Chemical engineering undergrads earn top placements at AIChE poster competition
Dec 1, 2025
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Four Penn State chemical engineering undergraduates earned top honors at the 2025 AIChE Undergraduate Student Poster Competition, held Nov. 3 in Boston as part of the AIChE Annual Student Conference. Lauren Kirk, Amanda Yang, Felix Messick and Zach Badinger each placed at the event.
In the catalysis and reaction engineering VII category, Lauren Kirk earned second place for her poster, “Quantifying Adsorption of Well-Defined Polyethylene and Polyethylene Mimics Onto Mesoporous Silicas.” Working in the lab of Gina Noh, Kirk presented new approaches for understanding polymer–surface interactions.
In the food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology XV division, Amanda Yang was awarded second place for her work, “Effect of Matrix Stiffness on Transforming Growth Factor Beta-Induced DNA Methylation and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition.” Yang conducts her research in Esther Gomez’s lab, where she examines the mechanobiology of cancer-related cellular transitions.
Felix Messick earned first place in materials engineering and sciences I with his poster, “Impact of Halide Identity during the Polyol Synthesis of Ag Nanocubes: A Complex Interplay between Solubility and Emergent Organic Chemistry.” Messick, a member of Rob Rioux’s research group, investigates how reaction chemistry shapes nanoparticle morphology.
In the separations IV category, Zach Badinger received third place for “The Application of Tangential Flow Filtration for the Continuous Processing of Precipitated Monoclonal Antibodies.” Working in Andrew Zydney’slab, Badinger demonstrated strategies for improving continuous bioprocessing.
Several additional Penn State students also presented their undergraduate research at the conference, including Barbara Serrano-Acosta under Esther Gomez, Dilan Patel under Mike Janik and Ezra Clark and Akshay Krishnan under Hee Jeung Oh.
The 2025 Undergraduate Student Poster Competition, sponsored by Florida Atlantic University and Omega Chi Epsilon, drew more than 400 student presenters and approximately 100 judges. As one of the largest and most anticipated events of the AIChE Annual Student Conference, the competition offers undergraduate researchers the opportunity to showcase independent research conducted at their home institution or during internships and co-ops. While students may include co-authors, AIChE rules specify that only one undergraduate may serve as the presenting author and that the listed affiliation must reflect the student’s current undergraduate institution.
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