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 23-25th, 2023 | Park University, Parkville, MO
Industry Panel
Renato Bauer
Eli Lilly
Renato Bauer is a Senior Advisor at Eli Lilly where he has been since 2013. He has worked at two US-based research sites for Eli Lilly, including Indianapolis, where he currently resides, and San Diego, where he helped start a new research group from 2017 to 2021. His medicinal chemistry contributions have led to the discovery of therapeutics that focus on unmet medical need, including a molecule that is in clinical trials for advanced solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Before Lilly, Renato did a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University (2011-2013), earned his PhD in Chemistry from Cornell University (2005-2011), and received a BS in Biochemistry from Stonehill College (2001-2005). He is passionate about mentoring young scientists and has found success leading from the lab, where he has mentored new hires and summer interns who have gone on to lead their own successful careers. His first language is Spanish and he is a native of Lima, Peru.
Anoja Perera
Stowers Institute
Anoja Perera is the director of Sequencing and Discovery Genomics Team at Stowers Institute. With a B.S. degree in biology, Anoja Perera developed her skills in DNA sequencing, genomics applications, automation, and high throughput processing while working with Raju Kucherlapati, Ph.D., on the original Human and Mouse Genome Projects. After several years’ experience as group leader for sequencing at the Harvard-Partners Center of Genetics and Genomics in Cambridge, Mass., she joined the Stowers Molecular Biology group. Perera served as senior lab manager from 2006 until 2019 when she was appointed director. In this role, Perera seeks to advance research by making cutting-edge sequencing technologies available to the scientific staff. For many years, Perera has been an active member of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities and served on multiple committees including the organization’s Executive Board. She is also a member of BioKansas and serves on several committees.
Erin Finley
Thermo Fisher
Erin Finley is the manager and SME of the solid state and physical properties lab. The primary focus of this lab is to support analytical method development and validation for XRD and particle size analysis. The second part of Erin’s role is to support and manage the instrument qualification status of all compliant systems within the Analytical Research and Development group. Erin has been with Patheon API part of Thermo Fisher Scientific since 2019. She completed her BSc. in Life Science at Penn State University, Berks College in 2013, and went on to earn her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Houston in 2019. Erin has focused her career on providing expertise to clients in niche fields of study, i.e., solid-state chemistry, specifically particle-size engineering. She has worked with many different clients to overcome challenges in their drug substances which allowed them to move their therapies from clinical trials onto commercial production. Being a part of a process that can effect real change in patients and their families is something Erin finds very rewarding. As one of only a few women PhD’s at her site, Erin strives every day to build a diverse and inclusive workspace for everyone. She does this by being an active member of the Women's Empowerment Resource Group, where she volunteers her time in outreach events within her local community.
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Christine Hatter
Dupont
Christine Hatter joined DuPont in 2020 as a Senior Scientist in the Advanced Packaging Technologies (APT) group within the Electronics and Industrial business. As a member of APT, she works on formulation optimization and new product development of dielectric materials for advanced microelectronics packaging at the Marlborough, MA site. Before joining DuPont, she received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University (2020). Her doctoral research focused on structure-property-processing relationships of two-dimensional nanomaterial fillers in polymer composite systems.Prior to graduate studies, Christine participated in a DOE funded internship at Oak Ridge National laboratory investigating thermoplastic composite materials using rare-earth magnetic powders for bonded magnets in clean energy applications. She received her B.S. degree in Physics from Rutgers University (2014). She enjoys coordinating and participating in STEM outreach activities and mentoring young scientists and is an active member in the DuPont GOLD program which promotes increasing URM scientists in industry careers. She also likes traveling abroad, experiencing new cuisines and outdoor activities.
Government and Non-Traditional Panel
Becky Rodriguez
Institute for Defense Analyses
Dr. Rebeca (Becky) Rodriguez (she/her) is a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in Alexandria, VA. Becky received her B.S. in Chemistry from American University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota (UMN). Her doctoral research focused on the detection of various types of food contaminants with linear polymer affinity agents and surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection.
Beyond chemistry, Becky found her journey in chemistry to be difficult; thus, aimed to increase visibility and presentation as a marginalized scientist. She did this with various community volunteering, leadership and advocacy work, and outreach among kids of various ages and identities. Creating equity and promoting justice is a large part of her motivation, as she is a first generation, Latinx, and was a low-income student, navigating higher education. She created the Underrepresented Students in STEM Symposium Twin Cities (USSS-TC) alongside her research group (Haynes group) at UMN to provide local Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) with a safe space to present their science and the option to participate in a mentorship program all at no cost to the participant. Many of her passions include bringing science demonstrations to kids of young ages because of not having opportunities like that growing up. Because of her work inside and outside of lab, she is the recipient of many awards such as the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Fellowship, the Women's Chemist Committee Merck Research Award, and the UMN Josie R. Johnson Human Rights and Social Justice Award, as the first recipient from the College of Science & Engineering in the 23-year history of the award.
