Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) History of Past Conference Speakers |
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| Year / Conference Title | Speaker / Talk Title / Talk Summary |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Kathie Olsen, Keynote Speaker Careers for the WISE and Extra-Ordinary The Honorable Kathie L. Olsen, PhD, former Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), former Chief Scientist of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Founder and Managing Director of ScienceWorks International, LLC, will speak about the incredible diversity of career opportunities available to women in science or engineering. Growing up in Oregon, Dr. Olsen went to Cleveland High School in S.E Portland. She was always struck by the quote above one of the doors; "What we are to be, we are now becoming." In her career, that becoming has gone on and on: from bench scientist, to faculty, to federal program manager, to Congressional fellow, to federal administrator, to entrepreneur, and counting. She will talk about lessons learned in this variety of extra- (as in, "beyond") ordinary career choices, only ONE of which was envisioned as a graduate student. In addition, she will talk about the “unexpected bonus” of being a “Women in Science.” |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Olivia Luke, Session Speaker Using Your Career to Enhance Your Well-Being: The Mindset Shift - 2406A MSC Life is busy, especially for women who like to challenge |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Atashi Mukherjee, Session Speaker Taking Chances and Breaking the Mold - 2406B MSC Was Salvatore Dali right when he said, "Have no fear of perfection -- you'll never reach it"? Successful career woman. Loving partner. Talented homemaker. Is it really possible to have it all, or is it an urban myth? Dr. Atashi Mukherjee will talk about her journey as a millennial scientist taking her first steps into corporate America and share her experience finding a balance between the professional and personal. Atashi received her Ph.D. in materials chemistry from Texas A&M University in 2014, then joined BASF as part of their professional development program, gaining diverse experience in process development chemistry and operations/production, technology acquisition and innovation management in plant science and finally government affairs with a focus on science and technology policy. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, an Air Force captain serving at the Pentagon. |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Kelly Scribner, Session Speaker The Pit and the Pendulum: Finding Balance in Life and Career - 2406A MSC Finding balance is an ongoing challenge for women pursuing careers in today's society. Demands and expectations seek the perfect balance of reasonable work hours, time for exercise and family, no late-night deadlines, no checking email while on vacation, and no propping yourself up with caffeine. But how do we really find balance? A 2013 Ph.D. graduate from Texas A&M University, Dr. Kelly Scribner works as a responding toxicologist and emergency response consultant for CTEH, LLC in Little Rock -- a demanding job in which she provides toxicological consulting to companies, expert testimony, and responds to chemical emergencies around the country and world. |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Ashanti Johnson, Session Speaker Handling Your Business: Strategies for Success - 2406B MSC In this very candid talk, Dr. Ashanti Johnson will share how to succeed and handle your business in academia. Dr. Johnson will share keys to success from her own story and time serving in many professional capacities, including presently as executive director of the Institution for Broadening Participation at the University of Texas at Arlington. She holds a doctorate in oceanography from Texas A&M University and has assisted more than 50 professionals en route to doctoral degrees in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. She received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring at the White House, was recognized by NBC affiliate TheGrio.com as one of 100 History Makers in the Making and profiled in Black Enterprise magazine's March 2011 Women In STEM feature story. |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Lisa Burton, Session Speaker Bridging the Pay Gap: Negotiation Tips and Strategies to Get What You Deserve - 2406A MSC You've probably heard that women get 78 cents for every dollar a man makes in the same job. But maybe you thought your degree and impressive credentials will speak for themselves. Don't count on it! In fact, the more educated you are, the more pronounced this pay gap becomes! College-educated women can expect to lose $1 million during the course of their lifetimes, with women earning doctoral and professional degrees losing upward of $2 million! But do not fear. Lisa Burton and Dr. Katie Stober, resident salary negotiation gurus from the Texas A&M Career Center, will discuss strategies for negotiating fair pay from the first postgraduation job onward, including how and when to ask and how to be confident in your reasons for asking. |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Nancy Hutchins, Session Speaker Managing Me: Tips for Successful Work Life-Balance - 2406B MSC Juggling a career, a family, and well-being can seem intimidating and hard to achieve. This session will offer tips for successful work-life balance through self-management. Build performance and well-being into every area of your life and learn how to "have it all." Dr. Nancy Hutchins serves as the assistant director at the Office for Organization Development and Diversity Initiatives at Texas A&M University, where she works in the Center for Change and Conflict Resolution consulting and facilitating workshops in the areas of effective communication, conflict management, difficult dialogues, mediation, and workplace climate for both K-12 and higher education clientele. Dr. Hutchins has also worked as an educator in public schools with a focus on behavior intervention, positive behavior support, classroom management and discipline, and strategic conflict engagement. |
| 2016 / One Woman Show: Juggling Career, Family Life, and Well-Being | Katie Stober, Session Speaker Bridging the Pay Gap: Negotiation Tips and Strategies to Get What You Deserve - 2406A MSC You've probably heard that women get 78 cents for every dollar a man makes in the same job. But maybe you thought your degree and impressive credentials will speak for themselves. Don't count on it! In fact, the more educated you are, the more pronounced this pay gap becomes! College-educated women can expect to lose $1 million during the course of their lifetimes, with women earning doctoral and professional degrees losing upward of $2 million! But do not fear. Lisa Burton and Dr. Katie Stober, resident salary negotiation gurus from the Texas A&M Career Center, will discuss strategies for negotiating fair pay from the first postgraduation job onward, including how and when to ask and how to be confident in your reasons for asking. |
| 2015 / Women Leaving the Playing Field: Strength Through Diversity | Alveda J. Williams, Keynote Speaker Whose Game Is It Anyway? The career management game routinely brings with it frustration concerning mechanisms to level the playing field, understand the unwritten rules of the game or even change the game altogether. However, in this session, Alveda Williams will address the central question: Whose Game Is It Anyway? Williams, a Ph.D. scientist turned human resources leader, currently serves as Associate HR Director for The Dow Chemical Company's largest integrated site in Freeport, Texas. She earned her B.S. in chemistry from Norfolk State University in 1997 and Ph.D. in materials chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2002. Shortly thereafter, she joined Dow and held several R&D-related positions as an individual contributor and leader before moving into HR. In 2008, Williams took on a special assignment to identify $30 billion in R&D growth synergy opportunities that would result from the Dow's acquisition of Rohm and Haas Company. In 2009, she was named Global Strategic University Leader for Dow's R&D function -- a role in which she and her team have hired nearly 300 new Ph.D. employees in three seasons while setting a new standard for offer acceptance rate. Williams is the creator of Dow's BEST (Building Engineering & Science Talent at Dow) Symposium designed to introduce under-represented minority Ph.D. talent to careers in industrial research. She has earned the NSBE Golden Torch Award for Corporate Diversity Leadership (2009), the prestigious Dow Transformation in Action Award (2012), and the Council for Chemical Research Diversity Award (2013). Most recently, Williams was named to the Diversity Journal's 2015 Women Worth Watching list. |
| 2015 / Women Leaving the Playing Field: Strength Through Diversity | Anne Schauer-Gimenez, Session Speaker How Did I Get Here? The Story of a Non-Traditional Career Path from Academia to Start-Up - 2406A MSC Getting a Ph.D. means an automatic career in research or academia, right? Well, a chance meeting at a conference changed that path and directed Dr. Anne Schauer-Gimenez to Silicon Valley entrepreneurship. Dr. Schauer-Gimenez will outline the roller coaster ride of starting and growing a company, Mango Materials. As Director of Biological Research there, she fosters relationships with methane-producing partners and also leads marketing and outreach efforts for the production of biodegradable plastics from waste biogas (methane). Dr. Schauer-Gimenez has a B.S. in environmental science, an M.S. in environmental science and policy, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering. |
| 2015 / Women Leaving the Playing Field: Strength Through Diversity | Haiyan Wang, Session Speaker What to Expect and How to Prepare for Your Future Academic Career - 2406B MSC Dr. Haiyan Wang will introduce lessons learned from her own research and academic experiences as a graduate student, postdoc, professor, and program director at the National Science Foundation. She currently is a full professor in the Texas A&M Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where she has received a number highly distinguished national research awards, and also serves as an NSF program director in the Division of Materials Science. Prior to these appointments, Dr Wang was on staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory after receiving her Ph.D. in materials science from North Carolina State University. |
| 2015 / Women Leaving the Playing Field: Strength Through Diversity | Jayna Watkins, Session Speaker Leaving the Comfort Zone - 2406A MSC Jayna Watkins, Safety Manager with BASF, will lead this interactive workshop about stepping outside of your comfort zone to take on new challenges and opportunities that can positively propel your career. Learn from her experiences about how to know when to say "yes" and when to take a "pass." Watkins received her degree in chemical engineering from Texas Tech University, then took a position with BP at the Texas City refinery, where she served in operations/production engineering roles and subsequent leadership positions. Watkins later accepted a position with BASF as a production manager for the chemical manufacturing plant in Freeport. She currently serves as the Industrial Safety Manager for all of Texas. |
| 2015 / Women Leaving the Playing Field: Strength Through Diversity | Robin Fuchs-Young, Session Speaker Lessons on Building a Science Career (or things I wish I'd known sooner) - 2406B MSC Dr. Robin Fuchs-Young will review lessons learned during a career spanning both academia and industry while also critically reviewing some of her choices and their consequences. She will discuss tips for building strong collaborations and relationships, then describe some changes likely coming in academic research. Dr. Fuchs-Young is a professor in the College of Medicine and the Institute for Biosciences and Technology at the Texas A&M Health Science Center. Before coming to Texas A&M, she spent 15 years at MD Anderson Cancer Center and was a Senior Scientist at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis. She received her Ph.D. in pathology from Vanderbilt University and completed postdoctoral training at the Ben May Institute at the University of Chicago. |
| 2015 / Women Leaving the Playing Field: Strength Through Diversity | Suguna Rachakonda, Session Speaker Experience You Can Use: Science as a Foundation for a Second Career - 2406A MSC Experience You Can Use: Science as a Foundation for a Second Career - 2406A MSC |
