1. "Design, build and operate an apparatus for an undergraduate laboratory experiment that would demonstrate the principles of reaction engineering, and that is novel or perhaps strives to do the improbable (e.g. won't a concrete canoe sink?)." The experiment should be bench scale and of the type currently found in most undergraduate laboratory courses. It is also acceptable that the experiment would be of the type that would be used for a lecture demonstration.

2. The experiments should encompass "Simplicity/ease of communication to non-technical people." The process should be one easily understood by people outside the profession. Either the object of the process, such as manufacture of yogurt, the import ance of the project, such as feeding many people from increasingly scarce resources, or the process itself, should be easily communicated to people without a background in chemical engineering. Media coverage (newspapers/television/radio) is one way to s how success.

3. The competition will be conducted on the honor system. The faculty and graduate students can only act as sounding boards to the students' queries. The faculty cannot be idea generators for the project. The student chapter advisor or depar tment chair must write a cover letter stating to the best of his/her knowledge the students have abided by the rules. The students that work on the project must also sign a statement stating that they have abided by the rules.

4. The competition is to be a team competition with at least 20% of the team being composed of members from each of the junior and senior chemical engineering classes. The minimum number of participants is five and the maximum is fifteen per universi ty.

5. Associated measuring equipment (e.g. pH meter) must be of the type that is readily available at most universities through department ownership or borrowing from other departments in the university.

6. Purchased parts must cost less than $500. This price does not include a PC for data acquisition, or associated measuring or other (e.g. pumps, fittings, vessels) equipment that exists in most chemical engineering undergraduate laboratories.

7. The experiments will be displayed at the regional meeting. A poster board should accompany the apparatus as well as a five to ten page report describing how the idea for the experiment was generated, the underlying principles, the experimental pro cedure, and sample results. In the event the apparatus may not be physically brought to the meeting, a video tape or other means may be used to help understand the experiment. The top one or two winners of the Regional Student Chapters will be eligible to compete in the finals to be held at the annual meeting.

8. Safety of assembling and operating the experiment must be addressed.

9. Any questions about rules interpretation should come from the faculty student chapter advisor or department chair and be directed to either:

   Professor Martin Abraham University of Toledo Chemical Engineering Department 2801 W. Bancroft St. Toledo, OH 43606-3390 Phone: 419-530-8080 or 8092 Fax: 419-530-8086 e-mail: mabraham@eng.utoledo.edu

   Professor Skip Rochefort Oregon State University Chemical Engineering Department 103 Gleeson Hall Corvallis, OR 97331-2702 Phone: 541-737-2408 Fax: 541-737-4600 e-mail: rochefsk@engr.orst.edu

10. The student chapter advisor or department chair at the host chapter at the regional conference will select a panel of three judges. The judges can be from industry, faculty, or the student body. The judges cannot be affiliated with any organizati on that has an entry.
    The number of winners selected to go to the finals will depend upon the number of regional entries. If there are six or fewer entries, then one winner will be selected to advance to the national competition. If there are seven or more entries, then two winners will be selected. The decision of the regional and national judges shall be final.

Judging Criteria

Creativity/novelty/originality	40 points
Statement of the principle to be demonstrated and clarity in demonstrating that principle.	30 points>
Proper description of the safety issues associated with building and operating the experiment.	15 points
Simplicity/ease of communication/media coverage	15 points
Quality of communication Introduction: How was the idea generated? What is the principle that the experiment demonstrates and why is it important? Discussion: Explanation of fundamentals. Procedure: Safety precautions. Results: Describe what you found.	10 points
Opportunity for subsequent laboratory groups to study different variables or outcomes using the same apparatus.	10 points
Ease, desirability, and feasibility of being replicated by another student chapter.	10 points
Physical appearance.	10 points
Participation (more than 16 hours) by someone who is not a chemical engineering major (3 pts. for each non-chemical engineering major) and/or participation by ChE sophomores (2 pts. for each sophomore) - 10 pts. maximum	10 points
TOTAL	150 points