Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering
The Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) is a national association that brings together chemical engineers from industry, academia and government to provide opportunities for professional development, networking and sharing of knowledge. In the spirit of this philosophy, the CSChE University of Toronto Student Chapter – whose membership encompasses all undergraduate students in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry – organizes interactive workshops and seminars, hosts engaging social and networking events, and leads a student delegation to the CSChE Conference annually. We hope to connect our student body to their peers, faculty members, alumni, and the chemical engineering field at large. As our constitution states, we are,
“Preparing U of T Chemical Engineering students socially, academically, and professionally, with Excellence”
Major Events:
Summer Student Symposium (August)
The symposium provides students the opportunity to present their research related to Chemical Engineering or their perspectives on Chemical Engineering education to industry and academia professionals in a competitive environment. The top two speakers are selected to represent the University of Toronto at the national Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference to compete for the Reg Friesen Student Oral Paper Award and Robert G. Auld Student Paper Competition.
Faculty-Student Mixer (September)
A speed-dating style networking event geared towards the first and second years so that they can get to know their professors outside of the lecture hall.
‘How to Survive First Year’ Information Session (September)
A chance for first year students to mingle with each other and get advice on courses, extracurricular activities, and SkuleTM life from upper year students.
CSChE Conference (October)
Each year, our student chapter sends a delegation to the national CSChE Conference to represent the University of Toronto Chemical Engineering Department. Here, students are exposed to a wide range of academic and professional development events that complement their undergraduate studies, and participate in the Reg Friesen for non-technical and Robert Auld for technical/chemical engineering related competitions.
Halloween Costume Party (October)
The chapter holds an annual party to encourage students to dress up, celebrate the season, and relieve that mid-term stress.
Kris Kringle/Coffee House (December)
To get the holiday spirit going, the student chapter organizes a gift exchange between all undergraduate chemical engineering students and hosts a coffee house with live student bands, singers, rappers and other forms of entertainment that showcase the hidden talents of our student body.
Valentine’s Day Candy Grams (February)
Part-fundraising and part-pure fun! Students purchase delicious candy and chocolate to gift to their friends, all arranged by our student chapter.
CHEM Week (March)
Five days of non-stop events! CHEM weeks features multiple networking luncheons, with special guest industry representatives on hand to speak about their chemical engineering experiences, several plant/lab tours (such as Steam Whistle Brewery and City Water), and a Graduate Studies pub night.
PEY Panel (Winter)
In order to assist the 2nd and 3rd year students with the PEY job application process, the Chapter invites a panel of current PEY students from different fields of work to discuss their experiences, provide tips and answer questions.
Table Tennis Tournament (Winter)
In coordination with CEGSA, we organize a singles and doubles tournament night to find out who the best table tennis players in the department are!
Faculty Basketball League (Winter)
The Chapter supports the Chemical Engineering basketball team as they battle it out against the other disciplines in the faculty.
Other
In the 2011 – 2012 year, CSChE also allocated funds for each class/year to host an event of their choosing and organized an Electives Information Session, which intended to guide students entering their third year and considering the minor options in Bioengineering, Sustainable Energy, and Environmental Engineering.
Awards/Accomplishments:
Some of our most notable awards and accomplishments from recent years have been listed below:
2011
- Honourable mention for the CSChE Student Chapter Merit Award
- Runner-up awards for Albert Huynh and Bo Han Zhang in the Reg Friesen and Robert G. Auld Competitions respectively at the CSChE Conference
- Designed and sold the first official sweaters for the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
2010
- 1st place for Albert Huynh in the Reg Friesen Oral Paper Competition at the CSChE Conference
- 1st and 2nd place for Mercedeh Shanechi and Sami Khan respectively in the Robert G. Auld Student Paper Competition at the CSChE Conference
2009
- 1st place for Eric Arsenault in the Reg Friesen Oral Paper Competition at the CSChE Conference
- 2nd and 3rd place for Supraja Sidharan and Ankeeta Tadkase respectively at the CSChE Conference
External Links:
1. CSChE – University of Toronto Student Chapter [1] – our club website.
2. About CSChE [2] – official website for the national CSChE association.
3. CSChE 2012 [3] – official website for this year’s CSChE Conference taking place in Vancouver from Oct. 14th-17th, 2012.