March 26, 2014

Chemical engineering students Nicole Devlin from Rockville, Md., and Yanssen Tandy from Jarkarta, Indonesia, brought home top honors in the annual Student Soybean Product Innovation Contest sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance.

This marks the fourth year in a row that chemical engineering students have been part of the winning team.

Devlin, a graduate student, and Tandy, a senior, partnered with Carmen Valverde-Paniagua of Chihuahua, Mexico, to produce Filasoy, a next generation 3D printing material. Filasoy is soy-based and replaces petroleum-based plastic with a low-energy, low-temperature, renewable and recyclable filament.

The team received a $20,000 prize and beat out 14 other entries to claim the top spot. They join the ranks of other School of Chemical Engineering students who’ve achieved success in the contest.

In 2013, graduate student Anshu Gupta was part of the winning team, Nature Loft. That team produced a soy protein fiber insulation for use in bedding, including sleeping bags, apparel and other products.

In 2012, graduate students Aniruddha Kelkar and Anand Venkatesan were part of the winning team that created Flexoy, a soy-based, lightweight, flexible and low-cost substrate which can be used for computer circuit boards.

In 2011, senior Alvin Ang was part of the winning team that developed Dentural, a soy-based, all-natural adhesive for dentures.

For additional information please visit http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2014/Q1/purdue-students-show-how-to-innovate-with-soybeans.html.