Workshops
All attendees are scheduled for one half-day workshop developed by COACh (https://coach.uoregon.edu/domestic-workshops/) This workshop focuses on Negotiation.
Attendees rank their choice of breakout sessions during registration.
Workshops
All attendees are scheduled for one half-day workshop developed by COACh (https://coach.uoregon.edu/domestic-workshops/) This workshop focuses on Negotiation.
Attendees rank their choice of breakout sessions during registration.
Workshops
All attendees are scheduled for one half-day workshop developed by COACh (https://coach.uoregon.edu/domestic-workshops/) This workshop focuses on Negotiation.
Attendees rank their choice of breakout sessions during registration.
Midwest Retreat for Diversity in Chemistry
June 28-30th, 2024 | Bradley University, Peoria, IL
Location
MWRDC 2024 will be held at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.
Peoria Airport: 6100 W Everett McKinley Dirksen Pkwy, Peoria, IL 61607
Bradley University Parking Lot: 1315 W. St James Peoria, IL 61606
(Visitor Parking Lot across from Wendle & Elmwood Hall)
Itinerary
Day 1 - Friday, June 28
11:30 am – 2:30 pm | Registration
Location: Wendle Hall, Office 1st Floor
2:45 pm – 3:00 pm | Welcome & Introduction by Dr. Robbyn Anand
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm | Ice Breaker
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
5:00 pm – 5:45 pm | Keynote Address
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
5:45 pm – 6:45 pm | Dinner
Location: Geisert Dining Hall
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm | Mentor Panel 1
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
Day 2 - Saturday, June 29
7:30 am – 8:30 am | Breakfast and Coffee
Location: Geisert Dining Hall
8:45 am – 11:15 am | DEI & Cultural Self-awareness (Presented by iDEATE Collaborative)
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
11:15 am – 11:45 pm | Group Photo
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm | Lunch
Location: Geisert Dining Hall
1:00 pm – 1:50 pm | Breakout Session 1**
Location: Westlake Hall Rooms 116, 110A, 212A, 214B
2:00 pm – 2:50 pm | Breakout Session 2**
Location: Westlake Hall Rooms 116, 110A, 212A, 214B
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm | Poster Session A
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm | Poster Session B
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm | Dinner
Location: Geisert Dining Hall
6:45 pm – 7:45 pm | Mentor Panel 2
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm | Social Hour & Games*
Location: Hayden Clark Alumni Center
Day 3 - Sunday, June 30
7:30 am – 8:30 am | Breakfast and Check-Out***
Location: Geisert Dining Hall
8:45 am – 11:15 am | The Art of Negotiation (Presented by COACh)
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Mentor Panel 3
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm | Concluding Remarks and Departure
Location: Westlake Hall Room 116
* Denotes optional activity
** Based on your choices during registration – assignments and locations will be provided in retreat packet
*** Everyone must check out from their dorm rooms prior to breakfast
Keynote Address
Candi Hudson
Dr. Candi Hudson is currently the Senior Engineer Technical Advisor for the Emerging Technologies Branch (ETB) in the Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs (OORP) for the US Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in Sterling, Virginia. Currently, Dr. Hudson is developing BSEE’s renewable energy research program and implementing studies addressing technology, performance, and regulatory gaps of concern. Dr. Hudson provides expertise in identifying and overseeing rapid innovative research programs addressing emerging technologies and regulatory gaps ensuring the safety of offshore energy renewable activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). She also conducts technical evaluations of requests to utilize innovative emerging technologies, and novel materials for energy activities on the OCS and supports forensic investigations of offshore incidents involving emerging technologies.
Dr. Candi Hudson also served as the Response Research Branch Chief in the Oil Spill Preparedness Division (OSPD), Response Research Branch (RRB) for the US DOI BSEE. She has held this role since 2018. In this role, she oversees Oil Spill Response Research and manages the Ohmsett test facility where full-scale oil spill response research, testing, and training are conducted in a simulated, in-situ marine environment.
Dr. Hudson brings a diverse background in engineering, research, industry, and academia across numerous industries including defense, aerospace, aviation, intelligence, forensic investigations, energy, and alternative energy. Her extensive contributions encompass expert forensic identification of the root cause of failures as well as the development of emerging technologies utilizing novel materials for products and systems. Her innovative solutions ensure compliance with industry standards and federal regulations. She has conducted research, product development, and failure analysis in the following areas: coal-water slurry fuels, corrosion, nanotechnology, alloys, composites, elastomers, carbon, ceramics, high-temperature applications, microscopy characterization, and materials properties test methods.
