AIChE NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CONFERENCE 2023
Speakers and Workshops
Read below about speakers and workshops!
Click here for a brochure of the conference event schedule or scroll to the bottom of this page.
Awards Banquet Keynote Speaker: Rachel Brenc
Speaking during the Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 1 from 5:30-7:30 pm will be Rachel Brenc!
Rachel Brenc is a career chemical engineer who is a leader in the carbon capture and transformation industry as LanzaTech’s Director of Commercial Development. In her time at LanzaTech, she served as the lead process engineer for the world’s first commercial waste gas to ethanol project, and developed an international program for the world’s first recycled carbon consumer goods products. Her work in process development and engineering culminated in the commercialization of gas fermentation technology in 2018. She is dedicated to community engagement through local university outreach and collaborations with University of Illinois Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, and The University of Kansas.
Advancements in ChE Research Workshop Speaker:
Dr. Meenesh Singh
Speaking at the Advancements in ChE Research Workshop on Saturday, April 1 from 9:15-10 am will be Dr. Meenesh Singh!
Dr. Singh is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the director of Materials and Systems Engineering Lab (MaSEL) at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), where his research group is developing state-of-the-art computational and experimental tools to solve grand challenges of the 21st century – i) develop carbon sequestration methods, ii) manage nitrogen cycle, iii) provide access to clean water and iv) engineer better medicines. He is a faculty advisor for AIChE Chem-E-Car, Editorial board member for 5 scientific journals, including Chemical Engineering Research & Design (Elsevier) and Sustainable Chemistry (MDPI). He has also co-founded a company – eN-RAMPS, that focuses on the scale-up and commercialization of technologies developed in his lab at UIC.
Young Professionals Industry Panel Speakers
Various young chemical engineers will speak at the Young Professionals Industry Panel at 10:15-11 am!
Sedra Khan
After graduating from UIC with a degree in chemical engineering in 2021, Sedra joined AbbVie as part of a three year rotational program in their Operations division. She has spent her first rotation as a process engineer in API production and is currently in her second role working in alliance management for medical devices.
Zainab Ahmed
Graduating in 2020 from UIC with a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering, the first step in her career was to support our fight against Covid-19 at Pfizer. From there, she took up an opportunity as a Project Engineer at Kraft Heinz working on providing the country with favorites like Mac & Cheese, salad dressings, and ketchup.
Sajjid Odeh
Graduating from UIC in the spring of 22' and transitioning into the process safety industry has been the greatest and most rewarding learning experience for Sajjid. From process hazard analyses to incident investigations, BakerRisk has equipped him with valuable skills to serve client safety concerns from all around the world.
Sydney Preston
After graduating from Michigan State University in 2016 with a bachelor of science in biological systems engineering, Sydney earned her MBA from Western Michigan University. Today she works at Lanzatech, a biotech company that strives to reduce carbon emissions, as a senior technical sales engineer.
Professional Development/Career Skills Workshop Speaker: Robert Orent
Speaking at the Professional Development/Career Skills Workshop on Saturday, April 1 from 2:15-3 pm will be Robert Orent!
Robert Orent is a chemical engineer by degree and process engineer by training with 34 years of experience working for companies including AlliedSignal/Honeywell, American Cyanamid (BASF), and Addivant (SI Group).
​
He is an innovative empathetic engineering Leader creating value through continuous improvement and building globalstrategic relationships.
​
Orent is a passionate developer of process engineers from recruiting and hiring to training and coaching, motivating Early Career Professionals and Engineering Fellows
How to Build a Great AIChE Student Chapter Workshop Speaker:
Dr. Matthew Liberatore
Speaking at the How to Build a Great AIChE Student Chapter Workshop on Saturday, April 1 from 4-5:30 pm will be Dr. Matthew Liberatore!
Matthew W. Liberatore is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Toledo. He earned a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, all in chemical engineering. His goal is to educate students to become creative, industrious engineers in the areas of rheology and chemical engineering. Additionally, he is the faculty advisor for the thriving AIChE student chapter at The University of Toledo.
