Fellows Endowment Brings AIChE K-12 STEM Ambassador Program to Utah
At the close of 2024, the Fellows Endowment reached the $50,000 goal—unlocking support to launch the AIChE K-12 STEM Ambassador Program at the University of Utah. This fall, the Utah team begins its first official outreach as AIChE STEM ambassadors.
While this marks the official start of the Utah K-12 STEM Ambassador Chapter, the team is not new to student outreach in their community. For years, faculty advisors Tony Butterfield and Stacy Firth, alongside student leaders like senior Abagail Crandall, have been piloting outreach activities across the Mountain West—visiting classrooms in Salt Lake City and Moab, and even traveling to Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation.
Chemical Engineering is truly special because of the vast amount of fields we can focus on. Much like building our own pocket knife, our studies equip us with the beginnings of any tool we would need to innovate the world around us.
These efforts tested modules, built relationships with teachers, and refined a model for hands-on, teacher-aligned engineering education. Professor Firth explains: “We partner with K–12 educators to understand their priorities and co-create lessons that fit their standards and classroom realities. By working within their framework, we design sustainable collaborations that not only enrich the learning of students but also equip these teachers to carry forward engineering-rich, real-world learning experiences that benefit subsequent classes for years to come.”
Professor Butterfield added that the long-term goal is to broaden perceptions of chemical engineering: “Chemical engineers are product and process engineers—trained to be problem solvers and helpers. While those roles are covered under the term ‘chemical engineer,’ we hope to broaden perceptions of what that means.”
Student lead Abagail Crandall has been part of outreach since her first year at Utah and will help spearhead the new chapter. Her passion is rooted in showing students how flexible and creative chemical engineering can be. “Chemical engineering is truly special because of the vast fields we can focus on,” Abagail shared. “Much like building our own pocketknife, our studies equip us with the beginnings of any tool we’d need to innovate the world around us. This diversity in our knowledge and career pathways is what I strive to highlight in our outreach team's work.”
This fall marks the start of official K-12 STEM Ambassador Program at Utah, with plans to:
• Expand classroom visits across Utah and neighboring states
• Organize a major rural outreach trip during fall break
• Formalize a catalog of teacher-ready modules, ensuring lessons are easy to replicate
• Track long-term impact through teacher partnerships, student reach, and repeat engagement
The generosity of the Fellows donors made the University of Utah the first Fellows Endowment funded K-12 STEM Ambassador Program. With your support, Utah’s Ambassadors are poised to spark curiosity, reshape perceptions of chemical engineering, and inspire the next generation of problem solvers. As Professor Firth notes, “We’re excited to be involved in this effort with AIChE!”
And as the Fellows Endowment continues to grow, future student chapters will be able to bring this to their campus — bringing this impact to even more communities and inspiring the next generation of chemical engineers.
