Team Illini-- Sean Ebihara, Ivan Villamar, and Patrick Regan from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering—is among the campus team winners of the 2015 U.S. (UFT), an annual competition that asks university students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to solve a real-world global energy challenge.
Written by Rick Kubetz
Team Illini—Ivan Villamar and Patrick Regan (ChemE), and Sean Ebihara (Chemistry)—is among the campus team winners of the 2015 U.S. (UFT), an annual competition that asks university students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to solve a real-world global energy challenge.
(l to r) Ivan Villamar, Patrick P. Regan, and Sean EbiharaParticipants in the 2015 contest were asked to identify and develop a novel technical solution to reduce the amount of water used and find an effective use for water produced by drilling operations.The winning teams, from seven top universities across the country, will now advance to the national finals at BP’s U.S. headquarters in Houston in April.
The other campus team winners include: Aquasolve from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Aquam Inc from Pennsylvania State University; Owls from Rice University; The Maroon COG from Texas A&M University; Blastoise from the University of Oklahoma; and Roden Analytics from the University of Texas.
Now in its third year in the U.S., the UFT competition is one of the many ways BP works with universities to support STEM education initiatives and provides students with opportunities to explore energy industry careers.
“BP believes that addressing America’s energy challenges requires long-term partnerships between the private sector and leading educational and scientific institutions,” said Khymberly Booth, U.S. university relations director for BP. “The UFT has proven to be a fun and effective way to do just that.”
The grand prize winner of the U.S. competition will join the winning teams from Ultimate Field Competition contests in the U.K., Canada and Angola on a two-week field trip to BP’s natural gas operations in Trinidad and Tobago.