| 2015 / Women Leaving the Playing Field: Strength Through Diversity | Jane Welsh, Session Speaker From the Minority to the Majority: The Changing Landscape of Biomedical Sciences - 2406B MSC Dr. C. Jane Welsh, professor of veterinary integrative biosciences and Chair of the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, will share insights learned and challenges encountered during her lifelong career in biomedical research, including starting off as a minority and ending up as the majority. Tips, suggestions, and humor will be provided. Dr. Welsh received her B.S. in microbiology and Ph.D. in immunology from the London University, UK, then studied as a postdoctoral fellow at Kings College Hospital and at Cambridge University. Since coming to Texas A&M, she has been extensively involved in organizations and activities that specifically promote women's issues. |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Megan Robertson, Session Speaker Advice for Careers in Academia and Industry [2406A MSC] Many students are uncertain of the path to follow to a career that is right for them after graduation. Dr. Robertson will share her insight on careers in academia and industry, having spent time working in both capacities. Dr. Megan L. Robertson joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Houston in the Fall of 2010. She received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006, after which, she worked as a senior scientist at Rohm and Haas (now Dow Chemical) in Spring House, Pennsylvania. |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Eleanor Green, Keynote Speaker Wise Leadership: Don’t Tell a Woman It Can’t Be Done [2400 MSC] Dr. Eleanor Green currently serves as the first female dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, the only veterinary college in the State of Texas. She was one of only three women in her graduating class of 100 from Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After four years as a partner-owner of a veterinary practice, she became one of the founding faculty members and the first female veterinarian of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University in 1976. Dr. Green has a long list of firsts in a predominantly male dominated profession including, but not limited to: the first woman in the nation to officiate at a National Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest (1974), the first female department head of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and Large Animal Hospital Director at the University of Tennessee (1991); and, prior to her arrival in Aggieland, Dr. Green was appointed in 1996 as the first female Chair of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and Chief of Staff of its Large Animal Hospital. In addition, she has served as the first female president of three national veterinary associations: American Association of Equine Practitioners; American Board of Veterinary Practitioners; and American Association of Veterinary Clinicians. Dr. Green is also the mother of three children, and was blessed with two adult children last spring. She and her husband, Dr. Jim Heird, are also proud grandparents to six grandchildren. Dr. Green is a true visionary leader and a role model for all women. |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Katie Stober, Friday Night Speaker The Elevator Speech: or, the 1 minute Job Interview You may have heard of something called an "elevator speech"--a short 30 second to 1 minute blurb about yourself, your professional expertise, and future goals. But how on earth do you crunch this into 1 minute?!? What should you definitely say? What can you leave out? And how should you respond when someone else tells you their elevator speech? In this ice-breaker, we'll practice our own elevator speeches, and also practice listening to our peers to find out which strategies are most effective. |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Destardi MoyeSherman, Session Speaker “Who Moved My Cheese?” Adapting to changes in your professional and personal life [2406A MSC] “The only constant is change” – is a quote that many of us are familiar with. How you choose to respond to those changes in your professional and personal lives often depends on your internal motivators. Dr. Moye-Sherman will share her insights and experiences in dealing with road bumps that ultimately shaped her career. Destardi graduated from Howard University in 1990 with a BS in Chemistry and obtained her PhD in 1999 from Texas A&M in the Burgess Research Labs. She has over 15 years of experience in various roles in the Pharma industry from bench chemist to Project Director. She is currently working as a Director of Project Management at ViroPharma Incorporated focused on developing treatments for rare and neglected diseases. She is a married, mother of two (ages 11 and 19). |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Kayleen L. E. Helms, Session Speaker Change Agent 101: Introduction to Effecting Change [2406A MSC] As we embrace a career in STEM, we have many opportunities to invoke change – from new discoveries or products to improving existing methods to leading new teams or efforts. To become a successful “Change Agent”, it is important to develop and harness your own approach for investing in change: leveraging your expertise & skills, strengths, and passions balanced with the practicalities of demand, benefits, and costs of change to yourself, your family, organization, employer, society, etc. Dr. Kayleen L. E. Helms received a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University, and is currently with Intel Corporation in the Assembly and Test Technology Development (ATTD) R&D division focusing on electronic packaging in Chandler, Arizona (Phoenix). |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Misty Rowe, Session Speaker What has Science done for me? [2406B MSC] So you are looking at a career in science and technology but are unsure where that interest might lead? Dr. Misty Rowe will share her story and experiences of how her love for science has led her to wonderful opportunities to advance her career. She will discuss ways for us to begin to recognize and take advantage of those opportunities as they arise. Misty’s early interest in the sciences eventually led her to a PhD program in the Polymer Science and Engineering at University of Southern Mississippi, finishing with a doctorate in Applied Chemistry from Colorado School of Mines. After completing her degree, Dr. Rowe started a small startup company called TheragNos which developed nanoparticles for the imaging and targeted treatment of cancer. An opportunity arose to join the Cementing Applied Sciences and Processes group at Halliburton, where she’s currently employed and has been a part of the cementing chemical development group, and most recently is leading the Engineering development group. |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Kim Johnson, Session Speaker Who do you want to be? [2406B MSC] There are many choices to make along the journey of any career path. A career in the sciences is no different. Choices about the job itself, balancing dual careers, family, and all the other things that make us who we are. The key to navigating this sea of choices is to first recognize we do indeed have a choice, and secondly to understand enough about who we are and what we value to make those choices wisely. Dr. Kim Johnson will share some of the choices she has made over her 23 year career and how those choices shaped her journey. Dr. Johnson received her PhD in Inorganic Chemistry the University of Minnesota and is currently a Process Research Chemist with Shell. |
| 2014 / Real Go Getters: Becoming Agents of Change | Carolyn Cannon, Session Speaker Jumping Hurdles to Fulfill Your Passion: Path, Pace, and Position [2406B MSC] Dr. Carolyn Cannon would like to share her tips to jumping the hurdles that arose along her circuitous path through her career, pacing life choices to form a family and positioning skills to build a career. Dr. Cannon received her undergraduate degree in bioengineering at Texas A&M University, a masters in electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in physiology and cell biology, as well as an MD. Dr. Cannon serves as a faculty pediatric pulmonologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas where she cares for children with lung disease, in addition to directing a pediatric pulmonology fellowship training program and a Therapeutics Development Center aimed at developing novel treatments for patients with cystic fibrosis. |
| 2013 / Bringing it Back | Elizabeth Drake, Session Speaker The Secret of Success is There's No Secret Elizabeth Drake progressed from an Texas A&M graduate student, acquiring a Master of Science Degree in Chemistry, to a successful entrepreneur. She is currently President of three companies, an Environmental and Engineering company, a Mobile IT company, and a Non-Profit Corporation for Youth Athletics. She would like to share her story and secrets with her Aggie Girlfriends! Elizabeth graduated from East Carolina University where she was the only female in her class. After acquiring her Masters degree, Elizabeth started her professional career as a Research Scientist and then Lab Manager with Stauffer Chemical Company. In 1990, she was recruited for the position of Technical Process Superintendent at Chemical Waste Management’s commercial hazardous waste incineration facility. She has also worked as a process chemist. She has raised three children. Wanting to provide environmental, engineering, and operations services to industrial facilities and incineration facilities, she started her own company, CS2 Inc . (Compliance Strategies & Solutions, Inc.). Today CS2 Inc. provides services Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Mallinckrodt, 3M Corporation, and Shell/Motiva, and NASA Johnson Space Center. Recently Elizabeth started a new software development company, Infinite Skyz, LLC, to develop custom Apps for mobile devices. |
| 2013 / Bringing it Back | Stacey Wark, Session Speaker Playing the Game: Navigating Politics in the Work Place Whether in academia or industry, interacting with the people around you is a crucial skill needed to navigate workplace politics. The ultimate goal is to navigate the political situations without compromising yourself or others. This talk will present some challenges people face in dealing with office politics as well tips for how to be |
| 2013 / Bringing it Back | Charlotte Burress, Session Speaker Expect the Unexpected: Where Your Career Can Take You Before you start your career journey, you should be prepared for the unexpected. Opportunities will come to you including professional development, promotions, and international assignments. How you respond to these opportunities depends on your personal success drivers - new challenges, compensation, stability, etc. This talk will |
| 2013 / Bringing it Back | Hong Liu, Session Speaker Thriving in High-Tech Industry Dr. Hong Liu will share her insight and experiences along her journey as Principal Engineer at Google Platform Advanced Technology, where she is the chief architect of multiple generation large scale data center fabric and optical interconnect technology. In these types of high tech industries, women face unique challenges. To realize full |
| 2013 / Bringing it Back | Tamy Frank-Cannon, Session Speaker Four Degrees and Six Letters - Done… So, Now What? After completing two bachelor’s degrees, a DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine) degree, being licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Texas, AND earning a PhD, Dr Frank-Cannon still had to answer the most basic of all questions – What do I do now? What do I want to be when I “grow up”? The lessons learned and challenges to |
| 2013 / Bringing it Back | Alice Wang, Session Speaker Setting Your Personal & Professional Goals New graduates face an ever increasing challenges and responsibilities when entering the workforce. Balancing career, continuing education, and family will seem like a daunting task if personal and professional goals are not set. This presentation guides you on how to set your goals in life and help define the path to achieve them. Alice |
| 2013 / Bringing it Back | Melendy Lovett, Keynote Speaker Dispelling the Mythjs of Being a Woman Leader in Technology Melendy Lovett is President of Texas Instruments (TI) Education Technology and Senior Vice President of Texas Instruments, Incorporated. She leads TI’s math and science education technology products and services division, serving secondary schools and higher education worldwide. |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Donna Blackmond, Keynote Speaker Reflections on an Asymmetric Career Path Donna G Blackmond was born April 19, 1958 in Pittsburgh, PA. She received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1984. She is currently Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, and has held professorships in chemistry and in chemical engineering in the US, Germany, and the UK. She has also worked in industrial research in the pharmaceutical industry. Prof. Blackmond has been a Woodward Visiting Scholar at Harvard University (2002-2003) and a Miller Institute Research Fellow at University of California, Berkeley (2003). She received the 2009 Royal Society of Chemistry Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2007, and an Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award in 2005 from the Organic Chemistry Division of ACS. She was an invited lecturer to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Workshop “On the Origin of Life” in 2006. Prof Blackmond’s research focuses on kinetic and mechanistic studies of asymmetric catalytic reactions for pharmaceutical applications as well as on fundamental investigations of the origin of biological homochirality. Dr. Blackmond will follow her career since finishing her PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1984, through positions in academia and industry, in four countries on two continents, in chemical engineering, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, and technical chemistry. These "reflections" will provide the starting point for a general discussion of the rhyme and reason of career choices. |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Elizabeth Lu, Session Speaker Moving Past the B.S.: Beyond the Confines of an Engineering Degree Many people will give you advice about how to manage your career. At the end of the day, you have to do what works for you, and not be limited by other people’s vision. Sometimes it means taking a path that seemingly meanders until you figure out your talents and distinguishing skill sets. Ms. Lu will share her personal experience about leveraging her engineering degree in order to meaningfully contribute to and lead interesting and challenging projects in a variety of industries, including occupational health, toxicology, environment, automotive, energy, military, and information management, while accommodating a spouse in