Women Chemists Committee

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

Chair | Kaitlyn Wiegand (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Guironnet

Year of Program: Rising 5^th 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 5^th 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 3^rd 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.

Treasurer | Erin Nicholas (she/her/hers)

Research Group: Vura-Weis

Year of Program: Rising 4^th year

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

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

Research Group: Fataftah

Year of Program: Rising 3^rd Year

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

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

Research Group: Rodriguez-Lopez

Year of Program: Rising 4^th 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!

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

Research Group: Burke Group

Year of Program: Rising 5^th 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 3^rd 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 4^th 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.