January 28, 2022 | Emily Pritt

Meet the University of Akron team: TapRooT®️ University

Founded in 1870 (Buchtel College) and its main campus nestled in Akron, Ohio is the University of Akron (UA). To UA, it is “a vital urban research university inspired by its people, its promise and its place.”

Five students in the chemical engineering program at the University of Akron will be competing alongside teams from other US engineering colleges in the first annual TapRooT®️ Student Competition. Watch the video below to know a bit more about the students representing UA.

Then, we encourage you to donate to support the students on their trip to Knoxville, Tennessee May 2-6, 2022 to compete in the competition. Your contributions go directly to the institution in an effort to support the students and faculty advisors.

About the Global TapRooT®️ Summit & Student Competition

Undergraduate and Graduate-level engineering teams from prestigious US universities will receive virtual training from TapRooT® certified instructors, coaching from their mentors, and given an incident to analyze. Then, the teams will participate in the first TapRooT® Student Competition.

In May, the teams and their faculty advisors will travel to the 2022 Global TapRooT® Summit in Knoxville, Tennessee, to present their results. A panel of experts will be judging each team with a focus on the quality of the investigation and successful identification of their SnapCharT® identifying Causal Factors, Root Causes, & Corrective Actions. Learn more here:

Introducing TapRooT®️ University Student Competition: Providing the Tools to Help Tomorrow’s Leaders Succeed

Sponsor Students

Show your support through sponsorships & donations. The 2022 TapRooT® Student Competition seeks industry partners (users and champions of TapRooT®) through student sponsorships. Your sponsorship funds will be directed to the university of your designation.

SI is sponsoring the students’ and faculty advisor(s) expenses in training materials, instruction, and admission to the 2022 Summit. Partnership sponsor levels (bronze, silver, and gold) will provide students and faculty with project materials, travel expenses, hotel accommodations, and meals while presenting to the panel of judges.

Annual collegiate contributions can be allocated to the TapRooT® Student Competition. Recognition of all TapRooT® Student Competition sponsors will be at participating universities and the Summit.

The University of Akron (UA) is located in the heart of Ohio’s fifth-largest city (Akron, OH). UA offers a wide range of unique, in-demand and top-ranked associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and professional degree programs in engineering, the arts and sciences, business, health care, law and education. The University of Akron has been engineering excellence since 1913. Our College of Engineering and Polymer Science offers world-class engineering, engineering technology, and computing degree programs and is a global leader in polymer science and polymer engineering. Our exceptional academic and career development opportunities lead to well-paying, rewarding careers in Ohio and beyond. 100% of our engineering students learn through experience through our historic co-op program, research opportunities starting with freshmen, and senior capstone projects. Plus, students participate in our award-winning design teams and compete in both national and international competitions.

Our Chemical Engineering (ChE) program, which was established in the 1960s, has been one of the strongest engineering programs within the College of Engineering and Polymer Science. Over 40% of ChE students belong to the Williams Honors College, and ~ 50% of all ChE students participate in undergraduate research. Many of our students receive full time job offers from their co-op employers before they return to campus for their senior year, and a majority (> 90%) of them work in companies such as Bridgestone, Dow, Goodyear, Lubrizol, Parker Hannifin, RoviSys, J.M. Smucker and Sherwin-Williams.

One uniqueness of our ChE program is offering a set of course sequences entitled “Project Management and TeamWork” (PMT). Students take the one credit PMT course each year beginning in their Freshman year. They are divided into teams with each team consisting of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Over the course of each semester, the students work with peers on a project that involves aspects of prototype design, business/marketing and stakeholder outreach. The teamwork, project management and leadership skills they acquired from PMT prepare them way ahead of their peers when working in a team or managing a project at their jobs. Our Capstone design sequence further prepares our students on applying the fundamental knowledge to practical/contemporary problems, and in recent years, on process safety analysis with a more industry focused approach. The selected team of students is excited to have the opportunity to participate in the 1^st Annual TapRooT® Student Competition. They look forward to showcasing their learning and their results on investigating an accident at the 2022 Global TapRooT® Summit.