Mary Sevart wins First Place at the SWE Poster Competition

Mary Sevart, a junior in Chemical Engineering, was recently notified that she won First Place at the SWE Poster Competition this month. The title of her poster is "Valorization of residual hemp biomass through thermochemical processing."

Mary's undergraduate research focuses on taking hemp biomass, after CBD oil extraction, and creating a biocrude and biochar. The biocrude and biochar have many potential applications in the energy, environmental, and materials industries. Mary started working in Dr. Williams's lab her freshman year, and she began work on this project last year.

About her lab work, she said, "I've had a great experience doing undergraduate research so far, and it has given me many skills that will prepare me for graduate school in a couple years."

In addition to doing research under Dr. Williams, Mary is also the testing lab manager of the KU Biodiesel Initiative, an engineering ambassador, and the recruitment chair for SWE. This past summer, she completed an internship at Spirit AeroSystems where she was able to use her research skills in an industrial setting. She also recently won the NOAA Hollings Scholarship which she said, "will allow me to complete research at a NOAA facility this upcoming summer."

The Chemical & Petroleum Engineering Department congratulates Mary on her many successes! Congratulate Mary directly via the SWE website.