academia. The latter entailed figuring out how to keep her career on track while moving from the San Francisco Bay Area to Boston, Honolulu and finally, Houston. |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Roxanne Jenkins, Session Speaker Transitioning from Academic Life into an Industrial Research Career Dr. Roxanne Jenkins, Sr. Chemist at The Dow Chemical Company will highlight some important themes and necessary change to successfully enter the industrial research field. Roxanne will discuss her experiences, essential competencies to build a successful career, and give her perspective on how to influence your career and quality of life through your behavior. Roxanne has a BS in Chemistry from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a PhD in Chemistry from Texas A&M University. She is currently in Core Research and Development in the Organics, Polymers, and Organometallics Group in Freeport, TX. |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Nina Fefferman, Session Speaker WISE -- Women, Ignore Silly Expectations! Women are becoming better represented in the traditionally male-dominated STEM fields, but that doesn't mean the challenges have disappeared. Standard 'paths to success' are made more difficult by balancing personal and professional expectations in ways men might not face. Dr. Nina Fefferman will argue that since we have to be more flexible, and creative (and stubborn) in figuring out our lives, we can try to use those same skills to do more creative and innovative research. Doing this involves sometimes having to ignore good advice from benevolent people, but it can also be an exciting way to stay energized about your career while rolling with unexpected punches. Dr. Fefferman will share how having her own career plans fall apart led her to a happy and productive academic research career which she could never have anticipated at the outset. Professor Fefferman is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, and also in the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS). |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Jennifer Williams, Session Speaker Leadership Personalities and Building Teams In this interactive session, Dr. Jennifer Williams will introduce concepts of leadership and the role personalities play in leadership. Building teams using personality information will be demonstrated. Dr. Williams is an assistant professor in leadership studies at Texas A&M. There she researches leadership pedagogy and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership theory, team development, organizational culture, and ethics. |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Marcia Ory, Session Speaker Healthy Aging: What you can do to age successfully The American population is aging rapidly, but how one ages depends not only on personal health habits but also on family, work, and community supports. Participants will learn to identify major principles and key determinants to healthy aging, and successful intervention strategies that can promote healthy aging. Information presented should help attendees know what they can do to impact their own aging as well as help others. With 20 years of experience leading a program on Social Science Research at the National Institute on Aging, Dr. Ory is now a Regent Professor in the School of Rural Public Health at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, where she conducts translational research on strategies for best implementing, disseminating, and sustaining evidence-based health promotion programs for older adults. |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Jennifer Marsh, Session Speaker Let's Build a Network Building a network of connections from day one in a new job will enable your success. These networks can provide a support system, help you solve problems and be your advocate as you advance. Dr. Jennifer Marsh, a Research Fellow at The Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati will share her strategies on how to build strong networks and give examples of how they have helped her progress through her career. Jennifer Marsh holds a PhD in chemistry from Oxford University, UK, and she spent two years as a Post-Doc at Texas A&M Chemistry Department. She is now a Research Fellow at P&G in the Beauty Technology Division developing hair color and hair care products. |
| 2012 / Prism of Possibilities | Ruth Schemmer, Session Speaker Networking Bingo Learn how to engage in small talk (always helpful in the professional world), in a light-hearted way. Learn about your fellow attendees while sharpening your networking skills. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Helene Andrews, Session Speaker The Amazing Race: To tenure as 1/2 of a two-academic-career couple... with kids There is no guidebook for an academic career … especially not if you are part of a two-academic career couple, and you have kids pre-tenure. While many people talk about their successes - the failures, and how one recovered from those failures, are far more informative. Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis will share her experiences, complete with mistakes and missteps. Dr. Andrews-Polymenis received her degrees from Brown University, Tufts University, and her D.V.M. from Texas A&M. She is a member of the faculty Texas A&M HSC College of Medicine. Dr. Andrews-Polymenis has an active interest in the changing face of science communication, and she has been blogging on science and science career related topics since 2008. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Mariah Hahn, Session Speaker Managing & Motivating People Whether you work in academia or in industry, you will be constantly interacting with and managing other people. However, this is generally what your formal education has least prepared you for. In this talk, I will discuss approaches for managing and motivating people. Dr. Mariah Hahn is a 6th year Assistant Professor in the department of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University. She received her BS in chemical engineering from UT Austin in 1998 and her PhD in electrical engineering in 2004. Her research at Texas A&M focuses on engineering approaches for regenerating damaged organs. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Veronica Hart, Session Speaker Money Wise Financial planning is a multi-step process that provides you with two important things: (1) An in-depth review of your current financial situation, and (2) a blueprint that shows you how to achieve your goals and objectives for the future. Veronica Hart, a Certified Financial Planner, will discuss how important it is to remember that financial planning is a process . . . not an event. Veronica helps by designing a customized financial plan for her clients, andassists them in learning to implement and monitor their plan. Veronica graduated from Texas A&M with a BBA in Business Analysis. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Shelly Wark, Session Speaker Taking Responsibility for Your Career: Effectively Navigating Industry Making the most of your career path is a lifelong journey fraught with things that have far reaching consequences. What is critical in this path is accepting that most of these things are actually decisions and choices that you have significant control over. Realizing that you are the driver and not the passenger of your own career can empower you to make the most of your time in industry. Shelly Wark is a Senior Electronics Engineer at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. who has worked at that company for over nine years. Ms. Wark holds a BS in Physics from the University of Dallas and an MBA from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. She has worked on multiple aircraft platforms, and is currently working on the F-35. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Michelle Frantzen, Session Speaker My Perfect Life: A Balancing Act Whether you work in academia or in industry, you will be constantly interacting with and managing other people. However, this is generally what your formal education has least prepared you for. In this talk, I will discuss approaches for managing and motivating people. Dr. Mariah Hahn is a 6th year Assistant Professor in the department of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University. She received her BS in chemical engineering from UT Austin in 1998 and her PhD in electrical engineering in 2004. Her research at Texas A&M focuses on engineering approaches for regenerating damaged organs. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Theresa Kotanchek, Keynote Speaker WISE Women Innovating Solutions Everywhere Theresa Kotanchek is the Vice President for Sustainable Technologies and Innovation Sourcing at Dow Chemical. In this role, Theresa leads the strategic integration of sustainability into Dow’s business portfolio and R&D function. Prior to assuming her current role, Theresa was the Chief Technology Officer of Dow Chemical China Company Limited. Kotanchek holds a PhD in Materials Science, an MS in Ceramic Science, and a BS in Ceramic Science & Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. She is an active member of the American Chemical Society, Society of Women Engineers, Council of Industrial Research and has served on the Shanghai American Chamber of Congress—Science & Technology Subcommittee. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Debbie Thomas, Session Speaker Prioritizing at Work - Balancing what you want to do with what you have to do One of the attractions of a career in academia is the freedom to study whatever you choose. However, as with any career, there are components of required or dictated work, regardless of rank. One of the keys to success during the early stages of an academic career is time management – finding the balance between spending time on the tasks related to “why you got into this field” versus those that you simply “have to do”. Thus arises the need to prioritize to ensure progress toward ones goals, and this prioritization encompasses all aspects of research, teaching and service. Dr. Debbie Thomas, Associate Professor in the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M, will discuss the choices she made and lessons learned from personal experience. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Marilyn Tears, Session Speaker Dual Careers – Perspectives, Challenges, & Strategies With a combined 50+ years of experience working for ExxonMobil while raising families, Marilyn and Tara will discuss the challenges they have faced and will share their experiences and suggestions that can assist individuals managing dual careers. Throughout their careers, Marilyn and Tara have held a variety of technical, supervisory, and management assignments. Ms. Tears obtained her BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. Ms. Parker received her BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M. |
| 2011 / Be WISE | Tara Parker, Session Speaker Dual Careers – Perspectives, Challenges, & Strategies |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Merna Jacobsen, Session Speaker Handling Conflict and Difficult People Like a Pro! The ability to address conflict in a professional manner is a key tool for success. In this session we will review the foundations for dealing with conflict. We will then see demonstrations of effective conflict resolution skills in practice. Participants will learn the do's and don'ts of conducting a confrontation, the number one skill for resolving conflicts, and specific strategies for handling a range of conflict situations. Merna Jacobsen currently serves as the Coordinator of Organizational and Staff Development for the Division of Student Affairs and Director of the Women’s Resource Center at Texas A&M. In addition to her work in higher education, Merna has worked in the fields of training, facilitation and mediation for twenty years. She holds a B.S. in Education, an M.A. in Speech Communication, and is in the dissertation stage of her PH.D. in Educational Administration & Human Resource Development at Texas A&M University. |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Unoma Okorafor, Session Speaker Successful Negotiations: Achieving a Win-Win Situation Negotiation is a careful exploration of your position and another party's position, with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable compromise that gives you both as much of what you want as possible. There are several possible outcomes to negotiations. In this talk Dr. Unoma Okorafor will focus on reaching a win-win goal, where honesty and openness are almost always the best policies. Using tricks and manipulation during a negotiation can undermine trust and damage teamwork and long term relationships. Dr. Okorafor will discuss how to recognize and avoid potential pitfalls in negotiations and focus on specific areas including negotiating your salary or promotion in the work place. Additionally, she will highlight the role of negotiation using personal examples from on-going work that involves empowering girls through education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) related fields. Dr. Okorafor received a M.Sc. Degree in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University, and completed her Ph.D. degree at Texas A & M University. Her research interests include secure network connectivity for wireless networks. In the past, she has interned at Intel, HP and IBM. She currently works with the Education Technology Division at Texas Instruments, Dallas Texas. Dr. Okorafor is very passionate about promoting science, technology, engineering and math education for middle school and high school students, with a special focus on female and minority students. She is the founder of a nonprofit organization named WAAW Foundation (Working to Advance African Women). |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Valerie