Chemical and Biological Engineering at UBC

A team of UBC CHBE students have won the 2026 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering Plant and Process Design Competition held in Toronto! Team members are: Jasmine Martinez, Jordan Huang, Basil Rohlfs, Nasrullah Shakil, Gabriel Vela and Justin Woodhall

Jordan, Basil and Justin attended the conference to present their design for a CO2-to-jet-fuel process using a methanol pathway. Their project investigated the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of producing aviation fuel from captured carbon dioxide.

The Plant and Process Design Competition is a prestigious event organized annually as part of the Student Program of the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference (CSChE).

Find out more on the chbe.ubc.ca/news-events

Congratulations!

In their first year competing, the UBC ChemE Cube Team has been selected by an industry panel as one of 24 teams to participate in the 6th Annual ChemE Cube Competition powered by RAPID® | ExxonMobil. The team will be demonstrating their direct air carbon capture system at the final competition in Minneapolis in November 2026 during the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)’s Annual Student Conference.

Good luck UBC ChemE Cube!

Find out more on our website: chbe.ubc.ca/news-events

Congratulations to Carapex, a student-led startup from UBC Chemical & Biological Engineering (CHBE), who placed 4th in the Undergraduate Business Plan Competition at the Stu Clark New Venture Championships, one of Canada’s largest business plan competitions, which was held in April 2026 in Winnipeg, MB. The team advanced to the final round and received a $1,500 prize.

Carapex is developing InfinityCoat™, a biocompatible pharmaceutical tablet coating that extends shelf life while replacing fossil-fuel-derived polymers such as PVA.

Find the full story on our website: chbe.ubc.ca/news-events

Congratulations to the CHBE Graduate Student Council, recognized as the Most Active Affiliated Organization by the GSS at their annual gala in April 2026!

The CHBE GSC organizes a wide variety of events that foster networking, build community, support academic and professional development, and promote wellbeing among graduate students.

Find out more here: https://chbe.ubc.ca/news/2026/chbe-graduate-student-council-recognized-at-the-gss-gala/

Congratulations to CHBE student Rajalakshmi Narasimhan on winning 1st place in the Research Poster Presentation Competition at the AIChE Pacific Northwest Student conference!

Rajalakshmi presented work on Identification of Burkholderia Species Causing Infection in People with Cystic Fibrosis Using Headspace Volatilome Profiling. The work was done under the supervision Dr. Jane Hill.

The conference was held at Washington State University on April 10 and 11, 2026.

Congratulations Rajalakshmi!

Congratulations UBC Chem-E-Car for their award-winning performance at the AIChE Student Conference in April 2026!

The team entered two vehicles: Yosh-E-Car and Max Carstappen.

Yosh-E-Car came in 1st place in the performance competition, achieving an impressive come-from-behind victory after a non-start in its first run. This win qualifies the team for the annual AIChE conference next year in Minneapolis. Max Carstappen also performed strongly, earning 3rd place in the performance competition.

In the poster competition, Yosh-E-car placed 2nd and Max Carstappen took 3rd.

Congratulations to Chem-E-Car!

Congratulations to Professors Heather Trajano and Alireza Bagherzadeh on receiving 2026 UBC Killam Teaching Awards!

Drs Trajano and Bagherzadeh join a remarkable group of CHBE faculty who have received a Killam Teaching Prize over the past 6 years, including Professors Naoko Ellis, Gabriel Potvin, Jonathan Verrett, and Vikram Yadav.

They will receive their award officially during the UBC graduation ceremony in May 2026.

Congratulations!

The Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering invites you to attend the CHBE 264 Poster Session!

Join us as our 2nd-year CHBE students present their analyses of real industrial pollution cases from around the world. Through systems thinking, they explore the complex factors, interactions, and feedback loops that drive these issues—while identifying potential opportunities for intervention.

April 7th: 10:30am
April 8th: 2:00pm

The Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering invites you to attend the Undergraduate Thesis Course Presentations! 🎉🧪

Friday, April 10, 2026
1-5 p.m.

Students will present their yearlong thesis projects in CHBE 202!

CHBE undergrad students, grad students, faculty and staff are invited to a friendly basketball tournament on April 9 at 6 p.m. (after Design and Innovation Day)!
Join us for an evening of fun and friendly competition. Snacks will be provided.
Register your team of 5 (+ up to 3 subs) or as an individual : chbe.ubc.ca/event/2026/chbe-basketball-night