The project supports travel and accommodation costs for speakers and graduate student attendees at the Fall 2020 American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting and Exposition, August 16-20, 2020 in San Francisco, CA. Specifically, the funding will support a graduate student organized symposium entitled 'Pushing the Boundaries: Women Scientists Catalyzing Change.' The symposium will focus on recognizing the high-impact research of women chemists and chemical engineers all over the country in the field of molecular and nanoscale catalysis. The symposium is conceived and organized by a committee of graduate students from Wayne State University.
The symposium is is a continuation of a practice by the Graduate Student Symposium Planning Committee (GSSPC) of the American Chemical Society (co-sponsored by the ACS Division of Chemical Education) to allow a group of graduate students from a particular institution to plan and orchestrate a symposium at a national ACS meeting on a subject of their choosing. The graduate students have full responsibility in selecting a theme, inviting distinguished speakers, securing sponsorship, and selecting and mentoring the next GSSPC symposium. The intellectual merit of the proposed symposium lies in efforts to invite speakers that have significant presence in the field of molecular and nanoscale catalysis. Catalytic materials research is a rich area of interest because of the beneficial implications these materials have on the way we approach synthetic processes imperative to our way of life. From alternative energy to green house gas conversion, these processes need catalysts to drive their reactions forward. Thus, one of the goals of the symposium is to exploit the innovative research work being done in these areas by inviting distinguished female researchers in these fields to come and share their science. From the broader impacts perspective, the project will make a positive impact on the retention and recruitment of women in science. In addition to promoting gender equity, the symposium will promote diversity and inclusion in STEM fields in three ways: 1) by inviting speakers from culturally and professionally diverse backgrounds, 2) by providing travel grants to undergraduates from underrepresented identity groups, and 3) by inviting all attendees to a networking reception following the symposium. Scientific impacts include exposing the scientific community to a broad range of catalytic materials and engaging more scientists into the field of catalysis research.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
