Two teams of Mississippi State University students placed first and third in a national competition held earlier this year hosted by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Derek Needham, Justin Williamson and James Wright received first place and Erin Casey, Rebecca Atkinson and Andrew Estess were awarded third place. The contest is a 30-day challenge in which groups of three students work together to find a solution to their topics, chosen by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, without any outside assistance. 
James Wright said in an email the wins show the chemical engineering program at MSU is on par with all the best in the nation.
“It also shows what good professors we have,” Wright said. “Without a doubt (…) if the three of us, Derek, Justin, and I, were to have all three gotten our education at some other university, we would not have had a chance at all at winning the competition.”
Wright said the topic of the project was completely unknown to participating students prior to competition. His team, “Dream Team,” was at a disadvantage because many of the books and articles it needed for research were unavailable in the library and had to be ordered. A one-month window to complete the project added to the immediacy.
Judges only see the written portion of the project, even though a great deal of hard work and effort is put into the design, Wright said. His group was surprised at the win because it spent so much time on the design that it submitted the written portion past deadline.
“For all the groups that finished their projects, they are just as much winners as us, because the real reward is the degree that we’re getting, which symbolizes a lifetime of academic dedication,” Wright said.
Erin Casey said the competition only awards first, second and third honors. For MSU to have teams win two of those three awards is amazing.
“I did not expect to win at all,” Casey said. “We just wanted a good grade.”
 
 
 
Erin Casey said the competition only awards first, second and third honors. For MSU to have teams win two of those three awards is amazing.
“I did not expect to win at all,” Casey said. “We just wanted a good grade. I’m so happy that MSU was able to get recognized as a top engineering school in the country.”
Casey said all senior chemical engineering majors have to go through a final plant design class before graduation. All students in the class had the option of participating in a class project or submitting a project that would be graded by professors at MSU, with the top two projects sent to the national competition.
Casey and her teammates, Rebecca Atkinson and Andrew Estess, chose to do a project called “GTL,” or “Gas to Liquids.” The team worked to refine simple gases, such as methane, into gases we use, like gasoline, she said.
Atkinson said her role was to calculate the cost of production for the team’s refinery project, while Casey calculated how profitable it would be and Estess designed the equipment used in the project.
 ”We had to research all the processes and implement them into our project,” Atkinson said. “We were not allowed any outside help, other than the textbook.”
Atkinson said she agreed third place is a great accomplishment and shows MSU is a top-tier competitor alongside other top engineering schools in the nation like Georgia Tech and Purdue.
Estess said the team was given certain variables to work with and the task was to design the steps in-between the given variables.
The project consisted of a design, report and an appendix, Estess said. The guidelines for the report and appendix were 200 pages maximum, with half written in the report and the other compiled into the appendix.
“Students put in a lot of work, but I give credit to our professors,” Estess said. “I look at (this win) as a success for the department.”
Estess and his teammates are currently working for The Dow Chemical Company, although each is at different locations around the country. Wright and his teammates all participated in a co-op program for three terms for various companies, and he is currently in New Zealand.
All winners of the challenge will be recognized later this month for their achievements at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers student conference in Minnesota.