Taylor, Session Speaker Recognizing & Evaluating Good Opportunities There are often multiple routes to achieve one’s goals. We are often faced with many opportunities, for which the major question is how to identify opportunities that are good and are along the path of achieving one’s goals. Dr. Valerie Taylor will discuss methods for evaluating opportunities and give examples from personal experience. Dr. Taylor is head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and holder of the Royce E. Wisenbaker Professorship I in Engineering at Texas A&M University. Her research interests are in the area of high-performance computing, with particular emphasis on the performance analysis and modeling of parallel and distributed applications. She received a B.S. in computer and electrical engineering and an M.S. in electrical engineering, both from Purdue University, and her Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Janet Bluemel, Session Speaker Recognizing Opportunities and Making the Best Use of Them Janet Bluemel has been a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University for three years. However, outside of one year as a postdoc at UC Berkeley, she spent most of her academic career in Germany. She obtained her Ph.D. at the Technical University of Munich, where she also did her Habilitation (Assistant Professor) as the first female in the Inorganic Division. After ten years in the Organic Chemistry Division of the University of Heidelberg as an Associate Professor (the first female professor in this division) she joined the faculty at Texas A&M. Based on her international and double-career couple experiences, Dr. Bluemel will discuss professional opportunities in the US and in Europe. Taking her personal strategic mistakes, as well as achievements into account, Dr. Bluemel will point out some crucial elements about how to make optimal use of opportunities. |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Stephanie A Bejune, Session Speaker The Career Train: How to Navigate in the 21st Century without Going Off Track These days, it seems like everywhere we turn, we hear that career management is not what it was when our parents and grandparents were young. The days of remaining with one company and climbing the traditional “career ladder” are over. Many organizations have become lean and flat, requiring flexibility and creativity in order to grow into roles and remain challenged, without necessarily moving quickly upward. That being said, there are many career path options if one is open to looking in new areas and willing to accept risk. Along with new types of opportunities, the vehicles for successful job searching and ensuring career progression are also new. Modern technology and social networking now play as much a role in career development as traditional networking. In order to ensure the best chances for success, one must learn to navigate all these avenues. Stephanie Bejune is currently the Operations Chemist for BASF Corporation’s polyacohols manufacturing in Freeport, TX. Stephanie graduated with a B.A. in Mathematics and Chemistry from Smith College and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Purdue University. She joined BASF in 2002 and has held positions in R&D, process development and quality assurance, marketing, business consulting, and manufacturing operations and is active in Ph.D. chemist recruiting efforts. |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Kate C. Miller, Keynote Speaker Discovering the Sciences – It’s a Blast! Dr. Kate C. Miller, Dean of the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University, will share how she parlayed an interest in science as a young girl into a career in university teaching, research and administration. Along the way, she will give examples of how she was able to make life choices in order to have both a meaningful personal life and a fulfilling career. As part of her research, Dean Miller conducts experiments that include setting off large blasts to generate seismic waves. Her research focuses primarily on the application of active source seismology to the origin and evolution of the continental lithosphere. In recent years, this work has resulted in student research and publications on the west coast of North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and central and eastern Europe. With her students, she recently wrapped up research in continental rifts including the southern Rio Grande Rift and Lake Baikal. Current projects include the active source experiment for the NSF-funded BATHOLITHS Project, that took place in the summer of 2009 and the seismic experiment for the Big Horn Mountains, an NSF EarthScope project, which is scheduled for the summer of 2010. BATHOLITHS is a multi-disciplinary study of the Coast Range Plutonic Complex of British Columbia directed at understanding the magmatic evolution of continental arcs. The Big Horns project is a multi-disciplinary investigation of how contractional basement-involved foreland arches, such as those that comprise the central Rocky Mountains, form and are linked to plate tectonic processes. |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Ruth Schemmer, Session Speaker What Are You Going to Do With That?" "What Are You Going to Do With That?" --The question everyone wants to know when you say you're getting a graduate degree. Explore science and engineering careers that also match your traits, values and interests, not just your skills. Ruth Schemmer has been with the Career Center for over 10 years. Since August 2003, she has been the Associate Director for Graduate Student Services. She works with PhD and Master's students on all aspects of their job searches. Ruth has presented numerous career workshops for graduate students, including Resume/CV Writing, Interviewing Skills, Networking, and the Academic Job Search. She earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and both a master's degree and Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas A&M. Ruth enjoys reading, and flower gardening in her spare time, but mostly she's a "political junkie" whose spare time is taken up with NPR, CNN and MSNBC! She has two daughters-one is a physical therapist and the other is part of the Teach for America program, teaching Head Start just outside DC-and two adorable teenaged cats. |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Sally Dodson-Robinson, Session Speaker Making the Most of Your Interview Opportunity From the first phone interview to the two-day campus visit, each interaction with a prospective employer offers a unique opportunity to showcase skills and accomplishments. Dr. Sally Dodson-Robinson, an Assistant Professor in the University of Texas Astronomy Department who has served on postdoctoral and faculty hiring committees, will discuss how successful job candidates separate themselves from other interviewees. She will contrast these success stories with several common interview mistakes. Dr. Dodson-Robinson holds a B.S. in Imaging Science from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. |
| 2010 / Creating Opportunities: Putting Your Best Foot Forward | Zakya Kafafi, Session Speaker Research and Education: Looking Back, Racing Forward |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Mary Anne Holmes, Keynote Speaker Strategies for Career Success: New Models of Flexability for Academics The tenure system of academia evolved to protect freedom of speech for academics when most academics were males with wives taking care of the homefront. Nothing could be simpler than a career path that took you from college through graduate school and into your first job by your early to mid-30s. Take another seven years to earn tenure, and voila! Your career begins in your late 30s! But, when was that family supposed to fit in? New models offer much more flexibility and need to be part of your startup negotiation. |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Susan Quiring, Session Speaker Put Your Best Fork Forward: Polished Dining Skills 50% of business decisions are made around the dining table. Polished table manners & social skills can take you to another level of professionalism. By increasing your confidence in dining skills, promoting courtesy and respect, you will ultimately enhance your competitive edge. Susan Quiring, director of Class Act Etiquette and Susan’s Ballroom Dance, offers Cotillion Etiquette & Dance course for 3rd-12th graders in February and June each year. She offers dining etiquette & social skills seminars through Texas A&M University, businesses, sororities, & churches. With over 18 years experience as a ballroom dance instructor, Susan offers ongoing classes and private instruction for teens and adults, and special wedding packages. Susan earned her doctorate from Kansas State University. Her broad-based career includes an associate professorship at Texas A&M University and 12 years as a 4-H agent and Home Economist. |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Charlotte Burress, Session Speaker Transitioning from Graduate Student to Professional Do you wonder what will happen after graduate school? Can you imagine what you would be doing if you spent less time at work? Life after graduate school may seem like a dream right now but it will happen before you realize it. In this talk, we will discuss how to transition from the graduate student mindset into the professional scientist or engineer career world. As most graduate students have conquered the transition between undergraduate to graduate student, we believe that we can easily make the shift to the professional world. However, this particular transition can be more difficult for various reasons, including determining your role in an established organization, having ample time after work, and moving into a different socioeconomic class. Learning about the transition before it happens will give you insight and possibly an advantage over other recent graduate hires. Charlotte has a BS in Chemistry from Tulane University and her PhD from Texas A&M University. She is currently with Baroid Fluid Services Research and Development laboratories, where she spearheads the Knowledge Management efforts. |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Wendy Gordon, Session Speaker Doing Science in the Public Eye In this talk, we will discuss how to work in the public eye. As we move forward in our scientific careers we may be involved in projects that directly involve the public. These types of projects bring with them a new level of complexity. Not only do you have to satisfy the requirements of your project but you also have to satisfy the public. This can require you to have stakeholder meetings, incorporate public ideas into your project, and have public approval before moving forward with the experiment. Learning about how to work in the public eye before you are tossed into it will help lead to successful projects. Dr. Gordon has had ample experience working in the public eye in her positions with the Texas Parks and Wildlife, where she is currently, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. In these positions she has perfected her skills in collaborating with stakeholders, managing and initiating diverse projects, and monitoring and analyzing research. Wendy received her AB in Biology from Brown University, her Masters in Resource Policy from University of Michigan, and her Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Texas. |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Janet Ellzey, Session Speaker Finding Your Voice, Following Your Passion Pursuing your own dreams can be difficult particularly if your interests are different from those of your colleagues. In this talk, Dr. Ellzey will discuss how she found her passion in her work by developing the international engineering program in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas. Dr. Ellzey is Assistant Dean for International Engineering Education and also a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She also worked for 3 years at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. She currently oversees international programs including Maymesters, summer schools, and semester exchanges. In addition, she is faculty advisor to Engineers Without Borders. |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Barbara Serr, Session Speaker Options for an Industrial Career Dr. Barbara Serr, Research Leader at The Dow Chemical Company, will discuss career options in an industrial setting - what types of careers are available, dealing with dual career issues, how performance is evaluated, and fitting in to the corporate culture. Dr. Serr earned a BS in Chemistry from the University of Denver (1984), and a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Colorado State University (1989). She has worked for Dow for the past 18 years in various positions and locations. She began her career in the Analytical Sciences department in Pittsburg, CA, then transferred to Plaquemine, LA. Then she became a R&D Leader for a small business group in Freeport, TX. She then spent over two years in a TS&D position helping to launch a new product for a small business in Chicago, IL. Two years ago, she moved back into Analytical Sciences in Freeport, TX. |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Nani H. Arce, Session Speaker Why Do You Set Limits Nani H. Arce, MS, will share how networking and setting personal goals assists in both personal and professional growth. She will discuss how we set limits upon ourselves, and how assessing your options and defining your goals will assist in clarifying the lack of true limits to reach your potential. She will describe how she made her career choices, and the benefits/pitfalls of government contract work compared to commercial industry. Nani is a Food System Engineer for United Space Alliance also known as USA, currently the primary contractor for NASA. She has been engineering flight food hardware for Shuttle and International Space Station for six years and received a Bachelors of Science in Food Science & Technology from Texas A & M University and a Masters of Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. |
