Iota Sigma Pi Gives 2020 Centennial Award to Dr. Sheila Smith of University of Michigan – Dearborn
Contributed by Anne K. Taylor FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE IOTA SIGMA PI, the National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry, has selected Dr. Sheila R. Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Michigan – Dearborn, to receive the Centennial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The award is […]
Iota Sigma Pi Gives 2020 Morgan Research Award to Dr. Jillian Dempsey of University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
Contributed by Anne K. Taylor FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Iota Sigma Pi, the National Honorary Society for Women in Chemistry, has selected Dr. Jillian Dempsey to receive the 2020 Agnes Fay Morgan Research Award. The award is given for research achievement to a woman chemist or biochemist not over forty years of age. She […]
Just Cocktails, Fall 2019, San Diego
At the Fall 2019 ACS National Meeting and Exposition, the Women Chemists Committee sponsored our “Just Cocktails” networking event at the Hilton San Diego, Bayfront. The gathering gave women chemists the space to make connections and renew acquaintances, but also to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the WCC/Eli Lilly Travel Awards. This long-lasting and remarkable […]
Fall 2019 ACS Diversity Reception
On Sunday, August, 25th, the ACS Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board hosted its “Diversity Reception” in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel. This reception offers the opportunity for conferees who value diversity to meet up and network. The reception often draws many current and former committee members from diversity related committees […]
2019 WCC Merck Research Symposium
top row l-r: Amy Solinski, Sophia Robinson, Agnes Thorarinsdottir, Summer Dockrey; bottom row l-r: Gozde Demirer, Jaqueline Carozza, Van Tran, Tiffany Chen The fourth annual WCC Merck Research Award Symposium was held on Sunday August 25, 2019. The symposium highlights outstanding research work of 3rd and 4th-year graduate students. The WCC is pleased to continue […]
Fall 2019 WCC Women in the Chemical Enterprise Breakfast
During the Fall ACS National Meeting in San Diego, the WCC Women in the Chemical Enterprise Breakfast was held early Tuesday morning, August 26, 2019. This event brought together over 50 women and men from across the chemical enterprise, including undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, and chemists working in academia, industry and government. Lorena Tribe […]
Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner Francis Arnold At Fall 2019 WCC Luncheon
The Fall 2019 WCC luncheon took place at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront with over hundred people in attendance. The keynote headliner for the luncheon was Dr. Frances Arnold, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The room buzzed with excitement as attendees filed in to find their seats from the moment the doors were open and through the meal time in anticipation of hearing Dr. Arnold speak. Before her speech, the 2018 WCC Overcoming Challenges Award Recipient – Kathleen Lugo was recognized and her speech was the prelude to the keynote speaker. Lugo’s speech was incredibly moving as she walked us through some of the challenges she has faced on her journey to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Florida International University. She successfully juggled her studies, extracurricular activities, and leadership roles while being her mum’s aide after she was diagnosed with cancer. She persevered through it all and received several accolades and awards including being selected as an ACS Scholar, which propelled her to the finish line financially in addition to the mentorship.
Dr. Arnold followed with her talk titled “One Step at a Time: Innovation, Evolution and Adaptation”. She started by sharing some pictures from celebrations of when she received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2018) and the fanfare that goes along with receiving the prestigious award. A quick background of her life and how she made her way to be the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was more than inspiring. Her focus of her speech was to highlight how she has adapted through defining stages of her life and balancing her career and family. She shared her struggles at work being a minority, as a mum and being diagnosed with breast cancer, connecting with Lugo’s story and struggles also. Despite these obstacles, she kept at it and is still championing her work and others following in her footsteps. Ultimately the message she wanted us to leave with was that despite our goals in our career and in life, we should aim to nurture and treasure our relationships especially with our family. They are the ones that matter the most in the end. Overall, she was pleasant, plainspoken and touched the hearts of those that heard her on this occasion. She generously took several pictures with students and others in attendance afterwards.
2019 Overcoming Challenges Award Winner
Kathleen Lugo Charriez is the 2019 Overcoming Challenges Award recipient. Kathleen, originally from Puerto Rico, moved to the continental United States in 2016 due to medical issues. As an exchange student, she attended Florida International University(FIU), commuting five hours a day to attend classes. Later that same year, Kathleen’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer […]