Pie-ing Around!

WIC had the pleasure of hosting Pi Day on March 14th, 2019. The event was hosted in our very own Chemistry Lounge and had a huge turnout, for both people and pies! With a total of 75 of undergraduate and graduate students, professors, and support staff of all genders – we managed to have a pie-errifc day!

This opportunity allowed all members of our Chemistry department to come together and foster a sense of community and well-being, encouraging communication between all members of our department. Our attendees were happy for a short break in their day, a delicious snack baked by our talented chefs, and viewing or participating in the pie-in-the-face silent auction, where several brave people volunteered to be pied in the face in the spirit of 3.14! We hope this event allowed people from all backgrounds to come together to share and talk about their experiences in a friendly and fun environment. 

We would like to thank all our amazing volunteers who helped out for this fundraising event from setting up, baking a pie, or getting pied! This event was such a success thanks to your efforts and we look forward to hosting it again next year. 

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Career Panel

UAlberta WIC and the CIC Edmonton section invites you to an evening of informal discussions on chemistry careers. Tickets are $5, refreshments provided.

Our panelists are:

Christina Gonzalez, Research Scientist at Applied Quantum Materials

Ronda Gras, Associate R&D Scientist at Dow Canada

Shoma Sinha,
Sr. Advisor in Advance Technologies at Government of Alberta

The event will take place Tuesday, March 5th, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Dewey’s (Old power plant), U of A campus.

Please RSVP and get your online tickets here.

Tickets are redeemable for your choice of beverage.

Thank you so much to our sponsors:

Royal Society of Chemistry                                              CIC Edmonton
                            

 

 

 

International Women’s Day Celebration: Free Pancakes!

Join the UAlberta WIC team in celebrating International Women’s Day with a breakfast for everyone! We are serving free pancakes, coffee and tea. Donations are welcome.

The event will take place on March 8th from 8:30 – 10am in the Chemistry Lounge, E4-43. All are welcome to attend.

Meet and Greet: Dr. Jackie Stewart

UAlberta WIC invites you to our informal Meet & Greet with Dr. Jackie Stewart from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Stewart’s research interests focus on chemistry education. Join us to hear about her career story. Complimentary coffee and cookies will be served.

The event takes place on Wed. March 6th at 10-11am in E4-43.

IUPAC Women’s Breakfast

The University of Alberta Working for Inclusivity in Chemistry (WIC) group hosted Edmonton’s IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast with inclusivity and open discussion in mind. The event was hosted at the High Level Diner and 30 graduate students and professors of all genders were in attendance.

To break the ice and learn about talented female scientists around the globe, we played  “headbands” where players guessed the female chemist on their headband based on questions and answers from the other players.

WIC leaders also led round-table discussions to encourage communication among peers and share knowledge from unique and diverse perspectives. The topics included: identifying barriers along the chemistry career path, work-life balance and stress management tips, how to build a professional network, and characteristics of a strong mentor and leader.

 

 

Our attendees were happy to meet off-campus and  enjoyed networking with members of the department. We hope that the event helped to foster a sense of community and create an environment where chemists from all backgrounds are welcome to share their perspective. We would like to thank Chem Materials, Chemical Institute of Canada for their sponsorship of this event!

 

Armour Speaker Series: Dr. Geraldine Richmond

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Geraldine Richmond as our inaugural speaker of the Margaret-Ann Armour Lecture Series!

Dr. Geraldine Richmond, Presidential Chair in Science & Professor of Chemistry, University of Oregon

Dr. Richmond is a Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon. She obtained her BSc from Kansas State University and her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley with Professor George C Pimentel. Her current research is focused on using laser-based methods and theoretical simulations to understand chemical processes occurring at the surface of water. Her work has applications in solving important problems related to energy production, environmental remediation and atmospheric chemistry.

Dr. Richmond has been a strong advocate for diversity in all areas of science and is the founder of COACh (Committee On the Advancement of Women Chemists), an organisation aimed at increasing the number of women in STEM and providing individuals with the resources required to build a successful career. As a result of her passion for this line of work, she was appointed by former President Obama to the National Board of Science. She is also a Fellow of the American Chemistry Society, the Association for Women in Science, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Amongst her numerous awards and recognitions, Richmond has received the Linus Pauling Medal, the National Medal of Science, and the Priestley Medal.

