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Upcoming Events
Academic Job Panel, June 20, 2013
| Date/time: | Thursday, at 11 am |
| Location: | TBA |
| Organizer(s): | Alina Borovika and Carol Ann Pitcarn |
| Description: | CPDO invites you to a panel discussion of chemistry/ biochemistry academic jobs at liveral arts colleges and small universities. Our panelists are Dr. Kendra Evans (University of Detroit Mercy) and Dr. Chris Rohlman (Albion College). Both received their Ph.D. degrees from U of M and will share their experiences and answer questions about getting academic jobs and what it's like to work in these academic settings. |
| Registration: |
Past Events
May 14, 2013. Proctor and Gamble Professional Development Seminar Series
Organizer: Laura Thoma
Dr. Janette Villalobos and Dr. Tamiika Hurst from Proctor and Gamble visited the Chemistry department to host two seminars relating to professional development. The first seminar focused on industry positions at P&G, including transitioning from academic to industrial reseacher, the first years on the job, and different routes available for chemists at P&G. The second seminar discussed building your professional equity and included discussions on mentoring, networking, and leadership in the workplace, as well as giving an overview of what P&G looks for in applicants.
April 18, 2013. Two Body Problem: Finding Work for You and Your Significant Other
Organizers: Se Ryeon Lee, Carol Ann Pitcarn, Laura Thoma
Three University of Michigan employees including Dr. Julie Biteen (Faculty in Chemistry), Dr. Onas Bolton (Postdoctoral fellow in Matzger lab), and Dr. Evan Trivedi (Postdoctoral fellow in Pecoraro lab) participated in a panel discussion where they shared their experiences in finding jobs for themselves and their significant others.
March 14, 2013. Industry Panel
Organizers: Garrett Goh, Se Ryeon Lee
Two industry scientists including Dr. James Mobley (Cayman Chemical Company) and Dr. Timothy De Vries (Dow Chemical Company) particpated in a panel discussion with graduate students and postdoctoral researchers about life in industry, including their career paths, and how large vs small industry differed.
February 25, 2013. Creating Posters with Adobe Illustrator
Organizers: Wenyi Cai, Beth Haas
Rob Pettigrew, a Senior Instructional Design Specialist from the UM Library system taught students how to use Adobe Illustrator to create attractive and engaging posters.
December 12, 2012. Cookies and Cocoa with CPDO
Organizers: Beth Haas, Anna Wagner
CPDO ended the semester with a networking event that included cookies, cocoa and coffee, as well as chemistry pictionary!
November 26, 2012. Management Consulting as a Career Path for Advanced Degrees
Organizers: Kyle Bolduc, Di Gao, Shuwen Sun
This was the first time CPDO collaborated with the Michigan Graduate Consulting (MGCC) and also Rackham Graduate School. Panelists included Christine M. Stead, MHSA who is an Executive Strategist for Blue Cottage Consulting, Michael Wider, Ph.D. who is a consultant at Regulated Device Consulting LLC, and Xiaoran Tong, Ph.D. who will after a summer internship with start full as a full time associate consultant for McKinsey in 2013. Topics included “why consulting as a PhD”, “what PhD students can offer as their uniqueness”, application and interview process, suggestions from experienced consultants, etc.
November 20, 2012. Networking Lunch with Thomas Hager
Organizer: Laura Thoma
CPDO was pleased to host an informal networking lunch with writer Thomas Hager, author of The Alchemy of Air, Demon under the Microscope, and Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker among others. He shared his stories about becoming a science writer after being a graduate student, and how he find his topics for books, among other things.
Nocember 12, 2012. Exploring Science Policy
Organizers: Ping Guo, Anna Wagner, Danielle Zurcher
Dr. Chris Avery, a University of Michigan chemistry graduate presented a seminar on his experiences in public policy and answered questions. Dr. Avery is currently a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy. He also talked about his time as a AAAS/American Chemical Society Congressional Fellow in the office of Senator Christopher A. Coons, and as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies.
