Canadian Women in Chemistry Network!

Our Co-Chairs have been working behind the scenes for several months and we are happy to share some exciting news..

Lead by the efforts of Anika Tarasewicz, three WIC chapters from the Universities of Toronto, Saskatchewan, and Alberta have come together to form a Canada-wide network! The Canadian Women in Chemistry Network, or CWIC for short, will be a supporting community which promotes inclusion, equity, and diversity in chemical sciences across Canada. This initiative will serve as encouragement for new chapters to form as well as help enrich the existing collaborations amongst our three chapters.

We are excited to see what the future holds for CWIC! Learn more by checking out our website and follow us on Twitter!

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UAWIC Team Welcome & Fall Meetings

We are happy to announce Karen Hoy will be joining the 2018/2019 UAWIC Executive Team as our Media Relations Officer. We also are glad to welcome General Members Michelle Ha, Hansol Park, Kleinberg Fernandes, Sarah Milliken and Tania Gautman to the team!

If you are interested in learning what WIC is all about, we encourage you to attend one of our biweekly meetings! The meetings for fall semester will take place on Wednesdays from 4 to 5 pm in CCIS 3-003 starting this week on Wednesday September 19th.

Working for Inclusivity in Chemistry

We would like to announce that we have decided to modify our student group name. We will refer to the group as Working for Inclusivity in Chemistry moving forward.

We believe this change reflects our goals and better encompasses the ideals of UAWIC and its members.

We will be updating our constitution to reflect this change and we encourage our members to attend our Fall Open House on Thursday October 11 to learn more about our student group initiative.

We can still be reached by email at wic@ualberta.ca and via our Twitter @UofAWIC 

Position Vacancy – Media Relations Officer

It is bittersweet to say goodbye to our Media Relations Officer, Dr. Regina Sinelnikov. She was an integral part of the team which co-founded UAlberta WIC and a key player in planning a successful LOGIC 2018 retreat. Her passion for science saw her play a leadership role in other groups, such as Let’s Talk Science and UAlberta Nano. Her dedication to science outreach is contagious and her enthusiastic mentorship is inspirational. She is an incredible woman in chemistry!

Are you interested in becoming more involved with UAlberta WIC? The position of Media Relations Officer is currently vacant for the 2018/2019 term. Please read the short description below:

The Media Relations Officer shall be responsible for the group’s advertisement. This includes updating and maintaining the WIC social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, website, etc.) and creating event announcements (email, posters, etc.) to promote club activities. 

If you are interested, please send an email to wic@ualberta.ca with a short blurb describing why you would be great for the position!

LOGIC 2018: Sponsorsed Ticket Winners

Did you know some of our LOGIC 2018 attendees won the admission ticket to our event? Several admission tickets, donated generously by our sponsors, were up for grabs for those who satisfactorily answered the question: “How do you anticipate attending LOGIC will impact you?”

See below our lucky winners:

Angelika Torres – Ticket courtesy of University of Alberta Faculty of Science

Huba Razzaq – Ticket courtesy of University of Alberta Faculty of Science

Wei Zhang – Ticket courtesy of Strem Chemicals

Kita Chea – Ticket courtesy of Strem Chemicals

Jessica Mah – Ticket courtesy of University of Alberta Faculty of Science

Yumeela Ganga-Sah – Ticket courtesy of Nanalysis Corp

Ian Watson – Ticket courtesy of University of Alberta Department of Chemistry

Lorena Ucciferri – Ticket courtesy of the CIC Chemical Education Fund

Kleinberg Fernandez – Ticket courtesy of University of Alberta Department of Chemistry

LOGIC 2018 Panelist: Dr. Reshma N. Singh

Last but certainly not least, we are happy to introduce Dr. Reshma N. Singh as one of our panelists. The panel discussion will be taking place on Sunday May 26th in the Shaw Conference Centre Saloon 2.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Guyana in 2006, Reshma Singh spend three and half years working in the food industry as a Quality Control and Assurance Chemist. In 2009, she became a graduate student in Dr. Jed Harrison’s research group at the University of Alberta. Her Ph.D. research focused on the detection of small molecules using silicon and cobalt nano columned-thin films and LASER desorption/ionization.

In 2015, she joined Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) as a Research Participant working on an Alberta Innovates grant entitled “Addressing food quality challenges in Alberta’s aquaculture industry”. Her focus was the detection and quantification of off-flavour compounds using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. In 2016, Reshma became a Federal Postdoctoral fellow at AAFC’s Lacombe Research Centre, with her work switching to the detection and identification of flavour compounds in meat.

Interested in learning more about Dr. Singh? There are still tickets available for the Sunday of the LOGIC 2018 meeting – sign up here before they run out!

LOGIC 2018 Keynote Speaker: Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour

We are incredibly honoured to have Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour join us for LOGIC 2018. She will take the stage around 7 pm at the Saturday night banquet dinner. The event will take place at the University of Alberta Faculty Club in the Saskatchewan Room.

Dr. Armour was educated at the University of Edinburgh, (BSc, MSc) and the University of Alberta (PhD) and joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Alberta in 1979. Her research was into the handling and disposal of small quantities of hazardous chemical waste. Since 2005, she has been Associate Dean of Science, Diversity.

For many years, she has been active in encouraging women to consider careers in the sciences and engineering, co-founding Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology, WISEST, at the University of Alberta in 1982. Currently, she is chair of the board of the Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering Trades and Technology, the WinSETT Centre.

