A winning team is often the result of the right chemistry. That was the case with team Northeastern, which took the top prize in the eleventh annual Chem-E-Car Competition, part of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ national student conference in November 2009.

Matched up against 30 teams from colleges across the country, 10 Northeastern students won the first-place award of $2,000. The challenge was to design a car that would be both powered and controlled by chemical reactions. The winner would be the team that got its car to stop closest to the finish line while transporting 250 milliliters of water. The kicker? The teams didn’t receive these specifications until one hour prior to the competition start time.

Northeastern’s car ("The Aluminator") stopped less than seven inches from the finish line.

Besides the cash prize, the contest helped the team envision its role in creating solutions to current problems. The technology used in the small car, for instance, might be used in the future for running automobiles on alternative fuels.

Gaining self-assurance was another valuable result of the competition. “Being able to see my own progression through my years with the team was neat, and gave me the confidence in my ability to work through problems,” says senior Patrick McMahon, president of Northeastern’s Chem-E-Car team.

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