Chemical Engineering clubs at UMass: AICHE & ISPE

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Like most other majors, chemical engineering has its own clubs as well! At UMass, there’s mainly two clubs that are predominantly chemical engineering-based: the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE), and the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).

While they’re both open to anyone (come join!) you’ll most likely see a bunch of chemical engineers at them. I’m an E-Board member for ISPE but I’m super involved with AICHE as well. From barbecues and ice cream socials to networking events and internship panels, both of these clubs have a lot of events lined up each year to foster a sense of community amongst interested students!

You should understand that there’s a bit of a rivalry between these two clubs (ISPE’s better, of course), but we’re always crossing over to each other’s events since everyone knows everyone. Last semester, we even collaborated on AICHE’s annual barbecue.

Naturally, as I write about random aspects of my life, I figured I should talk about these clubs as well, so here’s my quick spiel on them!

 International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE)

As the name suggests, ISPE’s a bit more specialized on the pharmaceutical side of things, but we’re always just trying to build community and have fun with anyone and everyone. Last year, we had an ice cream and movie night where we had this huge ice cream bar with millions of toppings and flavors, and we watched 21 Jump Street!

We also had an internship and graduate school panel by the PhD and masters students in the chemical engineering department, as well as undergraduate students who previously completed pharmaceutical-related summer internships/co-ops in both academia and industry.

Having a mix of social and professional events helps students get answers to all their questions while also being able to form connections with people who have similar interests as them. As the communications officer, my role is to manage our social media handles and update our website, so we have better advertisement of our events and attract more people. 

If you’re interested in coming to our events (10/10 recommend), feel free to join our mailing list and follow us on our social media. 

Also, we have RSO status this year, so watch out for us at the activities expo!

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE)

AICHE also has their fair share of fun events that everyone goes to as well.

Their annual barbecue is always a hit; an evening filled with good and hot food and a bunch of outdoor lawn games - there’s no way you could go wrong - it's one of my favorite events of the year. 

AICHE also has professional events, like a town hall they do every year, where professors and other graduate students come to answer any questions you may have about chemical engineering in a more career-oriented and professional context. 

They even do random smaller initiatives to help support students, like putting out coffee and donuts during finals and covering student costs if they want to travel for the national conference. 

It's worth mentioning that they have a beer brewing contest, so if you’re interested in figuring out what the best way to make beer is, you should probably sign up for that event.

AICHE’s a great club to join if you’re interested in chemical engineering and are looking to make friends with other people in the department. Join AICHE’s umassaiche [at] gmail [dot] com (mailing list) and follow them on their social media as well! 

While there may be some sense of competition between the two clubs, they’re both great ways to get involved with the chemical engineering department and to learn more about the field, while also meeting new people and getting closer to your classmates. 

I’m hoping to see some of you at these events as well! What clubs are you a part of? Feel free to tell communications [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (us) about your experiences!