Student spotlight: Justin Croyle

Following in the footsteps of his older siblings, Justin Croyle started competing in Science Olympiad in middle school. It has led him to friendships with students from across Carnegie Mellon University.

Croyle, a chemical engineering major, helps organize the Science Olympiad invitational hosted at CMU. There are 23 events, spanning biology, chemistry, physics, robotics, and more. Croyle runs the build events, which are engineering-based. Competitors build things like model airplanes or balsa wood towers.

"As a competitor, there were always things I noticed and wished were arranged differently. Now that I'm a supervisor, I take it even more seriously. I want to put together the best format, what I would have wanted to see when I was competing," he says.

With the move from competitor to organizer, Croyle needed a new way to exercise his competitive side. He joined ChemE Cube, in which undergraduate teams design, build, and demonstrate a one cubic-foot plant to produce a chemical process. The annual problem statement comes from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

In Croyle's first year in the competition, teams designed a water purification process. "We used activated carbon filters and sodium hypochlorite to filter the water," he explains. The CMU team won first place at the national competition. This year, the problem statement centered on direct air capture, removing carbon dioxide from ambient air.

The wide range of chemical engineering applications in the world inspired Croyle to study chemical engineering. "I wanted a major that could put me in a position where what I do will actively help people down the line," he says. "Chemical engineering allows you to use what you know about chemistry, physics, and basic sciences to create things that improve quality of life."

I wanted a major where what I do will actively help people down the line.

Justin Croyle, Undergraduate student, Chemical Engineering

Croyle has spent three summers interning with Lubrizol. He first worked in a production facility for polymer manufacturing. "They use those polymers for plastics in the outer soles of shoes. They also make formulating agents for shampoos, conditioners, and other beauty products," he says.

After his first summer at Lubrizol, Croyle wanted to dive deeper into the chemistry of polymers, and so he added a minor in materials science and engineering. "Being able to understand material properties and why they happen at a fundamental level means I can use that knowledge to make something useful," he says.

Croyle returned to Lubrizol the following summer in a process development role. He worked in a pilot plant, the middle step for scaling up products.

Last summer, Croyle worked in research and development for fuel cells. He was able to apply his knowledge of how material properties impact electrochemistry.

As he prepares to graduate, Croyle has accepted a full-time process development position at Lubrizol. He feels well-prepared with the critical thinking and problem solving skills he's learned through his chemical engineering major. Croyle thinks these skills are even harder to teach than the technical information. "It comes from being challenged daily, having homework problems to work through and needing to work together with others," he says.

The Department of Chemical Engineering nominated Croyle for the 2024 George Washington Prize, which recognizes undergraduate seniors who demonstrate academic excellence, commitment to service, and leadership. Croyle was selected for an Honorable Mention Award.

As he thinks about his future career, Croyle hopes to go back into research and development. "It's cool to innovate on new and groundbreaking technologies. I like going through the process. Sometimes you'll work on something and, even though it's really interesting, it doesn't quite work, and that's okay. Then you move on to something different," he says.

Croyle's first job will be based at Lubrizol's headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, near where he's from. He credits much of his success to the day in and day out support of his family, and he's excited to go back home to start his career.