Before her RRB role, Dr. Hudson was the Systems Reliability Section (SRS) Chief in the ETB in the OORP. As the SRS Chief, she managed SRS/Quality Control-Failure Incident Team (QC-FIT) technical evaluations for offshore industry issues. QC-FIT technical evaluations focus on the identification of quality assurance/quality control concerns for equipment that may be insufficient for safe oil and gas operations and environmental protection on the Outer Continental Shelf. As SRS Chief, Dr. Hudson addressed a systemic global safety critical drilling equipment bolt failure which resulted in the replacement of 10,000 bolts globally.
Dr. Hudson’s experience includes roles in industry, not-for-profit-laboratory, federal and municipal government, and academia. As a Senior Materials Scientist for Schlumberger, a multi-national company Schlumberger she championed the research, testing, development, and investigation of oilfield/drilling products and tools. At Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as a Senior Materials Research Engineer, she developed high-temperature coatings for hypersonic ordnance defense applications and carbon nanotube composites for NASA spacecraft thermal load/payload reductions as well as wrote and procured grants for research. She was a Materials Research Engineer with Continental Carbon Company and began her career with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago as a Mechanical Engineer Trainee.
Dr. Hudson has a foundation of academic credentials that includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Bradley University, a Master of Science degree from Prairie View A&M University in Mechanical Engineering, and a Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park, Rice University (EX). She is a NASA-GSRP, NASA-GEM, NASA-Texas Space Grant, Sloan, and NSBE-Navy, NEBHE, and US Dept. of Education G.A.A.N.N. Fellow, a George M. Pullman Scholar (Bradley University), and NCAA Division IAA Track Scholarship recipient (Bradley University). Dr. Hudson is the recipient of the 2021 Women of Color in STEM Award Recipient for Outstanding Federal Government Technical Leadership. Recently she was selected as 2024 Marquis Who’s Who in America.
Industry Mentors
Jade Bing
Corteva Agriscience
Dr. Jade A. Bing, is a synthetic chemist at Corteva Agriscience where she explores the discovery and development of novel crop protection agents. Jade received her PhD in organic chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 2020 (NSF Graduate Research Fellow) where she focused on asymmetric catalysis and natural product total synthesis. Bing received an ACS accredited B.S. in biochemistry with honors from Rider University and conducted undergraduate research as a McNair Scholar (Rider University) and Leadership Alliance Fellow (Princeton University).
Jade is passionate about and dedicated to efforts to mitigate disparities in STEM. Prior to graduate school, Bing worked as a research coordinator and counselor for the McNair Scholars program at Rider. At Corteva, Bing works with the Global African Heritage Alliance (GAHA) Recruitment and External Partnerships Pillar. She serves the Indiana Local Section of the ACS as the co-chair of the Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA), chair of the Younger Chemists Committee Professional Development sub-committee, and member-at-large. Under her leadership the CMA pioneered the award-winning PREDICT (Promoting Equity and Diversity in Chemistry) program to amplify minority voices in chemistry and promote the establishment and retention of a diverse workforce. She is the Midwest Regional Chair for the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
Bing has received several awards and accolades for her achievements and perseverance both inside and outside of the laboratory. She has been recognized by several organizations and institutions such as the American Chemical Society (National, Trenton Local Section & Indianapolis Local Section), the Society of Toxicology, the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, the American Institute of Chemists Foundation, The Association for Equality and Excellence in Education, Inc. (AEEE), The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Center for Leadership Development, Rider University, Vanderbilt University, and Corteva Agriscience.
Brandi Hudson
Remix Therapeutics
Brandi Hudson is a Principal Scientist at Remix Therapeutics, where she has been since 2023. She is part of the Computational Chemistry team, using in silico modeling to design potential drugs. Prior to Remix Tx, Brandi spent five years at Relay Therapeutics, where she was part of the team that discovered lirafugratinib (RLY-4008), a highly selective small molecule inhibitor of FGFR2, currently in a global Phase1/2 clinical trial for FGFR2-altered solid tumors. She is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and in January 2020, launched Relay’s Diversity, Equity, Belonging, & Inclusion (DEBI) initiatives. Over three years in which she led these efforts, she oversaw the creation of two employee resource groups, brought in company-wide DEI training, created inclusive meeting practices, organized events throughout the year to celebrate diversity, and managed a budget and a team of volunteers. Brandi was recognized on Google Venture’s impact List in 2021 for her contributions to Relay’s culture and success. Prior to industry, Brandi completed her postdoctoral training in structural biology at UCSF (2018), earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Davis (2016), and received a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of Charleston (2011). Between college and graduate school, Brandi worked as a chemist for o2si, a chemical company, and as an adjunct lab instructor at Trident Technical College for one year.
