The 2025 AIChE Annual Student Conference (ASC) is four exciting days of career exploration, networking, competitions, and fun. Student engineers from more than 200 universities will gather in Boston, Massachusetts, from October 31–November 3, 2025, to celebrate the chemical engineering profession alongside young professionals, AIChE leaders, and industry experts.
This year’s conference features a robust technical program, professional development sessions, and signature events such as the Chem-E-Car Competition®, ChemE Jeopardy, and the Night of Networking. Students can also look forward to interactive workshops, networking mixers, and opportunities to connect directly with recruiters and faculty.
Here are some of the highlights you won’t want to miss:
Workshops
The 2025 conference offers a series of career and student chapter workshops designed to enhance both your technical skills and leadership capabilities. Some not-to-be-missed workshops include:
- Creating Connections: Building Chapter-Faculty Relationships: This featured session kicks off the 2025 AIChE ASC. Led by the Johns Hopkins University student chapter, this workshop will explore strategies for building strong relationships between your AIChE chapter and faculty advisors, with practical tips, conversation starters, and outreach activities to help strengthen chapter support and engagement.
- Management Careers and the Chemical Engineer: This interactive session introduces students to management career paths in chemical engineering. Panelists will discuss how to transition from technical roles to leadership positions and share insights on the skills, responsibilities, and opportunities that come with management careers in industry and academia.
Welcome breakfast and keynote address
Day two of the conference will officially kick off with the Welcome Breakfast and Keynote Address. This year’s keynote speaker is Christine Santos, Chief Technology Officer at Manus, who will deliver her talk, “Chemical Engineering Reimagined: Innovations at the Intersection of Biology, Chemistry, and Technology.”
In her keynote, Santos will share how her career led her to the intersection of biology, chemistry, and technology, showing how chemical engineers are using digital tools, AI, and biomanufacturing to address challenges in sustainability, health, and materials innovation.
Student competitions
The AIChE ASC is renowned for its exciting and educational competitions. Here are some of the major ones to watch out for:
- Chem-E-Car Competition®: In this hands-on event, teams design and build cars powered by chemical reactions. These vehicles are given two minutes to start, travel, and stop at a target distance. The specified distance is revealed to teams just one hour before they start time, and the last-minute pressure and excitement make it a longstanding favorite among students and spectators alike.
- ChemE Jeopardy Competition: This quiz-show-style competition pits teams against each other to test their knowledge of chemical engineering principles and trivia in a fun, high-energy environment.
- Undergraduate Student Poster Competition: One of the most prestigious events at the conference, this competition allows students to present their research to industry professionals and academic experts. A great opportunity for those considering graduate studies or industry careers, this competition highlights student innovation in chemical engineering.
- ChemE-Sports™ Competition: Teams test their engineering and problem-solving skills in this high-pressure, real-time, simulation-based competition.
Leadership Panel
The Leadership Panel offers students an opportunity to hear from AIChE leaders and industry professionals, while also networking with fellow ChemE students. This event fosters discussions on leadership skills and career growth, providing attendees with the chance to build connections that may benefit their future careers. Debrief with your peers right after the panel at the ASC Night of Networking, where you can enjoy snacks and some light competition for stylish AIChE swag.
Recruitment Fair
At the Recruitment Fair, students can meet with top companies looking to hire fresh talent. Bring your updated resume and take advantage of this event to learn about available internships and job openings, and to network with professionals from a wide range of industries.
Access to the AIChE Annual Meeting
When you register for the AIChE Annual Student Conference, your ticket includes complimentary access to sessions at the 2025 AIChE Annual Meeting. This is an incredible opportunity to attend sessions alongside professionals and learn about the latest research and trends in chemical engineering.
The 2025 AIChE Annual Student Conference is packed with opportunities to grow, compete, and network. From exciting competitions like Chem-E-Car to workshops that strengthen student chapters, this conference has something for everyone. Don’t miss this chance to engage with the chemical engineering community and take the next step towards your professional goals.
Learn more about the 2025 AIChE Student Conference
