The ChemE Cube team officially formed in December 2024, emerging from an opportunity first identified by members of the University of Toronto Chemical Vehicles (UTCV). After discovering the annual American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) ChemE Cube Competition, students recognized the chance to take on a project that would challenge their creativity, technical expertise and collaborative abilities. What began as an idea quickly grew into a dedicated student-led initiative committed to building something both technically ambitious and deeply rewarding.
Professor Cathy Chin serves as the team’s primary faculty advisor, supported this year by PhD students Junfeng Guo and Sebastian Cook, whose mentorship has played a key role in accelerating the team’s development.
L-R: Edward, Kenneth, Thomas, Ishaan, Kalli, Daisy, Amy. Photo credit: Fed Feng
Competing at the 2025 AIChE ChemE Cube Competition
The AIChE ChemE Cube Competition is an experiential engineering challenge where undergraduate teams design, build and operate a fully functional chemical mini-plant contained within one cubic foot. The 5th Annual competition took place November 2–3 in Boston, Massachusetts, during the 2025 AIChE Annual Student Conference.
Teams are evaluated on multiple components: developing a process concept, assembling the hardware, communicating the underlying science and demonstrating system performance through judged presentations and live operation. The competition demands technical rigour, strong communication and effective teamwork—rewarding students with a unique opportunity to learn by doing.
In their first-ever appearance, the University of Toronto ChemE Cube team delivered an impressive debut. They became finalists, placing among just 23 teams, and finished 13th overall. They also placed in the top 10 in the conference’s poster competition, marking an exceptional achievement for a first-year entry.
“Becoming finalists on our very first attempt was an incredible accomplishment. I’m proud of our team for showing what students can achieve when we combine our creativity, technical expertise, and shared passion to tackle real-world chemical engineering challenges.”
— Edward Lombo, Team Captain
Trailblazing Solutions for a Changing Climate
The 2025 competition theme focused on Direct Air Capture (DAC), a technology widely recognized as essential to addressing climate change. The team’s Carbon ReLeaf cube featured an amine-grafted ceramic sorbent, integrated environmental resilience and an onboard control system for efficient CO₂ capture and regeneration.
Notably, their entry was the only cube in the competition to incorporate both a printed circuit board and a fully integrated control system.
Looking ahead, the team aims to continue advancing DAC technologies while offering students opportunities to build skills in practical engineering, project management and entrepreneurship.
A Collaborative Team Model
The ChemE Cube team operates through two divisions—engineering and business—each organized around specialized focus areas.
- The engineering division spans reactions, process simulation, electrical design, and mechanical design.
- The business division includes operations, finance, legal and intellectual property considerations, and marketing.
Students select roles aligned with their interests, often contributing across multiple areas and gaining broad experience uncommon for undergraduate projects. The team describes their working style as highly collaborative, with tasks distributed based on ability and availability.
L-R: Team members Kalli, Thomas, Kenneth. Photo Cred: Fred Feng
Learning Through Experience
Students consistently describe the project as both challenging and transformative.
Robinson Meng, business division, reflects on discovering the intersection of engineering and business:
“This is my first real experience with chemical engineering, and it has opened my eyes to the rules and considerations needed to conduct business within this field. I’ve learned the considerations engineers must take into account while designing a product.”
Wooram Jung, engineering division, found the hands-on design process particularly meaningful:
“Building a cube included many steps, such as material selection, SOP development, pipe selection, PFD construction, and more. It was an amazing opportunity to understand how to apply the knowledge I gained in school to a real project.”
Thomas Smissen highlights the realities of prototyping:
“I learned to appreciate the hard work that goes into designing and building a functional prototype—especially for something as complex and multidisciplinary as our cube. Even the small things you expect to be easy can actually end up being very difficult to get right.”
Shaping Future Engineers
For many team members, the experience is already influencing their academic and professional priorities.
Ishaan Gupta, who joined during his PEY term, was inspired by the project’s climate impact:
“Seeing both sides of the coin—advanced infrastructure on the consumption side and very little on abating emissions—made it clear to me that I would much rather direct my energy toward mitigation.”
Thomas reflects on industry relevance:
“This experience prepared me for the upcoming boom in carbon capture and negative emissions. I gained exposure to concepts I would not have encountered otherwise.”
Wooram shares a strengthened sense of direction:
“I am now more confident that I am interested in process engineering and want to continue working on process projects.”
Meet the Team!
(Bottom) L-R:: Edward, Kenneth, Thomas, Professor Cathy Chin
Organizing Team
- Kenneth Sulimro (ChemE 2T5)
- Edward Lombo (ChemE 2T5)
- Fred Feng (ChemE 2T2 + PEY; Civ MASc 2T5)
Engineering Division
- Ishaan Gupta (ChemE 2T5)
- Amy Baggs (ChemE 2T5)
- Kalli Alikakos (ChemE 2T5)
- Thomas Smissen (ChemE 2T5)
- Rebecca Tam (MechE 2T7)
- Daisy Huang (ChemE 2T7)
- Tristen Chen (Indy 2T8)
- Charles Hong (Physics, 4th year)
- Vanessa Natalia (ChemE 2T5)
- Jeanetta Amabelle (ChemE 2T5)
- Wooram Jung (ChemE 2T7)
- Muhammad Aidan Afendi (ChemE 2T7)
- Khushi Sidhu (ChemE 2T6)
Business Division
- Rebecca Tam (MechE 2T7)
- Robinson Meng (Life Science, 4th year)
- Grace Gan (Rotman Commerce, Finance & Economics, 3rd year)
- Sophie Jin (Rotman Commerce, Finance & Economics, 3rd year)
Getting Involved
The team will begin recruitment in the winter semester and encourages undergraduate students from chemical engineering and related disciplines to participate. Students can meet team members and learn more at their booth during the Godiva Week club fair in early January.
As the competition grows—and as demand for practical climate solutions intensifies—the ChemE Cube team is contributing not only to innovation in engineering design, but also to the development of the next generation of engineers, problem-solvers, and innovators.