As a professional, Becky is at IDA, a federally funded research and development center supporting the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). IDA serves as an independent organization providing technical expertise to DOT&E, which falls under the Secretary of Defense; providing various briefings to Congress. She specifically supports some space communication programs and all space-based missile warning programs. Her analytical chemistry background has been incredibly impactful in her current position through interdisciplinary problem solving, statistics, and science communication. Outside of work, Becky enjoys visiting museums, making polymer clay earrings, and trying new restaurants in the DC area.
Vanessa Rosa
The Cuvette
Dr. Rosa is the Director of Innovation, Outreach, Diversity, & Education for Duke University & STEM Education Research at The Cuvette, a journal dedicated to disrupting toxic academic norms and connecting science education practitioners, researchers, and administrators. Dr. Rosa’s research involves applying Critical frameworks to disentangle power structures in the construction of knowledge. She has worked with educators across multiple institutions to identify and subvert systemic norms in assessing introductory science courses that limit students' success with inequitable access to pre-college mathematics preparation. She has risked much in speaking against norms that lead to academics and their students’ collective oppression.
Now, she is developing an interdisciplinary science education research journal implementing ethically subversive publishing practices (no paywalls, multilingual access, technological relevance, accessible and practice-focused writing, an emphasis on multiple ways of knowing and doing science, etc.) to help bridge the practitioner-researcher divide. Her work aims to empower educators with the resources and information needed to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and reform unjust practices, policies, and norms in science education.
Miranda Paley
Noblis
Dr. Miranda Paley is a chemistry PhD turned science communication and project management professional. She excels at teams together to complete critical projects. She has a broad research knowledge base and is particularly skilled at interpreting and explaining science to varied audiences and maintains meaningful engagement with network of global scientists in academia, government and industry. Dr. Paley serves as a program manager, biology and chemistry subject matter expert and science communicator for the DHS S&T Directorate. Previously, she was as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow who provided communications expertise and strategic advice at the Department of Defense (DoD) in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment (ODASD-Env) on the topic of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). She also has experience in academic publishing and scientific public affairs with the American Chemical Society as the former Managing Editor for ACS Central Science. She has her PhD in chemical biology from University of California- Irvine, where her dissertation was on expanding the bioluminescent toolbox using mutant luciferase enzymes and synthetic alternative luciferin substrates, and completed her B.A. in biochemistry from Grinnell College, in Grinnell IA.
Chris Bannochie
Savannah River National Lab
Chris Bannochie is currently Senior Manager of Advanced & Energy Materials for the Savannah River National Laboratory.
He received a B.A. degree in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from St. John’s University and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Texas A&M University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He joined the Savannah River Laboratory following his postdoctoral tenure. For three years, he was a Visiting Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory working on laser ablation/ICP-MS characterization for the Plutonium Immobilization Program (PIP). His research areas have ranged from the development of radiopharmaceuticals for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to process development and analytical characterization, particularly the speciation of mercury in high- and low-level nuclear waste streams, in support of vitrification and cementitious stabilization.
Dr. Bannochie has been active in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion activities for the past 20+ years. He is a founding member of SRS GLOBE and currently the management sponsor of SRNL GLOBE & Allies, the laboratory’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group. He is chair of the Johns Hopkins University Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE) Advisory Board, and a member of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Respect (DEIR) Experts Panel. Chris has served on several boards including those for Leadership Augusta, the Morris Museum of Art, Augusta Pride, Georgia Equality, the National Organization for Gay & Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals, and the Malta Conferences Foundation.
He is an ACS Councilor and has represented the Savannah River Local Section for 28 years, has served on ACS elected and appointed National Committees, and served as General Chair for two regional meetings: SERMACS 2006 and 2018. He developed and initiated the first ACS Committee Member Demographic Survey in 2016, which included advanced survey questions about sexual orientation and gender expression and identity.
Dr. Bannochie is an inaugural fellow of the American Chemical Society (2009) and an inductee of Sigma Xi and Phi Lambda Upsilon and has won numerous local, regional, and national awards. Chris loves photography, gardening, scuba, and travel – he has visited all seven continents and 50 countries. He resides in Augusta, GA with his husband David and their miniature schnauzer Hudson.
Academic Panel
Miriam Krause
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Miriam Krause is the Director of Education, Outreach, & Diversity for the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, a multi-institute Center for Chemical Innovation funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. She earned her B.A. in geology from Pomona College and her Ph.D. in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from the University of Minnesota, plus stints as a Peace Corps Volunteer science teacher in Samoa, a Speech-Language Pathology clinical fellow at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and an Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Bowling Green State University. She lives in Minnesota with her spouse, their 5-year-old, and two elderly pets.
