Students' Showcase

Our students' showcase is an opportunity to recognize and share the achievements of our students, both academic and social. Student life is an important part of the department, and we are proud to present this facet of chemical engineering.

 

Comprehensive projects

In addition to enabling the active integration of theoretical concepts seen in the classroom, comprehensive projects offer students the opportunity to work in a team on concrete engineering projects, to acquire a methodology for solving problems and to learn more about chemical engineering. Students also develop several skills that will be useful in the workplace, such as teamwork, creativity, and written and oral communication.

First year : Print your factory project



PRINT YOUR FACTORY

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS

  • Recovery and valorization of ocean plastics
  • CO2 capture and valorization
  • Isopropyl alcohol of pharmaceutical grade production
  • Valorization of biogas from a composting site 

 

As part of the GCH1140 — Team Work and Chemical Engineering Project course, first-year students have to analyze, as a team, a process of their choosing, in order to create different plans, a 3D simulation of their factory, a 3D printed model, an economic analysis and a sustainable development analysis.

1. TEAM Thorin - Steel production process

The members of this team are: Sacha Dorval, Rosalie Gauthier, Claudia
Laverdière, Nancy Nleme and Alexandre Warin.

2. TEAM Génivert - Sanitary pad Production Process

The members of this team are: Gabrielle Lacroix, Sarra Soussou, Noémy
Gagnon-Lafrenais and Nour Lamis Siaf.

3. TEAM Fabriken Machen - Aluminum recycling process

The members of this team are: Léo Druet, Hortense Flamand, David
Héroux, Élodie Laniel and Tanya Nguyen.

Second Year: Digital Modelling Project

As part of the GCH2550 — Digital Modelling Project, second-year students are expected to model a large-scale industrial process in a team, incorporating the principles of sustainable development. To achieve this, they must produce a detailed plan of the plant, a material and energy balance simulator and a simulator of equipment operated under transient conditions.

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS

  • Valorization of a paper-making process' residual materials
  • Revalorization of a sugar production process from sugar beet
  • Revalorization of the production process of PVC-C, a material used in pipes manufacturing
Third Year: Unit Operations Project

As part of the course GCH3100C — Unit Operations Projects, third-year students are required to design an industrial process’s equipment, based on specifications provided by a client. This project, realized in teams of 8, gives students the opportunity to consolidate their project management skills by incorporating management and organizational challenges. Students must also evaluate the impacts of the process they are designing, in terms of sustainable development and they must suggest innovative ideas to improve it.

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS

  • Design basis of a liquid fuel production unit by conversion of sorted household waste
  • Design basis of an ethylene production unit by dehydration of biosourced ethanol
  • Design basis of a distillation unit for the production of oxygen, nitrogen and argon
Fourth year: design and impact analysis project

The fourth comprehensive project is done over two semesters, covering the courses GCH8271 — Process Design and Synthesis and GCH8272 — Design and Impact Analysis Project. Students are asked to design a whole process in teams of 4 to 6 people, in partnership with an industrial client. Teams must prepare a service offer, a technological review to determine which unit operations and related equipment will be needed to achieve the design objectives, a detailed design plan, an in-depth technical-economic study to evaluate the project’s cost effectiveness, an evaluation of the process itself as well as a risk analysis and finally, make recommendations for the customer. This project allows students to synthesize, integrate and use the know-how (and the soft skills) that they acquired and developed during their training.


EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS

  • Revalorization and purification of graphite from lithium ion batteries (with Seneca)
  • Design of a beer-brewing pilot unit (with Laporte / Horeca)
  • Mobile unit for the production of dimethyl ether from natural gas (with GasTechno)
  • Recycling and valorization of concrete sludge (with CRH)
  • Debromination of electronic waste (with Groupe Lavergne)
  • Atmospheric water capture process (with Awn Nanotech)
  • Production of 2.5-Furandicarboxylic Acid (FDCA) from glucose (winning project at the Hatch design competition offered by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, October 2017).
Prizes, scholarships and achievements

Our students regularly receive awards and recognition for their scientific excellence, their engagement and/or their projects. The Chemical Engineering Department is proud to highlight their achievements, which testify to the quality of the training they receive at Polytechnique.

Prizes
​​​​​​Undegraduate Level

2025

  • Jacob St-Germain was named 2024–2025 Student-Athlete of the Year with the Carabins.
  • Vincent Coulombe won the Best Student Committee Chair Award at the Gala de l’implication.
  • Hugo Trépanier, Louis-Charles Samson, Catherine Joubert, Julien Taché, and Alexa Ramseyer were part of the team that won first place at the first Québec Chemical Engineering Competition.

