UC student places first in national chemical engineering competition

University of Cincinnati student Ryan Muir (Chemical Engineering ’19) recently took first place in a national competition among senior chemical engineering students.

The competition, sponsored by AVEVA, an engineering and industrial software company, challenged 56 students from 20 universities to use the company’s software to design, optimize and operate a process to produce dimethyl ether, a gas that can be used as automotive fuel.

Student competitive success such as Muir’s reflects UC’s innovation agenda, a platform of the university’s strategic direction, Next Lives Here.

“I was honored to be selected as the winner of the first SimCentral process simulation competition,” said Muir. “It was an excellent way for me to apply the skills I’ve learned at UC to the newest technologies being used in process engineering.”

Muir took home a $3,000 cash prize for placing first in the beginners group, beating out a team of students from the University of California-Riverside, who came in second. Additional participating universities included Texas A&M, University of Texas, Case Western Reserve, and the University of Tennessee among others.

Muir credited UC’s co-op program with pushing his project above the rest.

“Thanks to the co-op program, I was able to leverage both my co-op experiences and my time in the classroom to refine my submission and make it relevant to modern industry,” Muir finished.

AVEVA created the challenge to introduce students to skills and techniques in preparation for careers that rely on Industry 4.0 and the use of modern applications for engineering process design, simulation and optimization. Students were encouraged to be as innovative and creative as possible in their approach.

Muir will graduate in December with both his bachelor’s degree and a master of engineering in chemical engineering after completing the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s ACCEND program, which gives students the opportunity to complete both degrees in five years.