli to detect and sequester cadmium found in mine tailings. The team spent the summer in the lab constructing a cadmium sensor and a binding protein to remove cadmium from the environment in E. coli.
In October, members of the team traveled to Boston to present their work at the Giant Jamboree. They were among 300 other teams of students from all around the globe and they came home with a bronze medal for their efforts!
Want to support the iGEM team? Reach out to cbe@mines.edu.
Pizza with the Profs
This event allows students the chance to talk to faculty in an open setting. The event remains one of the larger events held in the department to support the CBE Ambassadors and their initiative of creating and maintaining open communication between faculty and students both in and out of the classroom.
CBE Ambassadors
The CBE Ambassadors group was launched in the 2018-2019 academic year by Professor Tracy Gardner and several students who were interested in opening lines of communication between students and faculty and furthering the CBE Department’s efforts to create a positive and supportive environment for all.
In its inaugural year, the group led several successful initiatives, including improvements to the CBE student collaboration and study lounge, the introduction of a weekly student and Counseling Center jointly-led “Mental Health Monday” email series and participation in events introducing new and prospective students to the major.
Comprised of around 20 members, the ambassadors kicked off the 2019-2020 academic year with a Sophomore Welcome Back event which brought out local alumni to help orient students to what to expect and how to thrive while obtaining a chemical engineering degree. Conversations about academic support have culminated in the implementation of peer-led study sessions for certain core courses. CBE ambassadors are also assisting with a department “Philanthrotank” – an opportunity for students to submit proposals to a “Shark-Tank” style competition to award funding for student initiatives, with the only criteria being that the project must benefit the current and/or future students of CBE in some capacity.
While the pandemic prevented the group from hosting events during the 2020-2021 academic year, the department is looking to restart the initiative in fall 2021. If you are a Mines undergraduate chemical and biological engineering student interested in being a part of the ambassador group, please email cbe@mines.edu.