Sure, AIChE conferences are a great place to other engineers and catch up on the latest in your field, but what about all those times between conferneces?. For all those times in between, consider either a Local Section. And if there's none in your area, the Virtual Local Session, which meets periodically online.
There are dozens and dozens of Local Sections around the United States and across the world. You can see a complete listing here. You can also see a selection of activities planned on this Local Section calendar. Later this week, for example, the St. Louis Local Section is getting together for Trivia for Engineers, and next week the Chicago Local Section is having a monthly meeting, while the Kansas City Local Section is holding a joint student-professional meeting with a guest lecture.
No Local Section? Start your own
If you don't have a Local Section in your area, perhaps you're the person to take the initiative to start one. If so, some of the Young Professionals have done a lot of the research for you by putting together a newly revised document with great advice on how to set up your own Local Section. Check out the document here.