MSU ChemE Car

FAQs

I’m only a freshman, do i have anything to contribute?

You freshman have got to stop being so hard on yourselves. We all start somewhere, and the team would love to have you. Even if you aren’t far enough in your education to help calculate some of the more complex things, there is plenty for you to do. Most of our time is spent in the lab collecting data from chemicals we have mixed (just don’t accidentally mess up your measurements and create iodine gas, we all make mistakes). But before we even go into the lab, a lot of time is spent researching different ideas and car concepts by everyone on the team. All of those ideas are brought to the whole group for discussion, and none of them are thrown out before consideration.

i’m worried about covid. What is being done to stop from spreading in the club?

The campus and the community are all doing their best to stop the spread of COVID-19. For us, that means that all meetings outside of lab work will be held online through WebEx and when in the lab, only 10 individuals may be in the lab at any given time, they must all wear face masks the entire time, surfaces are to be wiped down before and after use, and interaction between members closer than 6 feet is limited to 15 minutes (these keeps us from all getting quarantined). With these measures it is our hope that even if one member of the team gets COVID that no one else will be infected or have to go into quarantine.

WHy should I join?

Because it is awesome! Need I say more? Yes, okay fine, I’ll give you a real answer. This club is a really great opportunity to apply what you are learning in the classroom in a real way. Those internships and job applications are always looking for you to have experience and this gives you some hands on experience mixing chemicals, collecting data, performing statistical analysis on your data, using Excel to create graphs and determine whether your idea is working or needs changed, and more. On the topic of jobs, it is always a great conversation starter at the career fair if there’s that awkward silence. Finally, it’s a great way to meet new people, especially during current times. You might meet some classmates in the club and start a study group or if you make friends with the upper classmen they can help you with some of that pesky homework.

I’m not a ChEm E, can i still join?

Yes, please! This is not a chemical engineering specific club even if the name sounds like it. Chemical reactions are used to start and stop the car, but how do you think the car is built? Sure, we chem e’s can probably figure something out, but it is always amazing when people from other disciplines join us. In the past we have had mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and computer scientists join us, and we always love having them. You guys understand things that we don’t and I don’t think we would be as successful as we are without you.