Hi everyone! This has been a rather exciting week for MaeChem Silanes. We just had our first visit to the SiVance plant! For the majority of the team, it was our first time visiting a chemical plant, so our excitement was unmatched, as we were eager to absorb as much information as possible. We had the opportunity to meet Clif, the R&D manager at Milliken, in person. We also met Shane, one of our liaisons, and Paul, whose enthusiasm while explaining the facilities and various chemical processes that go on at the site was uplifting. Answering his questions was a fun and well-received challenge. It’s incredibly inspiring getting to know and talk to people who love what they do.

Overall, the team gained insight into how a pilot-scale system can turn into a large chemical manufacturing unit. We were also able to obtain a better understanding of the current VTMS production process, and we left with clues and ideas about how we can turn it into a continuous and improved process. Although the road ahead is long, with the support of our coach, Dr. VJ Tocco, and our amazing mentors at Milliken, we are ready to dive deep into our project.

This week we also completed our project roadmap and started our Preliminary Design Report. Moving forward, we might have to change our team’s name to Bookworms as we tackle the literature review with great energy and determination!