| 2009 / Assessing Your Options and Defining Your Goals | Laura Hunsicker-Wang, Session Speaker Is a Career at a Private, Liberal Arts College the Right Path for You? Laura Hunsicker-Wang is an assistant professor of chemistry at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. She will discuss what it is like to work at a predominantly undergraduate institution (PUI). Small, private, liberal arts colleges, often called PUI’s, produce many of the top scholars in the sciences in the United States. In a tenure track position at these universities, there are often high expectations in teaching and increasingly in research as well. These schools generally strive to have a low student to faculty ratio, so there are many opportunities to have close working relationships with the students in both the classroom and in the research lab. Items to consider when thinking about applying to schools such as these are a commitment to undergraduate education, finding a balance between research and teaching, and maintaining a home life. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Elena Castell-Perez, Session Speaker Standing Out at Conferences: The Impressive Poster |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Angie Hill Price, Keynote Speaker Be Careful of What You Say: Someone May Not Be Listening Dr. Angie Hill Price is an Associate Professor in the Manufacturing and Mechanical Program in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University. She has industrial experience as a welding engineer for Chicago Bridge and Iron and for Grant Prideco SA de CV in Veracruz, Mexico. During her stay in Veracruz, Dr. Price developed quality procedures pertaining to welding, trained welding operators in quality inspection and standards, and supervised the repair of a 15,000 lb forge hammer. Dr. Price currently serves as the Speaker of the TAMU Faculty Senate and as such represents the faculty in all matters of shared governance. She also is the Interim Program Coordinator for the Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology Program and Faculty Advisor for the Texas A&M University Student Chapter of the American Welding Society. Dr. Price also is on various committees and boards at the University including the TAMU Council on Culture and Diversity, the Texas Science Olympiad Board of Directors, and she serves as co-chair of the TAMU Transportation Services Advisory Committee. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Leigh Weisshaupt, Session Speaker Why Should We Hire YOU? Selling Yourself and Communicating Your Strengths Leigh Weisshaupt, Campus Recruiting Manager for Intel Corporation, will discuss the importance of presenting yourself well when looking for a job. She will provide tips on 1) communication for career fairs, info sessions, interviewing, 2) the best way to learn more about a company and the importance of networking, even when you are not yet employed by that company, 3) how recruiting and the "system" works at Intel (and probably a lot of other big companies). Ms. Weisshaupt has an MBA from Arizona State University and has been working at Intel for 7 years. She currently is the Campus Recruiting Manager, and as such serves as the recruiting representative for Intel to 6 universities across the US, one of which is Texas A&M. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Mary Ann O'Farrell, Session Speaker Boy Was My Face Red: Thinking About the Blush Dr. Mary Ann O'Farrell will explore non-verbal communication, specifically relating to the cultural meanings of blushing, thinking about why and when we sometimes feel blushes are to be expected and why it is we sometimes like to announce that we're undergoing them. Mary Ann O'Farrell is an Associate Professor and Associate Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English at Texas A&M University. She is the author of "Telling Complexions: The Nineteenth-century English Novel and the Blush" and co-editor of "Virtual Gender: Fantasies of Subjectivity and Embodiment." Her current book project, "A Rhetoric of Jane Austens," examines the uses of Jane Austen in contemporary culture. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Carolyn Sumners, Session Speaker Lessons Learned Dr. Carolyn Sumners is Vice President of Astronomy and the Physical Sciences at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Adjunct Professor in Physics and Astronomy at Rice University. At the Museum, she has taught adults, astronauts, and over a million students. She has written trade books, a textbook series, and over 50 planetarium shows. Her inventions include the Challenger Learning Center, which has been replicated over 50 times, and the portable digital theater. She has also conducted research in archaeoastronomy using the planetarium to replicate the night sky at critical moments in history. Dr. Sumners has also just completed a research program on the effectiveness of informal science experiences on science knowledge and attitudes for inner city students in collaboration with the College of Education at the University of Houston. Dr. Sumners will speak on the challenges and positive aspects of informal science in a Museum setting and communication with an audience that is not an expert in your field. She will draw upon her 37 years experience with the Houston Museum of Natural Science where she has taught over a million students directly, ranging from pre-schoolers to astronauts and has produced programs that have reached millions more. This she considers her most meaningful achievement. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Bonnie Charpentier, Session Speaker Effective Networking Communications - Tips and Caveats Networking is a fundamental process in professional development and human relations. Networking is also a term that provokes many misconceptions about effective communication and relationship building. Dr. Charpentier will discuss what works and what doesn’t in effective networking, the role of networking at different career stages, the importance of professional societies in networking, and tools for effective communication and networking. A Texas native, Dr. Charpentier received a BA in anthropology and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Houston. She worked for a decade as an analytical chemist at the Procter and Gamble Co. in Cincinnati before moving to a career in Regulatory Affairs at Syntex in Palo Alto, California. Following the buy-out of Syntex by Hoffman-LaRoche, Dr. Charpentier rose to the position of Vice President and Regulatory Site Head for Roche Global Development where she participated in development and worldwide approvals for drugs in several therapeutic areas. From 2001-2006 she was Vice President of Regulatory and Quality at Genitope Corporation, a biotechnology company. She is currently VP of Regulatory and Quality at Metabolex, Inc. in Hayward, CA working in the area of treatment of metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Dr. Charpentier has been very active in the American Chemical Society at local and national levels and currently serves on the ACS Board of Directors. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Rosana Moreira, Session Speaker Standing Out at Conferences: The Impressive Poster Have you ever presented a poster at a conference attended by thousands of people? Have you experienced the overwhelming feeling of being "one more" of many and having people passing by your poster? Though the topic and content are critical for a good poster, its delivery is essential! Drs. Moreira and Castell-Perez have prepared posters for presentation of their research innumerable times and will give you some tips on how to make yours the one that people remember! |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Ann Kenimer, Session Speaker Teaching a Tough Audience: Using Effective Communications to Facilitate Learning Whether or not you pursue a career directly related to education, chances are good you will undertake teaching during your professional career. Outside the traditional classroom, teaching may be required as you explain project solutions to clients, conduct public hearings, or mentor new employees. In some cases, your audience will eagerly want your information. Sometimes, though, as with a required course, your audience may not be interested in the content you need to provide. Dr. Ann Kenimer will discuss how effective teaching communications can be used to help you involve and motivate even the toughest audience. Dr. Kenimer is Associate Dean of Academic Operations in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. She received much recognition for teaching including the Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence and the Association of Former Students Distinguished Service from Texas A&M University and the A.W. Farrall Young Educator Award from the Association of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Suma Datta, Session Speaker Tailoring your presentation to your audience: the art of the talk During the course of our careers, we all need to present our work to a (hopefully admiring and appreciative) audience. But how do we sell our ideas and thus ourselves to disparate groups of administrators, students, and colleagues of different stripes? The key is knowing the technical background of your audience and how to connect your work to their interests. Suma Datta did her graduate work in Biology at the University of California-San Diego. From there she moved across the country to Yale for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Developmental Neurogenetics before accepting a position in the Departments of Biology and of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M. Her research interests include human prostate cancer progression and developing model systems for aging and cancer studies. Suma has spoken at numerous International meetings, University seminar series and Student Organization workshops and meetings. |
| 2008 / Breaking Barriers through Communication | Ruth Schemmer, Session Speaker Mastering Elevator Talk: 30 Seconds to Make Your Case - The University Club Ruth Schemmer has been with the TAMU Career Center since 1999, and has been the Associate Director for Graduate Student Services for 4 years. In addition to one-on-one advising, Ruth has presented numerous workshops for graduate students, including Resume/CV Writing, Interviewing Skills, Networking, and the Academic Job Search. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and both a master’s and Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas A&M. |
| 2007 / Bridging the Gap | Lesia L. Crumpton-Young, Session Speaker Bridging the Gap: The Art of Being True to Yourself Often in today’s society it is difficult to determine what one should do given the many demands and expectations of others within the workplace, our families, and our communities. This workshop will focus on discussing tools and techniques that will assist one in determining what “you really want to do” as well as discuss a strategy that allows you to “do what you really want to do”. Lesia Crumpton-Young received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University. She is currently a Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Development at the University of Central Florida. |
| 2007 / Bridging the Gap | Cindy Fang, Session Speaker Achieving the American Dream The dream of a successful career and a happy family life is defined by many as the “American Dream.” Is it possible to achieve this without feeling guilty for working on one but not the other? Is it possible that we can have it all? Dr. Cindy Fang a mother of three with a successful career at Chevron, will share her experiences balancing the dual roles of responsibilities of motherhood and a demanding career. |
| 2007 / Bridging the Gap | Helen Reed, Session Speaker Establishing Career Development Opportunities in Science and Engineering Dr. Helen Reed, Head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, will discuss career development opportunities: moving smoothly from the classroom to the job market. To foster this transition Dr. Reed established AggieSat Lab in March 2005. This program bridges the gap between an engineering education and real out-of-this-world projects. Their missions demonstrate and develop modern technologies by utilizing a nanosatellite platform while educating students and enriching the undergraduate experience. |
| 2007 / Bridging the Gap | Candace Coyle, Session Speaker Research vs. Service – Serving Two Masters? Is it possible to be successful in academia as both a researcher and an asset to the community? With the growing stresses associated with the tenure-track positions in chemistry, it can be somewhat daunting to excel in research while still maintaining a balance to serve the community and students. Is it possible to acheive success in both? Dr. Candace M. Coyle, an Assistant Professor in Chemistry at University of Texas San Antonio, will share her experiences of balancing the dual roles of researcher and contributor to several university and community organizations throughout the San Antonio area. |
| 2007 / Bridging the Gap | Tarla Peterson, Session Speaker Dispelling the Either/Or Threat with the Both/And Promise At the beginning of the 21st Century, women still struggle to justify their right to simultaneously function as professional scientists and retain legitimate personhood beyond their professional identity. Although all life includes tradeoffs, those tradeoffs do not necessarily translate into being EITHER a successful professional scientist OR a whole human being. Rather, wise tradeoffs should direct us into paths that allow us to be successful BOTH as professional scientists AND whatever else we choose. Dr. Tarla Peterson is a Professor in Wildlife and Conservation Policy at Texas A&M University. |