October 29, 2012. Post-doctoral Panel
Organizers: Ananya Dutta, Taylor Johnson, Ningkun Wang
Several Postdoctoral reseachers at the University of Michigan came together to share their experiences about finding a postdoctoral researcher position, as well as discussing funding and different roles/ responsibilities of a postdoctoral researcher compared to a graduate student. The postdoctoral panelists included Dr. James Clayton from the Mapp Lab (Organic/ Chem Bio), Dr. Jeannie Hernandez from the Martin Lab (Biochemistry), and Dr. Gary Jensen from the Meyerhoff Lab (Analytical).
August 7, 2012. Electronic Reference Management Software
Organizers: Se Ryeon Lee, Laura Thoma and Ningkun Wang
Dr. Ye Li, a University of Michigan Chemistry librarian, discussed the ins and outs of the electronic reference management software Endnote. She also gave some additional information about other electronic reference management software.
July 9, 2012. Patent Law Career Talk
Organizers: Ping Guo, Garret Goh
Dr Joshua Ney and Dr Susan Lewis, who both graduated with PhDs in Chemistry, talked about their experiences working as patent agents with law firms.
June 20, 2012. CPDO Information and Recruiting Session
Organizer: Onas Bolton
Members of the Chemistry department learned about CPDO's past events and goals for graduate students and post doctoral researchers. Interested individuals were given the opportunity to become members of CPDO.
May 18, 2012. Academic Job Panel
Organizers: Amanda Dugan, Onas Bolton
Four panelists discussed their strategies and experiences in seeking academic positions. Panelists included Dr. Jason Belitsky (Visiting Scientist, Mapp Lab, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Oberlin College); Dr. Amy Danowitz (Fierke Lab, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Mercyhurst University); Dr. Will Pomerantz (Mapp Lab, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities), and Dr. Aaron van Dyke (Mapp Lab).
April 4, 2012. Industrial Job Panel
Organizers: Jing Chen, Di Gao, and Anna Wagner
Three recent graduates discussed their strategies and experiences in seeking an industrial position in today’s economy. Panelists include Dr. Katie Partridge (Montogomery group) heading to Eli Lilly; Dr. Leila Foroughi (Matzger group) heading to Dow Chemical; and Asako Kubota (Sanford group) who is heading to Dow AgroSciences.
February 29- March 2, 2012. Preparing for Life after Graduate School (PfLAGS)
Organizers: Se Ryeon Lee (Chair), Onas Bolton, Ping Guo, Laura Thoma, Anna Wagner, Ningkun Wang, Amanda Dugan
PfLAGS, a two-day workshop held by the American Chemical Society (ACS) designed to inform chemistry graduate students and postdocs about their career options after graduate school and how to prepare for them, was held at the University of Michigan. The workshop covered three topics: defining careers for chemists; some nontechnical skills and knowledge needed for career success (with an emphasis on industry); and finding employment opportunities (including a postdoc). A third optional day includes mock interviews and resume reviews.
2011
December 15, 2011. Ben & Jerry's Hot Chocolate Networking Event
Organizers: Onas Bolton and Anna Wagner
Attendees enjoyed some hot chocolate and ice cream while
connecting with their fellow chemists.
November 8, 2011. Scientific Writing Workshop
Organizers: Di Gao, Cheryl Moy, and Shuwen Sun
Dr. Alan Hogg, from the Sweetland Writing Center at the
University of Michigan, will talk about general paper writing for 30
minutes, then spend the remaining 60 minutes discussing thesis writing.
Dr. Hogg received his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Chemistry from the
University of Michigan.
October 6, 2011. Mock Job Talk
Organizers: Katie Partridge, Wenyi Cai, and Ping Guo
Three panelists including Professor Scott Larsen and Professor
Anne McNeil from University of Michigan, as well as Kenneth Foster from
Momentive shared their thoughts on presenting a successful job talk
from both an academic and industrial perspective. Two students
presented their mock job talks and were critiqued by the panelists.
This event helped students learn the difference between a job talk and
academic talk, and helped them improve their presentation skills.
September 30, 2011. Postdoctoral Panel
Organizers: Yash Adia, Garrett Goh
Four University of Michigan Postdoctoral Researchers spoke to
the audience about finding their positions and how Postdoctoral life is
different from that of a graduate student. The panelists include Dr.
Rebecca Loy (Sanford Group, Organic), Dr. Jennifer Knight (Brooks
Group, Physical), Dr. Chengbao Ni (Szymczak Group, Inorganic), and Dr.