She will be visiting the UAlberta Department of Chemistry on Wednesday January 16th and presenting two-talks:

“COACh: Empowering Women as Leaders in the Scientific Enterprise”
11:00 am, CCIS 1-160

“Mulling over Nanoemulsions: Interfacial Molecular Structure,
Stabilization and Assembly”
2:00 pm, CCIS 1-140

We hope you will be joining us for this exciting kick-off event!

Margaret-Ann Armour Lecture Series

The University of Alberta’s Working for Inclusivity in Chemistry group is excited to announce the first student-led speaker series in the Department of Chemistry. This speaker series, named after Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour, aims to celebrate diversity in Chemistry by providing a platform for chemists who do outstanding work both in the lab and in promoting diversity and inclusivity within Chemistry.

Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour received her BSc and MSc from the University of Edinburgh before completing her PhD from the University of Alberta in 1970. She rejoined the Department of Chemistry in 1979, and has served as the Faculty of Science’s premier Associate Dean of Science (Diversity) since 2005. Beyond  her contributions to science regarding hazardous chemical management, Dr. Armour has been a tireless advocate for stronger representation of women in STEM. She founded Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology (WISEST) at the University of Alberta in 1981, and since its inception, the WISEST programs have reached more than 15,000 participants with 85% of their Summer Research Participants pursuing undergraduate degrees in Science or Engineering. In 2010, Dr. Armour established the Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology (WinSETT Centre). As the Associate Dean of Science (Diversity), Dr. Armour developed Project Catalyst, which is aimed at increasing the representation of women in faculty positions in the Faculty of Science.

Dr. Armour has received many awards and accolades for research, leadership and outreach activities. She received the McNeil Medal from the Royal Society of Canada in 1994, and  a 3M Teaching Fellowship, Canada’s top award for excellence in undergraduate teaching, in 1996. Dr. Armour was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2006. Maclean’s Magazine recognized Dr. Armour as one of Ten Canadians Making a Difference in 2003, and she was twice listed by the Women’s Executive Network as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. Dr. Armour has also received honorary degrees from her alma mater, the University of Edinburgh, as well as the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, MacEwan University, and Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Free Craft Night

We are hosting a free craft night, this Wedensday, Nov 21 from 5:30 – 7:00pm in the Chemistry Lounge, E4-43. We will have both embroidery and origami experts in the room to teach you how to fold up paper in a neat way, and how to sew your favourite molecule (or whatever you please) on your lab coat!

All materials will be provided by WIC, so please register here so we can make sure there is enough to go around.

Meet & Greet: Dr. Katherine S. Elvira (UVic)

We are pleased to host Dr. Katherine S. Elvira from the University of Victoria for an informal discussion on November 8^th from 10:00 to 11:00 AM in E4-43.

Dr. Elvira obtained her  MSc and PhD from Imperial College London in 2007 and 2012, respectively. After obtaining her PhD, Dr. Elvira joined Prof. deMello’s research group at ETH Zurich, developing microfluidic devices for analytical applications. In 2017, she joined the faculty of UVic’s Chemistry department as an Assistant Professor and was appointed as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in New Materials and Techniques for Health Applications. Her research focuses on developing microfluidic technologies that can be used for drug discovery and healthcare applications, as well as their commercialization.

Come join us for a stimulating discussion, and of course, coffee, tea and cookies!

Bystander Intervention Workshop

The UAlberta Women in Chemistry will be hosting a Bystander Intervention Workshop on November 13, 2018 in E3-25 at 11:30am and we encourage everyone to attend. The workshop will be delivered by personnel from the Sexual Assault Centre at the University of Alberta and will cover the following topics:

• Learn how to identify sexual harassment and violence
• Gain confidence to interrupt situations around you
• Take part in visioning and taking steps towards creating a safe environment

Please consider attending and bringing your colleagues along. Join the conversation and help us become part of the solution. Please sign up here as space is limited.