| 2007 / Bridging the Gap | Christine Stanley, Keynote Speaker Campus Climate for Women and Minorities in Higher Education In her role as Executive Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Higher Education in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University, Dr. Stanley is primarily responsible for faculty development, recruitment and retention, promotion and tenure, diversity, and administrator development. An educator, recovering biologist, teacher, consultant, and faculty developer, she has taught courses on college teaching, professional development in higher education, and diversity and social justice in higher education. She is a recent editor of the book Faculty of Color: Teaching in Predominantly White Colleges and Universities and co-editor of Engaging Large Classes: Strategies and Techniques for College Faculty. She is the 2000-2001 recipient of Texas A&M’s College of Education Development Council’s Outstanding New Faculty Award. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas A&M, she was Associate Director of the Office of Faculty and TA Development at The Ohio State University. A native of Jamaica, Dr. Stanley received a B.S. in Biology from Prairie View A&M University, an M.S. in Zoology from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in the College Teaching Cognate area at Texas A&M University. |
| 2007 / Bridging the Gap | Nicole Perez Stedman, Session Speaker Leading Change in Your Personal and Professional Life Do you ever wonder how some individuals seem unfazed by changes taking place around them? This workshop will address many of the issues and concerns individuals have with change in their lives. Specifically, models of leading change from personal and professional contexts will be discussed in an interactive forum. Nicole Perez Stedman received a Ph.D. in Agricultural Leadership from the University of Florida. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications Department at Texas A&M University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses; her focus of research is leadership education with an emphasis in critical thinking and emotional intelligence. |
| 2006 / Goals for Success | Mary Krenceski, Session Speaker A Career “At the Bench”: Can It Really Be Done? Almost everyone starts their career in science with emphasis on their technical skills and experimental work. With time, many people shift into management or other positions that take them farther and farther away from their technical expertise. Does a dual career ladder (technical vs. managerial) really exist? Is it possible to have a rewarding career and keep a primarily technical role? The choice really belongs to the individual. Various aspects of a non-managerial, technical career path will be discussed including the advantages and disadvantages, particularly in career choices for women. Mary Krenceski holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Siena College and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Connecticut in Materials (Polymer) Science. She has worked at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, NY and at several different businesses within General Electric in the Albany, NY area. An industrial sabbatical took her to the Institut für Makromolekulare Chemie, Freiburg, Germany for a year. She is currently a Senior Materials Scientist at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY. Mary has been “at the bench”, by choice, for 25 years! |
| 2006 / Goals for Success | Susan Morrissey, Session Speaker Alternative Careers in Science: Science Journalism Pursuing an advanced degree in science or engineering does not predestine one to working in a traditional academic or industrial setting. Alternatives to traditional career paths do exist and have grown in popularity over the years. This talk will investigate some of these alternatives with a focus on science journalism. Specifically, the talk will discuss what it’s like to work on the weekly newsmagazine, Chemical & Engineering News. Susan Morrissey is an Associate Editor at Chemical & Engineering News—a weekly magazine published by the American Chemical Society. Currently she writes in the area of science policy. She holds an A.B. in chemistry from Franklin & Marshall College (1995) and a Ph.D., also in chemistry, from Texas A&M University (1999). |
| 2006 / Goals for Success | Amber Hinkle, Session Speaker Definition of Success Dr. Amber Hinkle, a research scientist in the Plastics Laboratory at Bayer Material Science, will discuss how success is defined for many professionals in the scientific field today. It will also show the many faces of successful women in the sciences and highlight success stories of women scientists. Dr. Hinkle will talk about the challenges, positive influences, and personal aspirations that have helped shape their individual careers. The diverse professional choices they have made and the range of innovative strategies they have employed guarantee their stories will provide inspiration for anyone interested in achieving success in the sciences - or any technical field. |
| 2006 / Goals for Success | Elsa Murano, Keynote Speaker Perspectives on leadership in a changing world Dr. Elsa Murano was appointed Vice Chancellor and Dean, Agriculture and Life Sciences and Director, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at Texas A&M University on January 3, 2005. In 2001, Dr. Murano was appointed Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture, by President George W. Bush. Dr. Murano served as the highest ranking food safety official in the U.S. government with the responsibility of overseeing the policies and programs of the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). Prior to this appointment, Dr. Murano was appointed professor in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University after having been associate professor in that same department since 1995. She was awarded the Sadie Hatfield Professorship in Agriculture in 2000. Also while at Texas A&M University, Dr. Murano served as director of the Center for Food Safety within the Institute of Food Science and Engineering from 1997 to 2001 and associate director from 1995 to 1997. Dr. Murano served as professor in charge of research programs at the Linear Accelerator Facility at Iowa State University from 1992 to 1995. She was an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Preventative Medicine at Iowa State University from 1990 to 1995 A native of Havana, Cuba, Dr. Murano received her B.S. in biological sciences from Florida International University. She received her M.S. in anaerobic microbiology and Ph.D. in food science and technology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She resides in Bryan, TX with her husband Dr. Peter S. Murano. |
| 2006 / Goals for Success | Carolyn Ribes, Session Speaker Strategies for Success in Industry Carolyn Ribes, Ph.D., a Process Analyst for The Dow Chemical Company will discuss networking, mentoring, and essential competencies for success (teamwork, interpersonal effectiveness, learning, leadership, etc). Dr. Ribes has been a member of the Analytical Sciences/Core R&D group for 16 years. As a Technical Leader, her responsibilities include developing and implementing technology for global manufacturing plants and identifying opportunities for measurements to improve process reliability and product properties. She has served as Chair of the Women Chemists Committee of the American Chemical Society. Carolyn earned her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 1989 from the University at Buffalo, SUNY. |
| 2006 / Goals for Success | Manda Rosser, Session Speaker The Leader In You In today's society the word leadership is used to mean many things. This session will be an interactive way to learn about the qualities of leadership and followership. You will discover things about your own leadership traits and how to use them. Manda H. Rosser received a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development at Texas A&M University. She has extensive experience in developing young professionals and working with organizations to initiate positive change. She currently works at Texas A&M University as an assistant professor in the Department of Agriculture Leadership, Education, and Communication where she is teaching and researching leadership and individual development. |
| 2006 / Goals for Success | Kayleen Helms, Session Speaker Time Management for Successful Life Balance Searching for balance in life is one of today’s biggest problems for many women pursuing technical career paths. Many career-focused men also face this challenge; however, their communication and work styles/approaches typically help them avoid the “super woman” trap which engulfs many women. Both genders deal with this conflict daily as today’s lifestyle demands have never-ending “To Do” lists, etc. Dr. Kayleen L. E. Helms, the mechanics technical liaison with Intel Corporation, will focus on several key aspects of this struggle for balance and provide advice gained through many years of “juggling”. She will make suggestions on what might be done to achieve a comfortable LIFE balance of career, family, friends, hobbies, and “ME” time! Dr. Helms has an unusual background in that she held a wide range of jobs from Banquet Manager to Statistical Accountant (and sometimes three jobs at a time!) while she supported a disabled parent and financed 100% of her engineering education. |
| 2005 / From Thriving to Surviving | Sharon Nunes, Keynote Speaker 21st Century careers: who will be in demand for our on-demand world? |
| 2005 / From Thriving to Surviving | Karen Kubena, Session Speaker A Career in 21st Century Academia Dr. Karen Kubena will discuss the challenges and joys of being a faculty member at a major research institution. She will share her personal strategies for balancing the demands of an academic career with the rest of one's life. There are many choices to be made as an academic – learn which ones she made and about any second thoughts she may have had! Karen is a professor within the Human Nutrition Section in the Department of Animal Science, as well as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. |
| 2005 / From Thriving to Surviving | Jane Schielack, Session Speaker A Grant is not something you GET -- it's something you do All university faculty are encouraged to "get grant funding." It is well-known that applying for and obtaining outside funding are important components of "surviving" in our academic settings, but how can these activities contribute to "thriving?" In this session, Dr. Jane F. (Janie) Scheilack, a professor in the department of Mathamatics at Texas A&M University, will discuss aspects that are important to consider before, during, and after grant writing and implementation in order to make the experience one that not only satisfies job expectations, but also contributes to profressional growth and enjoyment. Dr. Schielack is currently a Co-PL and Project Director of the NSF-funded Information Technology in Science (ITS) center for Teaching and Learning, a joint project between the Colleges of Science and Eduaction that seeks to replentish the nation's supply of science education specialists through team-led, learner-centered opportunities involving scientists, mathematicians, education researchers, and education practitioners. |
| 2005 / From Thriving to Surviving | Elizabeth Freeland, Session Speaker Coping with and Supporting Career Breaks in the Sciences Dr. Freeland received her Ph.D. in condensed matter physics from The Johns Hopkins University in 1996. She is married to a physicist and has two children. Currently she holds an adjunct teaching position and collaborates with physicists at Fermi National Accelerator Lab outside of Chicago. Her current research interest is the numerical calculation of coefficients related to quark-quark interactions in order to study the weak interaction of the Standard Model of particle physics. Her talk will focus on career-breaks: avoiding them, taking them, and how to get back "in". She will also promote discussion on whether or not career-breaks should be more acceptable in science and academic career paths and what institutions might do to make them so. |
| 2005 / From Thriving to Surviving | Elizabeth Piocos, Session Speaker Dual Career, Motherhood and Technical Competence: Thriving in Industrial R&D |
| 2005 / From Thriving to Surviving | DonnaJean Fredeen, Session Speaker Navigating a Career in the Academy, How to Insure a Pleasant Journey As the completion of graduate school draws near, the career opportunities may sometimes appear to be daunting. A decision ro pursue or not pursue a career in academicsmost often is based upon the impression of the academy created by the gradutate school experience. Such an impression is certainly skewed, given that most graduate school expriences occur at Research Extensive Universities. This Presentation will explore all of the options available when choosing a career in academics including mapping the best journey, the detours to consider and the potholes to avoid. |
| 2005 / From Thriving to Surviving | Karan Watson, Session Speaker Recharging Your Batteries: Maintaining a Personal Life With the Rigors of Research, Teaching, and Service Scholars often lament that there is little or too little time to keep up with all the demands of the job, leaving no time to have and/or maintain a personal life amongst the pressures and demands of teaching, research, and service responsibilities. In this session, Watson, Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost at Texas A&M University, will focus on frameworks for recognizing the need and then to "recharge your internal batteries." |