Dr. Armour has received a number of awards for her work including a Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Person’s Case, the Montreal Medal of the Chemical Institute of Canada, being twice named one of the top 100 most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network and being inducted as a member of the Order of Canada in 2006. She has 6 honorary degrees!

LOGIC 2018 Panelist: Dr. Jillian Buriak

We are very glad to welcome Dr. Jillian Buriak to our panel discussion on Sunday May 27th! We look forward to hearing about Dr. Buriak’s role as Professor of Chemistry at the University of Alberta and Editor-in-Chief at Chemistry of Materials.

Dr. Jillian Buriak began her career at Harvard University where she acquired her AB degree in 1990. She then moved to Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg to complete her PhD, before taking up a postdoctoral position at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla. Dr. Buriak began her professorship at Purdue University and joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Alberta in 2003. Shortly after, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Dr. Buriak holds the Canada Research Chair of Nanomaterials for Energy, and the Alberta Innovates Industry Chair in Solar Energy and Solar Fuels. Her research has resulted in 11,000 citations, and ranges from materials for energy applications (solar energy conversion, water splitting), self-assembly on technologically relevant semiconductor surfaces, and mechanistic surface chemistry and functionalization on surfaces such as silicon and other semiconductors. Dr. Buriak plays a very active role in scholarly journals. She was on the Board of Reviewing Editors (BoRE) at Science from 2003 to 2008, was an Associate Editor at ACS Nano from 2009 to 2013, and in 2014, became the Editor-in- Chief of the American Chemical Society journal, Chemistry of Materials, where she leads a team of 21 associate editors, and handles 6,000 papers per year.

Dr. Buriak is a strong voice for women in STEM – we highly recommend following her on Twitter. Don’t miss out on what is sure to be a fruitful discussion! Register for LOGIC 2018 – TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!

LOGIC 2018 Workshop Facilitators: Edna Dach & Kandis Neth

LOGIC 2018 will feature two WinSETT Centre workshops focused on introduction to negotiation and mentors vs sponsors. We are excited to have Edna Dach and Kandis Neth facilitate this learning opportunity for our attendees.

Edna Dach, M. Ed., PMP
Alberta & Prairies Facilitator, WinSETT Centre

Edna Dach has extensive experience working in the education field as Director of Technology Services for Elk Island Public Schools and as Education Manager for Alberta Education. She is a recognized presenter and has shared her experiences to a wide variety of audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.

In recognition of her work, the Education Technology Council, Alberta Teachers Association presents an annual award, “The ETC Edna Dach Educator of the Year Award ” to a classroom teacher and/or technology leader in an educational setting who works to promote technology in education through leadership in educational technology.

Edna works with a variety of boards including WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology), WITT (Women in Trades and Technology) and SkillsCanada Alberta.  She has been recognized with the Alberta Centennial Medal and the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for her community and volunteer work.

 

Kandis Neth, P. Eng., EMR
Western Canada Facilitator, WinSETT Centre

President & CEO, R3K Consulting, and PeerSparkTM Facilitator, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE)

Kandis holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Alberta, with a specialization in Chemical Engineering (Co-op) and is certified as a Master Instructor and Adult Educator from NAIT. Kandis is an avid life-long learner and has found her passion in facilitating adults, so much so that she is currently completing her Master of Education, specializing in Adult Education. Kandis continues to maintain her licenses as both a Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and as an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) with the Alberta College of Paramedics.

In addition to a career working mainly as a project manager with global engineering organizations, Kandis received extensive training on communication, leadership, and crisis intervention during her time as a volunteer with the Edmonton Police Service’s Victim Services Unit. Currently, Kandis’ career is specifically focused towards course design, development, and delivery (training and facilitation) primarily contracting through her own consulting company, R3K Consulting.

In 2018, Kandis was thrilled to become a regional facilitator of WinSETT Centre’s Western Canadian Leadership program. This role allows her to follow her passion of supporting women in maximizing both their personal and professional potential.

LOGIC Invited Speaker: Dr. Raychelle Burks

 We are very excited to announce our invited speaker for Sunday morning: Dr. Raychelle Burks!

Dr. Raychelle Burks is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. Dr. Burks completed her BSc in Chemistry at Northern Iowa University in 2001, her MSc in Forensic Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2008, and her PhD in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Nebraska in 2011. She then took up the position of Postdoctoral Research Associate at Doane College, where she also served as a Visiting Assistant Professor until 2016.

An analytical chemist with crime lab experience, Dr. Burks is focused on creating low-cost colorimetric sensors for detecting chemicals of forensic interest including explosives and illicit drugs. To maximize portability, Dr. Burks’ group utilizes smart phones, along with image analysis, to maximize the field readiness of developed sensor systems. A chemistry enthusiast, Dr. Burks hopes to ignite her students’ appreciation of chemistry through innovative projects, multi-media education tools, and probably far too many pop culture references. She help create and organize SciPop Talks!, a popular talk series blending science and pop culture. Dr. Burks is a popular science communicator, appearing on the Science Channel’s Outrageous Acts of Science, ACS Reactions videos, Royal Society of Chemistry podcasts, and at genre conventions such as DragonCon and GeekGirlCon.

You can check out one of her recent videos here and learn all about whiskey! Don’t miss what is sure to be an exciting seminar by Dr. Burks – register before April 24th!