Aparna Chakravarti
Merck & Co.
Aparna is a Senior Scientist in the Sterile and Specialty products groups at Merck & Co. Inc based in New Jersey. In her career in the pharmaceutical industry, she has focused on the design and development of sterile products for biologics, small molecule, peptide, and protein/large molecule-based drugs for injectable routes of administration. Her expertise lies in the development of both early and late-stage drug candidates, which includes screening and developing robust drug product composition, developing scalable processes, and defining primary packaging for robust sterile products.
Aparna received her Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology from SRM University in India in 2015 and went on to complete her Ph.D. in 2022 at the University of Kansas in Bioengineering with Professor Cory Berkland. Aparna’s Ph.D. specialized in the design, synthesis, and characterization of novel recombinant proteins with tumor binding properties. She investigated the tumor extracellular microenvironment and synthesized cell-derived nanoparticles as carriers for BCS Class IV compounds. She also developed biocompatible hydrogels and novel nanocomposite hydrogels used for drug delivery.
During her time as an undergraduate, she was selected for a study abroad program and conducted research at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology where she investigated the selective uptake of charged nano-therapeutics by immune cells in a tissue specific manner. She designed novel nanotherapeutic carriers for stimulating NKT immune cells to elicit an anticancer response.
In 2019, Aparna received the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) International Peace Scholarship and in 2020 Aparna was awarded the American Association of University Women International Fellow Award. She participated in the MU Coulter and Midwest Biomedical Accelerator Consortium (MBArC) and Biomedical Product Design and Development programs which resulted in the authoring and submission of an NIH SBIR proposal which was funded in 2021.
Francis Maina
AbbVie
Francis Maina is a Principal Research Scientist, Analytical Chemistry at AbbVie where he has been since 2015. He is based in North Chicago (Illinois) and is part of the Operations Science and Technology organization, which supports late-stage product development, technology transfer, complex investigations, and commercial products lifecycle management for assurance of supply. He supports small molecule analytical methods development, validations, technology transfer to commercial sites and improvements, while ensuring reliability and robustness. His main specialties are liquid and gas chromatographic methods for raw materials, in-process controls, drug substances and drug products. Francis also leads science and risk-based stability approaches such as Arrhenius modeling and predictive stability to support various post-approval changes for commercial products. He is an active participant of the International Consortium for Innovation and Quality in Pharmaceutical Development (IQ Consortium). Prior to joining AbbVie, he was a Research Scientist at PPD, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific (Middleton, Wisconsin). At PPD, he was part of the physical and material characterization group, where he used various techniques such as diffraction, spectroscopy, and thermal analysis to support various studies.
Francis attended Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) where he received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry (2011). His research in Professor Tiffany Mathews’ group was on the effect of low endogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels on striatal dopamine dynamics. Francis is very passionate about sharing his career journey, experiences and mentoring young scientists. He grew up in Kenya and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry degree from University of Nairobi.
Government & Non-Traditional Career Mentors
Nicole States
Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning at
Saint Louis University
Dr. Nicole (she/her) is an instructional developer in the Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning at Saint Louis University. She holds her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Iowa where her research focused on how instructors can work within their university systems to promote student engagement and inclusive instruction using active learning, meaningful material design and tangible facilitation strategies. Her undergraduate work focused on atmospheric chemistry investigating PAHs in flue gas of a biomass burner, but she always had an interest in social justice and equity work and that led her into chemistry education research where her two loves could become one. She is passionate about changing the STEM academic culture to be more inclusive and equitable.
In her current position, Nicole works with faculty and graduate students to support, create and implement effective teaching practices in their classrooms. She has a particular focus on STEM learning, large enrollment classrooms, and fixed layout seating. She facilitates workshops, runs the learning assistant’s academy, does consultations with faculty and supports instructions at Saint Louis University in their teaching.
Michelle Thompson
Environmental Health & Safety at
Iowa State University
Michelle Thompson is an Assistant Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Iowa State University. After completing her bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics, she graduated from Iowa State University with a Ph.D. in Chemistry, focusing on semiconductor nanoparticle synthesis. She currently serves as the Chemical Hygiene Officer, Laboratory Safety Manager, and Interim Radiation Safety Manager for Iowa State University. Michelle enjoys creating and leading trainings, utilizing data and metrics, and believes wholeheartedly in building relationships – connecting with campus researchers to promote proactive collaboration in pursuit of enhanced laboratory safety.