| 2004 / Taking Care of Yourself | Nancy Algert, Session Speaker Finding Your Career Passion |
| 2004 / Taking Care of Yourself | Linda A. Guarino, Session Speaker Getting Funded |
| 2004 / Taking Care of Yourself | Judith Baer, Session Speaker The Mother, the State, and the Workplace |
| 2004 / Taking Care of Yourself | Becky Allee, Session Speaker The Road to Success |
| 2004 / Taking Care of Yourself | Vivian Pinn, Keynote Speaker The Women's Health Challenge: Take the Initiative |
| 2004 / Taking Care of Yourself | Donna J. Nelson, Session Speaker Title IX Isn't Just a Sports Law |
| 2003 / Access to Success | Beverly Hartline, Keynote Speaker Advancing Women in Science and Engineering Women are underrepresented in physical science and engineering professions in nearly all countries. They become scarcer as their level of education and responsibility rises. |
| 2003 / Access to Success | Patricia LiWang, Session Speaker Selling Yourself in Words and Deeds: Tips on Grant Writing and Seminar Preparation Regardless of the economic climate, obtaining money to carry out scientific and engineering work is always very challenging and requires strong justification both in writing and speaking. |
| 2003 / Access to Success | Tamy Frank, Session Speaker Changing Careers & Knowing You Can Make That Choice Whether you are choosing a career for the first time or have discovered that you dislike the career choice you have made, you are sometimes faced with difficult career decisions and choices of your life. |
| 2003 / Access to Success | Dawn Mason, Session Speaker The Industrial Highway: One Scientist's Road Trip |
| 2003 / Access to Success | Theresa A. Maldonado, Session Speaker Hey, What Did You Mean By That? Being a female in the predominately male field of electrical engineering can lead to experiences involving cultural misunderstandings and downright offensive behavior. At the same time, rewarding, enriching experiences and productivity can arise due to gender diversity in the work environment. Well, then, where are all the women? |
| 2003 / Access to Success | Debra Rolison, Session Speaker A Time to Thrive: Accumulating Advantage for Women in Science and Engineering Science and engineering departments need more women as faculty. Most of our research universities now recognize the importance of a diversified student body, but this recognition is not yet reflected in their caculty pool. Similar difficulties are apparent among the staff of National and Federal laboratories. |
| 2003 / Access to Success | Leigh Turner, Session Speaker Choices and Opportunities: The Empowered Job-Seeker All too often, job-seekers feel that their careers, and, indeed their lives, are out of their control as they compete for jobs, conform to accepted interviewing practices, and sekk to decipher job descriptions. It's important to remember, though, that you are in control, you do have choices, and the skills that have served you well in the classroom will also serve you well in the job search! |
| 2002 / Women in Transition | Julie Thomas, Session Speaker As women in science, we face challenges in going from college student, to young professional, to wife, and then mother -- although not necessarily in that order. Diana Fuentes recently put aside her career to be at home with her first child and pursue an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Diana will speak about the many ways that women can re-invent themselves to keep doing what they love and believe in. Diana was valedictorian of a small high school in an area where 50% of entering freshmen did not make it to graduation. She attended GMI Engineering & Management Institute in Flint, MI with the help of various organizations including the DuPont Minority Scholarship. She received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Industrial Chemistry. Diana's first job out of college was in a sand mine in Northern Virginia where she was the only female employee. She was most recently an Equipment Engineer for Texas Instruments-Dallas. |
| 2002 / Women in Transition | Gloria Montano, Session Speaker Graduate school in the sciences and a career in research pose a stress beyond that of tackling a difficult challenge. Unlike many ambitious career paths, the road to a science PhD and later success has few landmarks to let you know how you are progressing. The ability to objectively assess your qualifications, productivity, and suitability for various career options is an important skill to develop. This talk will focus on the importance of developing perspective in assessing your accomplishments relative to those around you. Dr. Susan Golden is a Professor in the Department of Biology at TAMU, where she directs a laboratory that studies the mechanisms of the 24-hour biological (circadian) clock in cyanobacteria. Editor of the Journal of Bacteriology, she is a member of the American Academy of Microbiology. |
| 2002 / Women in Transition | Marlene Zuk, Session Speaker We're all planning on earning our degrees and waltzing off into the sunset to save our own little research-related corner of the world, right? But what if (*gasp* and perish the thought!) things don't go quite as we plan? Here are some suggestions that aren't usually part of the Scientist or Engineers career guide. Julie Thomas obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry (computational inorganic) from Texas A&M University under Professor Michael Hall in 1997. Since graduating she has conducted research in synthetic carborane chemistry and chemical warfare defense. She has also worked as a church secretary and headhunter. She is currently a UNIX Systems Administrator with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). She is married and lives in Elgin, Texas with two dogs, two cats, and a fish. |
| 2002 / Women in Transition | Susan Golden, Session Speaker People have always looked to animals as illustrations and models of behavior. With respect to gender, animals are used in two ways, both of which can be detrimental to our understanding of the animals as well as ourselves. Marlene Zuk is a professor at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Zuk earned her B.A. in 1977 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, her M.S. in 1983 from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in 1986 from the University of Michigan. Marlene is an elected Fellow of AAAS and is an honorary member of the Golden Key Honor Society. |
| 2002 / Women in Transition | Missy Cummings, Session Speaker Missy Cummings, one of the Navy's first female fighter pilots, will talk about her experiences as an aviation pioneer, her transformation from a small town southern belle to a woman of strength, and the importance of conquering fears. Mary (Missy) Cummings received her B.S. in Mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1988 and her M.S. in Space Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994. She spent ten years in the Navy. While in the Navy, she also worked as an assistant program manager in a Navy industrial engineering plant. Her previous teaching experience includes instructing for the U.S. Navy at Pennyslvania State University, and most recently as an assistant professor for the Virginia Tech Engineering Fundamentals Division. She is now a doctoral student in the University of Virginia Systems Engineering department. |
| 2002 / Women in Transition | Barbara Parker, Session Speaker It's time to put that education to work and begin your career... but where do you start? Want ads? Internet sites? Head hunters? Which are the most effective methods in a slow economy and how can they be best utilized? What should you be looking for before and during an interview to determine the right place for you? How should your personal goals, interests and family situation factor into your job searching process? How much room is there to negotiate when you receive an offer? When is it time to start looking again for that next career opportunity? Ms Barbara Parker, Product Manager of Flex Products, will be presenting tips and tools for getting, enjoying and excelling at that first, second and even third job! |
| 2001 / Achieving Your Vision | Janice Swanson, Session Speaker Surviving the "Dog Days" of Graduate School |
| 2001 / Achieving Your Vision | Pat Slaven, Session Speaker Changing Careers in Engineering |
| 2001 / Achieving Your Vision | Elizabeth Hood, Session Speaker Riding the Waves |
| 2001 / Achieving Your Vision | Judy St. John, Session Speaker The Path from Bench Scientist to Agricultural Administrator |
| 2001 / Achieving Your Vision | Wilma Subra, Keynote Speaker Using Science to Educate and Empower Communities |
| 2001 / Achieving Your Vision | Laurel Canglose, Session Speaker Non-Verbal Communication: Maintaining Composure in a 'Threatening' Work Environment |
| 2001 / Achieving Your Vision | Nancy Amato, Session Speaker How to Get Out of Graduate School in a Timely Fashion |
| 2000 / Finding the Balance | Glenda Humiston, Session Speaker |
| 2000 / Finding the Balance | Kathryn Kaiser, Session Speaker |
| 2000 / Finding the Balance | Geraldine Richmond, Session Speaker |
| 2000 / Finding the Balance | Helene Dillard, Session Speaker |
| 2000 / Finding the Balance | Nancy Algert, Session Speaker |
| 2000 / Finding the Balance | Carol Dudley, Session Speaker |
| 2000 / Finding the Balance | Karan Watson, Keynote Speaker |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Katherine Bennett Ensor, Session Speaker Concentrate on Your Work and Everything Will Fall into Place The role of the Research professor is evolving in both expectations and opprotunities. How can you capitalize on your intellectual and creatif talents? |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Normita Elpano, Session Speaker Enhancing Career Advancement: Taking Charge Do your colleagues seem to be getting better research projects? Are you tired of watching others receive more attention for less work? Are you frustrated with rejection letters every time you send out a resume? |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Stephanie Bird, Keynote Speaker Mentoring in Professional Development: What You Need to Know |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Caroline Herzenberg, Session Speaker Advances in Science: Discoveries by Women Throughout recorded history, most individuals engaged in science have been men, and generally women scienctists have been rare until quite recently. However, women have engaged in scientific studies since antiquity, and have accomplished a great deal in contributing to scentific progress, ain some instances under conditions of considerable adversity. A quick overview of women's participation in sceince will seque into description and discussion of some examples from the many hudreds of cases of important scientific discoveries made by women in all fields of science. |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Elena Castell-Perez, Session Speaker Striking at Another: Avoiding Extremes When we are emotionally attached to a conflict, it is very hard to get a balanced perspective. Conflict is a natural process, a creative and dynamic force that can move a person to new levels of understanting. Specific examples of conflict and their positive resolution will demonstrate the constructive power of positive thingking and positive attitude. |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Pat Lawman, Session Speaker The Meaning of Life: A Somewhat Distorted Commentary on the Ultimate Quest The purpose of this exercise is to bring us closer to understanding the significance and importance of this quest in our technology driven world. The seminar will draw upon unoriginal thoughts, the personal experiences of a renegade scientist in her search for answers, and from audience members willing to share their experiences |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Deborah Hess, Session Speaker Your Turn - My Turn: The Two Career Couple |
| 1999 / Creating A Positive Career Experience | Lesia Crumpton, Session Speaker The Art of Projecting a Positive Self Image: Being Your Own Press Agent Prior research and everyday experience have demonstrated that image plays an important role in determining success. Often, very little attention is given to the type of image that we project by our verbal and non-verbal clues. |
| 1998 / Designing Your Career | Cleora J. D'Arcy, Session Speaker What is Professionalism and How do You Learn It? As you work on a graduate degree you learn a lot of technical information, but how do you learn to BE a professional? How do you learn to get and keep a position, to communicate your knowledge to others, to secure funding for your work and to do all of this in an ethical manner? How do you learn the pitfalls of "the sytstem"? |
| 1998 / Designing Your Career | Temple Grandin, Session Speaker Visual Thinking: Getting in Through the Back Door |
| 1998 / Designing Your Career | Lesia Crumpton, Session Speaker Smart Moves for Smart Women Successfully negotiating job offers in academia/industry can be a difficult task. Also, understanding the tenure and promotion process can be more difficult and confusing. |
| 1998 / Designing Your Career | Margaret Davidson, Session Speaker Observations of a Lawyer Working with Scientists The role of women int eh scientific community has always been complicated and challenging. Just imagine moving around as a "Science manager" without a doctoral degree! |
| 1998 / Designing Your Career | Jewel Prestage, Session Speaker Social Skills/Coping Skills: Addressing the Issues through Leadership and Scholarship Women in male-dominated fields must develop the social competence needed to survive while simultaneously expanding the academic/intellectual dimensions of their lives. |
| 1998 / Designing Your Career | Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni, Session Speaker Outsmarting Entropy: Organizing the Absent Minded Professor |