2024

  • Saba Habchi, Maxime Poisson, Mathieu Levasseur, Ony Rabenia, Ruth Carla Doré, and Gloria Gnom won first place at the Responsible Care Hydrogen Hackathon during the 2024 Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference.
  • Jeanne Bureau, Laeticia Matar, Sabine Ziadeh, Frédéric Gosselin, Alexandre Warin, and Manuel Blais won second place at the same Hackathon.
  • Guillaume D'Amours and Sami Sahli won first and third prizes in the “Intern in Action” photo contest.
Graduate Level

2025

  • Olivier Gazil received the Governor General’s Gold Medal of Canada.
  • Paula Andrea Rivera Quinto won the Best PhD Presentation Award from Polytechnique Montréal at the Chemical Engineering Research Day.
  • Wiebke Mainville won the Best Master’s Presentation Award from Polytechnique Montréal at the same event.
  • Djogap Feujo Chrysler Jacobson won the Best Scientific Poster Award from Polytechnique Montréal at the Chemical Engineering Research Day.
  • Aida Nekooei received the Sustainability Award from Polytechnique Montréal at the same event.
  • Antony Gareau-Lajoie, student representative for the Department of Chemical Engineering at the AECSP, was recognized as an Outstanding Volunteer by the student association.
  • Mikaël Vaillant won second place in Polytechnique’s internal “My Thesis in 180 Seconds” competition.
  • William Simon won first prize for Best Oral Presentation in the “Environment, Economy and Society” track at the first edition of PolyCongré.
  • Kathel Dongnang won first prize for Best Oral Presentation in the “Innovative Materials” track at PolyCongré.
  • Cat-Thy Dang won second prize for Best Oral Presentation in the “Innovative Materials” track at PolyCongré.
  • Antoine Pomerleau won first prize for Best Poster in the “Environment, Economy and Society” track at PolyCongré.
  • Majed Ghattas received the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

2024

  • Georg Seitfudem won first prize in the PhD Science Communication Video Contest in Chemical Engineering, while Elvis Boampong received second prize in the same competition.
  • Olivier Gazil received a special mention from the jury in the 2024 Best Thesis of the Year Competition – Roger A. Blais Award.
  • Kathel Dongnang was the local winner in the University – Student category of the Défi OSEntreprendre.
  • Barida Joseph Nafo earned second place in the 2024 Québec Student Entrepreneur Innovation Award at the Climate Solutions Festival.
  • Maoline Houndedoke received an award for her oral presentation at the 27th Canadian Catalysis Symposium.
  • Majed Ghattas won the Best Poster Presentation Award at the 18th Vaccine Congress.
  • Ghazaleh Mirakhori won the student competition at the 2024 North American Mixing Forum (NAMF).
Scholarships
Undergraduate Level

2024-2025

Graduate Level

2024-2025

2023-2024

  • Sadaf Khoomortezaei received a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
  • Fiona Milano was awarded a Pierre-Péladeau Scholarship with her Phoenix Impact team.
  • Amishga Alphonius received a Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s level (CGS M) from NSERC.
  • Justin Lamouche also received a Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s level (CGS M) from NSERC.
Achievements

Manuel Blais, Malika Dupuis, Emmanuelle Nadeau, and Alexandre Warin organized the first Québec Chemical Engineering Competition in 2025.
This event brought together students from Polytechnique Montréal, McGill, Sherbrooke, and Laval universities for a weekend-long competition simulating the annual cycle of a real company.Case studies were prepared by various industry partners, and the event was a great success.
 

Technical Teams

The Chemical Engineering Department sponsors two technical teams at Polytechnique Montréal. Technical teams are open to students from all programs and allow them to deepen, implement and enrich their knowledge while participating in national and international competitions.

Polybroue

This technical team promotes technological development in the brewing industry. The company participates in the Polytechnique event Les Houblonneries and in various beer competitions.
For more information or if you want to join the company, you can visit their Facebook page.

Entrepreneurship

Polytechnique Montréal encourages entrepreneurial spirit and supports students interested in entrepreneurship, notably through Propolys, the incubator for technology entrepreneurs. Propolys offers business creation support services and contributes to the development of entrepreneurial skills. Visit this page to learn more ...

  • Léanne Bégin, an undergraduate student in chemical engineering, is one of the co-founders of New Grounds, a company that has developed a local and sustainable solution integrating materials derived from organic waste to partially replace sand in concrete.

  • Jérôme Allard, who holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and is currently a PhD student in biomedical engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, is one of the founding members of Breaking Bone, alongside Professors Géraldine Merle and Daria Boffito. The company aims to develop new treatments for subchondral bone diseases.

  • Fiona Milano, a PhD student in biomedical engineering under the supervision of Professors Marc Lavertu and Gregory De Crescenzo, is one of the founding members of Phoenix Impact, a company focused on reducing plastic use in life sciences research laboratories.

  • Mohammad Kodabandelhoo, who holds a PhD in chemical engineering, founded Hydrovel, a company developing negative-emission processes to produce clean hydrogen and value-added chemicals.

  • Jocelyn Doucet and Jean-Philippe Laviolette, both graduates in Chemical Engineering, founded Pyrowave, a company that transforms plastic into raw material using an innovative process. Pyrowave won the Genie Innovation Award from the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec in 2018.
  • Nury Ardila and Mounia Arkoun, who hold a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, created the company Evio Inc., which produces an active food packaging based on chitosan that extends the shelf life of foods by curbing bacterial growth.
  • Mohamed Khalil, Ph.D student in Chemical Engineering, is the president and founder of the company Pyrocycle, which proposes a new non-polluting and profitable process for recycling electronic waste. His company has won numerous awards, including the Clean50—Top Projects in Canada in 2019.

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