Onas Bolton (Matzger Group, Materials).
August 18, 2011. Ben & Jerry's Networking Event
Organizers: Laura Thoma, Ningkun Wang
In this installment of our networking event series, we played
a networking game "four corners", which helped us to catch up with old
colleagues and interact with new faces. We also got to enjoy Ben
& Jerry’s ice cream.
August 3, 2011. Local Faculty Panel Discussion
Organizers: Anna Wagner, Cheryl Moy, Shaohui Zheng
Dr. Mark Ott (Jackson Community College), Dr. David Waggoner (Monroe Community College) and Dr. Victor Chen (Thurston High School) discussed their roads to their current positions and answered audience questions.
July 20, 2011. Pfizer Process R&D Information Seassion
Organizers: Onas Bolton, Aireal Jenkins
Attendees learned about other colors in the Drug Development
Spectrum.Three managing members of Pfizer's team (from Analytical,
Microbiology, and Engineering) presented a company overview and
described the internal functions of Process R & D.
June 2, 2011. CPDO Information Session
Organizers: Corissa Lamphear, Katie Partridge
This informal event provided graduate students and postdocs an opportunity to ask questions about CPDO, learn more about joining our group, and provide suggestions for future initiatives. We also took this opportunity to recruit new members.
May 13, 2011. CPDO Seminar Series: Carmen Drahl
Organizers: Erica Lanni, Di Gao, Corissa Lamphear
Dr. Carmen Drahl, an Associate Editor at C&E News, visited and spoke informally to students and post-docs about how to transition into science writing as well as her day-to-day life and activities working at C&E News. She also gave a presentation “Telling Chemistry's Story: A Science Writing Primer” where she spoke about science writing careers and how to work with science writers to communicate exciting science breakthroughs.
May 3, 2011. 2010-2011 Academic Job Search Panel
Organizers: Onas Bolton, Arindam Ganguly
Three UM Chemistry postdoctoral fellows and former students, Dr. Marion Emmert (Sanford Lab), Dr. Mary Grace I. Galinato (Lehnert Lab), and Dr. Dipannita Kalyani (Sanford Lab) shared their perspectives on obtaining academic positions at various types of colleges and universities.
April 5, 2011. 2010-2011 Industrial Job Search Panel
Organizers: Jing Chen, Wen Zhou, Ping GuoThree recent graduates, Dr. Erica Lanni (McNeil lab), Dr. Zach Buchan (Montgomery Lab), and Dr. Jenny Schnobrich (Matzger Lab) shared their strategies and experiences in seeking an industrial position in today’s economy.
February 23, 2011. Networking Event
Organizers: Se Ryeon Lee, Katherine Partridge
In this installment of our networking event series, we played a networking “treasure hunt” game, helping us to catch up with old colleagues and interact with new faces, while we enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s hot chocolate floats (with ice cream!).
2010
December 9, 2010. CPDO Information Session.
Organizers: Corissa Lamphear, Xin Liu
This informal event provided graduate students and postdocs an opportunity to ask questions about CPDO, learn more about joining our group, and provide suggestions for future initiatives. We also took this opportunity to recruit new members.
November 19, 2010. Networking Workshop with Sally Schmall
Organizers: Xiaomu Guan, Cheryl Moy
Sally Schmall, of Academy Coaching, held a Networking Workshop where we learned tips on how to network, asked questions about networking, and then practiced networking with each other.
September 27, 2010. 'Chemists in Industry' Panel Discussion
Organizers: Onas Bolton, Jing Chen, Arindam Ganguly
Three panelists, Dr. Tony Trullinger (Research Scientist and Technical Project Leader, Dow Argoscience), Dr. Frederick Antosz (Former Research Fellow at Pfizer), and Dr. Liya Wang (Director of Emerging Technologies, A123 Systems), shared their perspectives on how to search for an industrial position and what life in industry is like.
September 23, 2010. Grant Writing Workshop
Organizers: Erica Lanni, Se Ryeon Lee, Xin Liu
The workshop began with Alan Hogg, Ph.D., from the Sweetland Writing Center sharing tips on how to write grants effectively. Then Prof. Melanie Sanford led a mock review session, where we focused on critiquing example NSF pre-candidate, NIH post-doc, and NSF career grants.
