Engineering student earns AIChE academic award

Abby Adams, a junior engineering major in Campbell University's School of Engineering, was named the 2025-2026 recipient of the Donald F. Othmer Second Year Student Academic Excellence Award, handed out by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the "global home for chemical engineers" representing 52,000 members in 128 countries.

The Othmer Award is presented to just one AlChE member in each student chapter who has attained the highest GPA in their first and second years. The award includes a certificate, complimentary registration to the 2026 AlChE Student Conference in Minneapolis and recognition both online and at the conference in November.

Adams has focused on chemical and pharmaceutical engineering while at Campbell and is a member of both the Society of Women Engineers and AIChE. She is also a tutor coordinator for elementary students at Neils Creek Baptist Church. Last spring, she was a key member in Campbell University's Chem-E team, which built a small car powered solely by chemical reaction and finished third in the regional AIChE competition in Atlanta, beating large schools like Alabama, Florida, Auburn, Clemson, NC State and LSU.