Ryan Lojek Wins Award for Best Lab Report of the Year from AIChE Delaware Valley Section

The Delaware Valley Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers has named Ryan Lojek ChE ‘12 the 2012 winner of its annual Zeisberg Award, given for the best laboratory report of the year from the region. Lojek bested competitors from Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, Rowan University, and Widener University.

Lojek’s report, entitled “Determination of the reaction kinetics for the catalytic hydrolysis of ethyl acetate” detailed findings from an experiment assigned by Dr. Donald Joye, Professor of Chemical Engineering, which sought to analyze the rate and activation energy needed for the hydrolysis of ethyl acetate to form ethanol and acetic acid.

Based on Lojek’s in-class performance, members of the Chemical Engineering faculty submitted his report to the award committee for consideration in the fall semester. Judges from the executive board of the Delaware Valley AIChE determined this year’s winner in April and presented Lojek with the award at a special banquet held at Rowan University on April 19.