| 1998 / Designing Your Career | Sallie Sheppard, Keynote Speaker |
| 1997 / Adapting to a Changing World | Carolyn Hunsaker, Session Speaker Professional Societies: A Building Block in your Career You may view professional societies as something to join because of their publications and reduced conference registration fees. Let's face it, it looks good to have at least one on your resume. Carolyn Hunsaker, D.Eng. From Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will show us that the real power of professional societies lies elsewhere. It includes the people you meet )potential mentors), the information you can learn both about your discipline and about how science works (new information and ways of thinking), the experience and opportunities you gain by being involved in committees and the organization of the society and its direction (management experience, certification, publications), and the influence you can have on science policy since many societies testify before Congress. Dr. Hunsaker will touch on her own experiences to illustrate the importance of participating in furthering your career. |
| 1997 / Adapting to a Changing World | Karan Watson, Session Speaker Women Competing in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Workforce Studies have been done on the contrast in performance of women with respect to men in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce. The data shows, that even when the low number of women in these areas is accounted for, the productivity of the women in these fields as a group appears significantly lower than that of the men as a group. The reasons for this difference are hotly debated. Even what is being used to measure productivity has been debated. Much of the conflict has focused on how women perform in highly competitive environments. Dr. Karan Watson, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University, will examine the cultural impacts on competition and its value to high levels of achievement in the STEM workplace. She will also discuss how women are really performing in these enfironments and what they should understand about the measxurement of productivity. Dr. Watson is an absolute favorite of students -- both in the classroom and as an advisor for many student organizations. |
| 1997 / Adapting to a Changing World | Jaleh Daie, Session Speaker A Room of your Own: At the Top! While in some scientific fields women have been filling the educational pipeline, and swelling the lower professional ranks in proportionate numbers, they remain almost invisible at the top in governement, academia and industry. Huge gaps remain between women's qualifications and their career aspirations. Jaleh Daie, Ph.D. will discuss a persisting problem for women scientists: the Power/Status Gap. The presentation will addres questions such as what are the reasons? Who is responsible? What can we do collectively? And what are future trends? Dr. Daie is national president of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) and has recently been appointed the USDA Science Liaison to the President's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). She is on leave from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she is a professor of Botany. |
| 1997 / Adapting to a Changing World | Nancy Algert, Session Speaker Communications and Conflict Resolution in the Workplace: Awareness Workshop Academic and corporate climates are challenging for all people, but women have the additional stress of balancing what their profession demands and the burdens culture and society have placed on them. Nancy Algert, currenly completing her doctoral degree in Educational Psychology at Texas A&M, will address: 1) defining conflickt and how we traditionally manage it; 2) our own personal style of handling conflict; 3) understanding how our professional colleagues handle conflict; 4) managing conflict and hwy it is important; 5) how communication improves when conflict is addressed and processed productively, and 6) how, through improved communication, an individual can work mor productively with a group, thus improving group success. Ms. Algert has a Master's in couseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Texas. She has a private practice where she conducts mediations and conflict resolution training programs. |
| 1997 / Adapting to a Changing World | Karen Butler, Session Speaker How to Get Your Research Funded Perhaps one of the biggest "holes" in graduate education is the lack of information about how to get start-up money and continue your research. Funding for research promises to be even more difficult in the year 2000 and beyond. In her presentation, Karen Butler, Ph.D., assistant professor of Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M University, will tackle the issue of how to get your share. She will discuss research funding for graduate students and for professors. Tips on appropriate format and style will be offered. |
| 1997 / Adapting to a Changing World | Marlene Zuk, Session Speaker Sex Differences and Evolution: Notes from a Darwinian Feminist Dr. Marlene Zuk, associate professor at the University of California, Riverside, is a behavioral ecologist studying the evolution of sexual behavior and sex-specific traits. She is also a feminist interested in social justice for women. How are these two areas related? After giving a brief history of sexual selection, the studey of sexual differences and their evolution, she will examine the ways in which a feminist perspective changes or adds to our views on males and females. Focusing mainly on studies of animal behavior, Dr. Zuk will show how recent questioning of old assumptions has led to a shift from the stereotype of the passive, invariant female to a recognition of issues such as multiple mating by females, female control over paternity, and the value of examining menstruation in an adaptive context. Using evolution to understand behavior is not incompatible with feminist principles, and feminism has much to offer to the study of how males and females differ. |
| 1997 / Adapting to a Changing World | Frances Cordova, Keynote Speaker |
| 1996 / Making A Place For Yourself | William B. Smith, Session Speaker Ethics and the Individual Researcher William B. Smith, Ph.D., is professor of statistics and Executive Associate Dean of the College of Science at Texas A&M University. He has received the H.O. Hartley and D.B. Owen awards, as well as a university level Association of Former Students Teaching Award. Dr. Smith will offer an overview of ethical and traditional conduct in academe and draw comparisons to the recently revised TAMU policy on ethics in research and scholarships. Thought provoking expamples will be discussed with conference participants. |
| 1996 / Making A Place For Yourself | Laura Fergerson, Session Speaker Contributing as the Only Woman in the Room You've been there. You enter a meeting and find you are the only female present. The difference is noted immediately by all present and the mental score cards come out. The pressure is on to prove you are as capable as your male colleagues. What approach do you take? Do you state your opinion at every opportunity? Or do you sit back quitely and try to blend into the background? In this talk, Dr. Laura Ferguson, a research scientist with Connaught Laboratory, offers advice on how to handle this situation to your benefit. |
| 1996 / Making A Place For Yourself | Audrey Seldon, Session Speaker Gender Bias in the Workplace -- It's in the Bag Management challenges have changed over the past 20 years. While we continue to combat racial and ethnic discrimination, gender bias is still evident. If we examine what positions women hold and what they are paid, we see improvement but significant challenges remain, particularly for women in technological fields. Associate Commissioner Audrey Selden will present strategies women in these fields can use to combat gender bias in the workplace. Ms. Selden is a graduate of the Harvard School of Law, a former Texas Assistant Secretary of State and presently is with the Texas Department of Insurance. |
| 1996 / Making A Place For Yourself | Lesia Crumpton, Session Speaker Negotiating What You Want In Your Next Position There is a lot to lose if you are not properly prepared to negotiate the terms of employment when starting a new position. Lesia Crumpton '88, Ph.D., assistant professor of industrial engineering at Mississippi State University, will discuss how to determine what is needed for success in your next position and strategies on how to obtain it. Some of the issues addressed will include prioritizing your needs, determining which points of your offer are negotiable, and how to get the best package for you. She will discuss her own experiences negotiating her recent faculty start-up package at Mississippi State. |
| 1996 / Making A Place For Yourself | Kathryn Peek, Session Speaker Your Best Food Forward: The Science of Self-Promotion |
| 1996 / Making A Place For Yourself | Helen Free, Session Speaker Of Course, You Can Be A Successful Woman Scientist |
| 1996 / Making A Place For Yourself | Mary Good, Keynote Speaker The Changing Nature of Careers in Science and Technology |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Christine Krohn, Session Speaker Communication Skills for Industrial Scientists |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Heidi Hammel, Session Speaker Fabulous Presentations: Why You Should Give Them and How To Do It Because women are underrepresented in most fields of science, they can't help but be noticed. They are noticed in particular when they give presentations at scientific conferences. Therefore it is critical that women learn how to make presentations |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Marcetta Darensbourg, Session Speaker Writing for Publication and Funding |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Walt Magnussen, Session Speaker The Information Superhighway: What Can It Do For Your and How You Get On It |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Susan Basow, Session Speaker Student Evaluations of College Professors: When Gender Matters |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Jean Cishek, Session Speaker Women, Communications, and Success: Equalizing the Male-Dominant Workplace |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Linda Putnam, Session Speaker Communication, Negotiation and Conflict Management Skills |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Mark Knapp, Session Speaker Non-Verbal Communication |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Kathryn Peek, Session Speaker Networking 101: Basic Skills for Women Since building a successful career in science is as much a social process as a work-related process, professional networking is a critical component of career advancement. In addition, networking enhances both personal and professional aspects of one's life and increases one's influence, position and quality of life. |
| 1995 / Breaking Barriers Through Communications | Penelope Kegel-Flom, Session Speaker Is Leadership for Me? |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | Sethanne Howard, Session Speaker 4000 Years of Women in Science The history and contributions of women in science. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | , Session Speaker Occupational and Personal Health Health experts will address topics ranging from laboratory safety and toxicology to pregnancy and breast cancer. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | , Session Speaker Stress Management A health professional will share practical ideas designed to enhance management of stress encountered in everyday life. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | Susan Allen, Session Speaker What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Business Like This? Challenges women face in science and engineering. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | , Session Speaker Leadership and Management Skills The Management Connection will provide "hands-on" activities in effective management techniques. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | , Session Speaker Balancing Professional and Personal Life Women scientists will discuss how they balance their careers and their personal lives. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | , Session Speaker Surviving Graduate School A panel of graduate students will provide insight into the process of obtaining an advanced degree. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | , Session Speaker Job Placement Strategies Differences in obtaining an academic and industrial position, as well as tips for writing effective resumes, CV's and cover letters. |
| 1994 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School II | Catherine Jay Didion, Keynote Speaker Untitled |
| 1993 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School | Ramona Paetzold, Session Speaker Campus Climate for Women Includes gender discrimination issues and problems facing teachng and research assistants |
| 1993 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School | Cindy Johnson, Margarite Muzikowski, Session Speaker Job Searching Strategies Tips on writing resumes and cover letters, conducting a job search and interviewing |
| 1993 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School | Karan Watson, Session Speaker Professional Skills and Networking Developing skills through mentoring and networking with other women scientists |
| 1993 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School | TAMU Faculty Members, Session Speaker Balancing Professional and Personal Life Women scientists discuss how they balance their careers and their personal lives |
| 1993 / What They Don't Tell You in Graduate School | Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui, Keynote Speaker Untitled |