Meet a Young Professional Local Section: Mid-Michigan

By: Leaelaf Hailemariam & Anshul Agarwal

The state of Michigan, and in particular the Detroit region, is famous worldwide for its auto industry. Little do people know that the Central Michigan region, also called Mid-Michigan, is home to a plethora of chemical and manufacturing industries as well as engineering and consulting firms. Major chemical companies such as Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, and Hemlock Semiconductors have their world headquarters in this area. These companies employ hundreds of chemical engineers in the Mid-Michigan region. The Mid-Michigan Section of AIChE (MMAIChE), through its events and outreach programs, provides local chemical professionals with opportunities for networking and developing their careers, and for promoting the value of science, technology, and engineering within the local community. In particular, interaction and communication between the young chemical professionals in this area is facilitated by the local branch of the Young Professionals Initiative.

The Mid Michigan YPI branch (MMYPIB) provides a platform for recent chemical engineering graduates to connect with leaders and other professionals, expand their knowledge and broaden their horizon, provide service to the community, have fun with peers through social events, and grow into experienced industry leaders. To accomplish this goal, the Mid Michigan YPI Branch works closely with the AIChE local chapter as well as other company-specific organizations for young professionals in the area. Together with these organizations, the MMYPIB has organized a variety of events and will continue to do so in the future. The following list provides a glimpse of the social networking events organized by the MMYPIB for young chemical engineers in the community:

• Professional development seminars: a major objective for organization of social events through the MMYPIB was to provide a casual environment for learning and socializing. Thus this seminar, which featured two speakers from Dow Chemical and Dow Corning respectively, was held at the activity room of an apartment complex. The speakers mingled with the audience and delivered remarks without a stage or microphones. Afterwards the audience was able to ask questions and mingle.
• Networking Socials at local diners: these events were held with the express purpose of bringing together employees from various companies in a casual social setting.
• Lunch-and-Learns: these events were held over lunchtime to discuss topics of interest to young chemical engineers. The topic presented was "Bridging the Generational Gap" by industry experts using a Webinar downloaded from the AIChE site. After the end of the webinar, there was a short discussion on what the participants took away from the presentation.
• Volunteering: Young professionals from several companies in the area volunteered at a local venue as ushers and later came together as carolers.

Beyond the social networking events, the MMYPIB has also volunteered and participated in regional and national AIChE meetings. Seminars on specific industries and career experiences were given at the national AIChE conference as well as a regional AIChE conference in Houghton, MI. The MMYPIB representative also served as a judge for student presentations.

In 2012 the MMYPIB plans to attend the Akron, OH, regional AIChE meeting and continue to collaborate with other local organizations to organize other networking events. About the Authors Leaelaf Mengistu Hailemariam earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2000, and his PhD in Chemical Engineering and MS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN in 2008. After graduation he joined, and is currently working for The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI, in the Central R&D. He has been actively involved in local and national AIChE activities since 2009. He can be contacted at lhailemariam@dow.com Anshul Agarwal works with The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI, in Central R&D. He's been actively involved in the local chapter of AIChE since 2010 and has recently started working with the YPAB. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering, and can be reached at AAgarwal2@dow.com About MMAIChE The Mid-Michigan Section of AIChE was founded in 1952 to promote opportunities for chemical engineers and other chemical professionals in the Great Lakes Bay Region and to work with the local community to improve the understanding of science and technology and their impact on society. The Section provides a series of five lectures during the year and has an active education program that includes a $2000 scholarship awarded every year to a graduating high school senior planning to study chemical engineering at the college level ($500 per year for four years of study). The Section also provides scholarships for high school students to attend the Summer Youth Program at Michigan Technological University and gives demonstrations of science and technology for students in the local middle schools. For more information about the Section and events, visit http://www.mmaiche.org. Also, find MMAIChE on Facebook at mmaiche@groups.facebook.com