Christian Malapit
Northwestern University
Christian (he/him) is a Filipino scientist. He was born and raised in the northernmost region in the Philippines and moved to Manila to obtain his BS and MS in Chemistry from Far Eastern University and Ateneo de Manila University. In 2016, Christian received his PhD in organic chemistry under the mentorship of Prof. Amy Howell at the University of Connecticut. There he developed various transition metal catalyzed reactions for the selective transformations of heterocyclic compounds. His PhD work was recognized with a Connecticut Chemistry Research Award, the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry, and a Boehringer Ingelheim PhD fellowship where he had the opportunity to conduct a year of research working on the development of a transnitrilation reaction for a drug campaign for Alzheimer's disease. Christian moved to the University of Michigan as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Melanie Sanford. There he worked on mechanistic organometallic chemistry for the development of decarbonylative cross-coupling reactions. As an NIH Pathway to Independence Investigator, Christian moved to the NSF Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry at the University of Utah where he worked on electrocatalysis for organic synthesis.
In 2022, Christian started his tenure-track appointment as an assistant professor of chemistry at Northwestern University where his group works on the utility of organic synthesis, transition-metal catalysis, and molecular electrochemistry towards the discovery of sustainable organic reactions and the development of next-generation organic-based redox-flow batteries. Christian values mentorship and advocates for providing transformational support and leadership to BIPOC and LGBTQ scientists.
Lisa Szczepura
Illinois State University
Lisa Szczepura is a University Professor of Chemistry at Illinois State University. She is a synthetic inorganic chemist working on the preparation of novel transition metal cluster complexes. Szczepura earned a BS in Chemistry and PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at SUNY at Buffalo, before moving to Illinois for a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (1995-1997). She began her academic career at Illinois State University in 1997, and was awarded a Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (2001-2002). Szczepura has received numerous awards for both teaching and research. In addition, she has spearheaded several programs aimed at improving the success rate of underrepresented students in STEM, including the Enrichment Workshop Program and the Charles Morris STEM Social. She enjoys training students in her research laboratory as well as mentoring students interested in careers in science.
Dr. Greg Claycomb is currently serving as Professor of Chemistry at Park University where he has been since 2008. During his time at Park, Dr. Claycomb has moved through the ranks of Assistant, Associate, Full Professor, Department Chair and has also served as the President of the Faculty Federation for five years. During that time, he has mentored a large number of undergraduate students which either became successfully employed in a number of chemical positions within the KC-metro or pursued graduate degrees. While at Park, Dr. Claycomb developed a method of using of standard operating procedures as a mechanism for guiding undergraduate students in the development of research projects. The pedagogical approach has been very successful over many years as evidenced by numerous conference presentations, a growing number of students pursuing graduate degrees, and scientific publications with undergraduates. Prior to coming to Park, Dr. Claycomb worked in the as surface scientist in both academic and industrial settings which resulted in over 50 successful regional, national, and international research collaborations. Dr. Claycomb has been the recipient of number of awards but finds his students success to be his greatest reward. Dr. Claycomb resides in Leavenworth, KS with his wife and five-year-old son.
Greg Claycomb
Park University
Breakout Session & Workshop Facilitators
Donna Jean
Park University
Dr. Jean is currently serving as Associate Professor of Chemistry at Park University where she has been since 2007. Dr. Jean also serves as the Liberal Education Director at Park. She has previously served as Program Coordinator for Chemistry and Department Chair in Natural and Physical Sciences. Dr. Jean has been teaching at the undergraduate level for 25 years, previously at Xavier University of Louisiana, and Angelo State University, both minority-serving institutions. She has been active in mentoring students in synthetic organic/organometallic chemistry research projects, as well as chemical education research involving active learning techniques. Many of those students have gone on to pursue graduate or professional degrees, a fact Dr. Jean is very proud of. Dr. Jean resides in Parkville, Missouri, with her husband, 16-year-old son, and two very active dogs.
Azin Agah
Park University
Dr. Azin Agah is currently serving as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Park University where she has been since 2018. During her time at Park she has mentored a number of undergraduate research projects. She has been the recipient of the American Heart Association and National Institute of Health grants focusing on wound healing and angiogenesis. Her favorite course is Medicinal Chemistry and she enjoys teaching pre-nursing majors.
Safia Jilani
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Safia Jilani is a postdoctoral scientist with the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, working in Dr. Christy Haynes’ lab at University of Minnesota. She earned her B.S. in chemistry with a concentration in secondary education from Dominican University and her Ph.D. in chemistry from Georgetown University. Her research interests include nanomaterials, electrochemistry, spectroelectrochemistry, invisible work, and addressing big real world problems with science. She is passionate about improving access, inclusion, equity, and quality of science and science education for students. Her interests outside of science academia include traveling, running, writing, science henna, and going on long walks with friends.