

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 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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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
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