Candi Hudson
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
Dr. Candi Hudson is currently the Senior Engineer Technical Advisor for the Emerging Technologies Branch (ETB) in the Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs (OORP) for the US Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in Sterling, Virginia. Currently, Dr. Hudson is developing BSEE’s renewable energy research program and implementing studies addressing technology, performance, and regulatory gaps of concern. Dr. Hudson provides expertise in identifying and overseeing rapid innovative research programs addressing emerging technologies and regulatory gaps ensuring the safety of offshore energy renewable activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). She also conducts technical evaluations of requests to utilize innovative emerging technologies, and novel materials for energy activities on the OCS and supports forensic investigations of offshore incidents involving emerging technologies.
Robbyn Anand
Coltie
Robbyn K. Anand is the Suresh Faculty Fellow and Carlyle G. Caldwell Endowed Chair in Chemistry at Iowa State University where she joined the Department of Chemistry as an Assistant Professor in August 2015. She earned her Ph.D. in 2010 from the University of Texas at Austin under the guidance of Prof. Richard M. Crooks with the support of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. She developed microfluidic devices employing bipolar electrodes for electrokinetic focusing of charged species and membrane-free seawater desalination. Then, as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, she worked with Prof. Daniel T. Chiu at the University of Washington on the capture and analysis of circulating tumor cells. She pioneered a technique for dielectrophoretic manipulation of biological cells using extended electric field gradients. At Iowa State, Prof. Anand has led the development of a technology for the selective isolation and analysis of single cells with the aim of obtaining information that can improve outcomes in cancer therapy. Her research group has also advanced methodologies for separations in complex media (e.g., blood plasma) and for previously inaccessible target compounds. During this time, Prof. Anand founded the Midwest Women Chemists Retreat - an annual event aimed at the retention of women in the chemical enterprise.
Academic Mentors
Joya Cooley
California State University, Fullerton
Joya Cooley (she/her) is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at California State University, Fullerton. She earned undergraduate degrees in Chemistry (B.S.) and Music (B.A.) from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Her PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at University of California, Davis focused on understanding thermoelectric phenomena. Following this, she completed a postdoctoral appointment at University of California, Santa Barbara understanding magnetocaloric materials. She has been at CSUF since 2020, and her current research focuses on (i) understanding structure-property relationships in materials exhibiting anomalous thermal expansion and (ii) color tunability and heat-reflecting properties of cool pigments. At CSUF, she enjoys working with undergraduate and Master’s students both in the classroom and the research laboratory. She resides in La Habra, CA and enjoys live music, travel, and stand-up comedy.
Mary Watson
University of Delaware
Mary Watson is a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Delaware. She earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University in 2000 and her PhD in organic chemistry in 2006 from the University of California, Irvine, under the direction of Prof. Larry Overman, working on the development and mechanistic investigation of the palladium(II)-catalyzed asymmetric allylic imidate rearrangement. She was then a National Institutes of Health NRSA postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University with Professor Eric Jacobsen, where she developed an olefin arylcyanation via activation of C–CN bonds. In July 2009 she joined the faculty at the University of Delaware, where she and her research group develop new catalytic methods for the synthesis of organic molecules. The impact of her research program has been recognized with the 2023 ACS Catalysis Lectureship for the Advancement of Catalytic Science, a Rising Star award from the Women Chemists’ Committee of the American Chemical Society, a Delaware ACS Section Award, inclusion in the 2017 J. Am. Chem. Soc. Young Investigator Virtual Issue, and as a 2023 ACS Fellow. Mary is passionate about making the chemistry community more inclusive and serves as a co-founder and co-organizer of the annual Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry conference, a responsible editor for Organic Reactions, an associate editor for the Journal of Organic Chemistry, and the proud mom of two daughters and a Bernese mountain dog.
Sambuddha Banerjee
East Carolina University
Sambuddha Banerjee, Ph. D. received their education from Calcutta, India before they moved to the US, initially for their postdoctoral research at Duke University, and then for their current position at ECU Chemistry. They identify as a gender non-conforming brown queer scientist-activist-philosopher and try to implement critical race and critical queer theories in their practice as a mentor. Their research interest includes investigating roles of transition metals in infection and immunity, use of small metal complexes as potential therapeutics, and analyzing scientific epistemology using critical race and queer theory. They are currently the Chair elect of the Minority Affairs Sub-division at the American Chemical Society and are also actively involved with several LGBTQIA2S+ inclusive antiracist STEM organizations.
