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ACS WCC logo.


The ACS East Central Illinois Women Chemists Committee (WCC) was founded in the fall of 2005 to promote the development of women in the chemical sciences. With the support of our local ACS chapter and the University of Illinois Department of Chemistry, we have planned events that include professional and social opportunities that benefit graduate students, faculty, staff, and undergraduates. Please Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to join.

Keep up to date with all the happenings of the Women Chemists Committee by following us on Facebook!
Interested in funding opportunities? WCC has compiled a list of grants, fellowships, and scholarships specifically with women in our department in mind.

 

WCC Board Members

Head shot of Kaitlyn Wiegand

Chair | Kaitlyn Wiegand (she/her/hers)

Research Group:  Guironnet

Year of Program: Rising 5th year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: Getting an insight into how seemingly simple materials and everyday occurrences, that we otherwise don't think too much about, can actually be full of exciting and complex chemistry. 

Portrait of Sukanya Dutta Standing in front of a rock waterfall

Vice Chair | Sukanya Dutta (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Link

Year of Program: Rising 5th year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: The feeling you get after finally figuring it out; doesn’t matter small or big; but the sense of relief and satisfaction of problem solving!

Head shot of Ellie Vandel in front of ivy

Secretary | Ellie Vandel (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Makri 

Year of Program: Rising 3rd year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: My favorite thing about being a scientist is asking interesting questions in the pursuit of new knowledge to figure out how things in our world work.

Head shot of Erin Nicholas

Treasurer | Erin Nicholas (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Vura-Weis

Year of Program: Rising 4th year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: My favorite thing is that I am constantly learning.

Head shot of Gwenyth Paule

Social Events Chair | Gweneth Paule (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Fataftah

Year of Program: Rising 3rd Year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: Having a new experience at least once a day!

Head shot of Kristin Martin

Web Administrator | Kristin Martin (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Rodriguez-Lopez

Year of Program: Rising 4th year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: Volunteering with local elementary and middle school students to expose them to science and watching their faces light up when the experiments go well! 

Head shot of Samantha Brown

Invited Speaker Co-Chair | Samantha Brown (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Burke Group

Year of Program: Rising 5th year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist:  Discovering new mechanisms of disease prevention and potential therapeutic applications.

Portrait of Jack D'Amelio in front of a tree

Invited Speaker Co-Chair | Jack D’Amelio (they/them/theirs)

Research Group:  Shoemaker

Year of Program: Rising 3rd year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: Mentoring undergraduate students in research!

Head shot of Rachel Schaaf in an outdoor setting

WCC Day Camp Co-Chair | Rachel Schaaf (she/her/hers) 

Research Group: Hergenrother

Year of Program: Rising 4th year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: I love that the research I am doing is interdisciplinary and allows me to synthesize and perform biological testing of molecules that could impact oncology.

Portrait of Emily Cook in front of a stone entrance

WCC Day Camp Co-Chair | Emily Cook (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Murphy Group

Year of Program: 3rd Year

Favorite Thing about Being a Scientist: Making new scientific discoveries

Travel Award Winners

2025

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Portrait of Ojasvi Verma; The UIUC Women Chemists Committee Congratulates Ojasvi (Stephan Link Group) Winner of the Spring 2025 Travel Award.
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Head shot of Lakshmy Priya Ajayakumar, the UIUC Women Chemists Committee Congratulates Lakshmy (Backlund Group) winner of the Spring 2025 Travel Award.

2024

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Portrait of Sukanya Dutt standing in front of an outdoor landscaped area

2023

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Head shot of a travel award winner
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Head shot of travel award winner with name
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Head shot Qi Hua with details about travel award
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Head shot of Anupriya Satheesan with award details
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Head shot of Amanda Smith with travel award details

2022

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Slide with text announcing Alyssa DeLucia as the 2022 Fall Travel Award winner with a head shot of DeLucia.
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Head shot of winner of the 2022 WCS Travel Award winner.

2021

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WCC Fall 2021 travel recipient - Amanda East slide
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WCC Fall 2021 travel recipient - Brenna Budaitis slide

2020

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2020 Spring Travel Award winner information

2019

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UIUC Wome Chemists Committee would like to congratulate Dinumol Devasia (Jain Group) Winner of the 2019 Fall Travel Award - photo of Dinumol Devasia included