American Institute of Chemical Engineers

AIChE

American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Predecessor	American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Formation	1908
Type	not-for-profit membership organization
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	45,000+ in over 150 countries
Official language	English
President.	T. Bond Calloway
Affiliations	ASME
Website	www.aiche.org

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is a professional organization for chemical engineers. AIChE was established in 1908 to distinguish chemical engineers as a profession independent of chemists and mechanical engineers.

As of 2013, AIChE had over 45,000 members, including members from over 100 countries worldwide. Student chapters at various universities around the world have also been established throughout its history. The student chapters tend to focus on providing networking opportunities in both academia and in industry as well as increasing student involvement locally and nationally.

In 1905, The Chemical Engineer rounded out its first year of publication with an editorial by its founder and prominent engineer, Richard K. Meade, that propounded the question: "Why not the American Society of Chemical Engineers?" He went on to say: "The profession is now a recognized one and there are probably at least five hundred chemical engineers in this country".

The mechanical, civil, electrical, and mining engineers in the United States each had already established a national society, so Meade's editorial was quite pertinent. But it took time for the idea to take root and Meade kept promoting it for the next two years. Finally, in 1907, he issued a call for a preliminary meeting to be held in Atlantic City in June, 1907. Some early leaders of the profession, Charles F. McKenna, William H. Walker, William Miller Booth, Samuel P. Sadtler and Thorn Smith along with about a dozen others answered Meade's call and met in Atlantic City on June 21, 1907. The meeting concluded with the formation of an organizing committee of six members: Charles F. McKenna (chairman), Richard K. Meade, William M. Booth, J.C. Olsen, William H. Walker, and Arthur D. Little.

Shortly afterward, the organizing committee sent a letter in September 1908 to 600 men in the chemical profession in the United States and Canada asking for their opinions about forming a chemical engineering society. Two hundred replies were received and 70-80% were favorable. Many of the others believed the existing societies (especially the American Chemical Society) were sufficient and they did not favor forming a new society.