Dr. Arijit Sengupta was born and raised in the city of Kolkata (West Bengal, India). His interest in chemistry developed at an early age, and after graduating from high school he enrolled at the University of Calcutta (India) as an undergraduate student majoring in chemistry. After receiving his B.S (Honors) degree in chemistry in 2002, he joined the Department of Polymer Science and Technology (University of Calcutta) to pursue a B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) degree. In 2005, he earned his B.Tech degree and worked in the industrial sector as a management trainee. However, his passion for polymer chemistry encouraged him to redirect the course of his career towards research. Dr. Sengupta came to the US in 2007 to pursue his PhD in the field of Polymer Chemistry at The City University of New York (College of Staten Island) under the guidance of Professor Ralf M. Peetz. His graduate research centered around the synthesis and characterization of heteroatom containing conjugated polymers. As a graduate student, he was involved in teaching undergraduate laboratory courses. After graduating with a PhD in polymer chemistry in 2012, he joined NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering (NYU Poly, New York) as a postdoctoral researcher. He spent two years at NYU Poly developing novel polymeric materials for application in plastic optical fibers under the supervision of Prof. Yoshiyuki Okamoto. His intense interest in teaching led him to pursue a teaching postdoc position at University of San Diego (California) in 2014 under the supervision of Prof. Peter M. Iovine. At University of San Diego, he actively engaged in teaching undergraduate chemistry courses and conducting research with undergraduate students in the field of starch-based amphiphilic polymers for applications in anti-fouling systems. Dr. Sengupta joined the Mund-Lagowski Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Bradley University in the Fall of 2016 as an Assistant Professor.
Arijit Sengupta
Bradley University
Workshops
Saturday Workshop: DEI & Cultural Self-awareness
Explore the intersection of DEI and your culture. Participants will explore culture as the foundation for building the skills to navigate a global work environment. Understanding the people you lead and work with is imperative as students, leaders, and employees. Build authentic connections by embracing the strength of your identities and understanding the role your cultural experience plays when navigating lines of human difference. This workshop will help people at all levels embrace authentic leadership by building self-awareness and understanding how their social identities impact their ability to work with diverse teams.
Tracy Duran
Sunday Workshop: The Art of Negotiation
Negotiations occur every day in the scientific laboratory and workplace and often involve issues that are key to research success and career advancement. This workshop teaches the fundamentals of negotiation relevant to a variety of one-on-one conversations and group settings. Topics include the importance of negotiation to advance research and career objectives, identification of negotiables for research and career advancement, elements of a successful negotiation, the importance of data and how to collect, techniques for handling difficult people and conversations, the importance of listening and appreciating different viewpoints and identification of short and long-term negotiation goals and advocating for yourself.
Sherry Yennello
Breakout Sessions
CV/Resume Review
Learn how to make your CV & resume stand-out from the crowd! Hear from our experts in various sectors on how to tailor your document to land your dream job. Attendees should come prepared with a CV/resume to discuss and revise their draft on-site.
Giving a Job Talk: Industry vs. Academia
Dive into what it takes to give a job presentation if you are either looking for a career in academia or industry.
Creating a Healthy Work Environment
From frustrating coworkers to dominating personalities, learn how to positively communicate with your co-workers, mentors, and mentees in an improv-based breakout session. Learn how you can use your strengths to create a positive work environment for all.
Getting Your First Paycheck
Discussion on financial wellness and how to manage the ‘upgrade’ in pay after finishing graduate school or a post-doc.
Strategies for Success as an International Scientist
Learn how to tackle issues as an international researcher with topics including: advocating for yourself, VISA concerns and tips/anecdotes from personal experiences, how to approach searching for jobs in a domestic student market, and additional resources for international students.
Accessibility in the Classroom
Gain insights into actions to promote DEI in the classroom and promote a healthy learning environment for all.
The Mentorship Relationship: How to Be a Mentee and Mentor
Discuss the different sides of a mentorship relationship: what does it take to either be a good mentor or mentee.
Bouncing Back from a Challenge
Participate in a dialogue about what it takes to come back stronger than ever after a set-back in your research or career.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Your Career is More Than Just Luck
Find out what imposter syndrome is and strategies to overcome feelings that you aren't good enough.