July 28, 2010. Resume Writing and Interview Skills Workshop
Organizers: Forest Bohrer, Rosalynn Quiñones
This workshop was conducted by Dr. Joel Shulman, a University of Cincinnati adjunct professor and former Proctor and Gamble recruitment manager, who has extensive experience in the recruitment process for both industry and academia. Dr. Shulman served as a valuable resource for participants regarding the job-seeking process by speaking about resume writing, the interview process, and by holding individual resume reviews.
July 15, 2010. Post doc Panel Discussion
Organizers: Cheryl Moy, Corissa Lamphear
Three UM post-docs, Dr. Forest Bohrer (Zellers Group), Dr. Rosalyn Quiñones (Matzger Group) and Dr. Andrew Satterfield (Sanford Group), took questions on their job search process as well other aspects of the post-doc experience.
June 6, 2010. CPDO seminar series: Kate Hughes
Organizers: Cheryl Moy, Corissa Lamphear
Dr. Kathryn Hughes from the National Academies spoke about what life is like at the National Academies, general information about policy careers, and opportunities for fellowships in public policy.
June 3, 2010. 2009-2010 Academic Job Search Panel Discussion
Organizers: Jing Chen, Se Ryeon Lee, Wen Zhou
The event featured four UM Chemistry postdoctoral fellows, each of whom has successfully obtained academic positions for this fall. They shared their perspectives on obtaining academic positions at various types of colleges and universities.
May 24, 2010. CPDO seminar series: Andrea Liu
Organizer: Terry Watt
Professor Andrea Liu (University of Pennsylvania) gave a department seminar and discussed other topics complementary to research with graduate students and postdocs.
May 20, 2010. CPDO seminar series: Catalina Achim
Organizer: Terry Watt
Professor Catalina Achim (Carnegie Mellon University) will gave a department seminar and discussed other topics complementary to research with graduate students and postdocs throughout the day.
May 13, 2010. CPDO Open House
Organizers: Corissa Lamphear, Xin Liu
This informal event provided graduate students and postdocs an opportunity to ask questions about CPDO, learn more about joining our group, and provide suggestions for future initiatives. We also took this opportunity to recruit new members.
April 6, 2010. Negotiation skills workshop
Organizers: Corissa Lamphear, Shannon Watt, Wen Zhou
This Negotiation Skills Workshop was in collaboration with Dr. Jane Tucker and Dr. Barbara Butterfield. The seminar covered negotiation and conflict-resolution skills, including key elements of negotiation, strategies for approaching negotiations, and an assessment of each person's own conflict resolution style.
March 11, 2010. CPDO-CRLT Players interactive theater program: Interpersonal communication
Organizers: Forest Bohrer, Xin Liu
The CRLT Players performed four custom-designed sketches specifically
for Chemistry-affiliated graduate students and postdocs on
advisor-advisee and research group communication. The CRLT Players and
CRLT Theater Program director Jeffrey Steiger facilitated a discussion
with the audience and provided written resources on improving
interpersonal communications.
March 3, 2010. Ben & Jerry’s networking event
Organizers: Alana Canfield, Jing Chen
This installment of our periodic networking event series fostered
informal interactions over hot chocolate floats (with ice cream) from
Ben & Jerry’s.
February 26, 2010. Careers in patent law presentation
Organizers: Xiaomu Guan, Rosalynn Quiñones
Dr. Paul Rauch (Evan Law Group, Chicago) gave a presentation and answered questions on careers in patent law.
February 19, 2010. CPDO seminar series: Elsa Reichmanis
Organizers: Corissa Lamphear, Terry Watt
Professor Elsa Reichmanis (Georgia Tech) presented a department seminar and gave insight into and highlighted comparisons between academic and industrial careers from her personal experiences. In addition, she discussed the role of service in any career and opportunities within the American Chemical Society.
January 25, 2010. CPDO seminar series: Kathryn Beers
Organizers: Alana Canfield, Rosalynn Quiñones, Terry Watt
Dr. Kathryn Beers (NIST) presented her research in a department seminar and discussed careers in the government sector, work-life balance, and opportunities for taking an active role in government policy.
2009
December 04, 2009. CPDO open house
Organizers: Corissa Lamphear, Alana Canfield
This informal event provided members of the department with an opportunity to ask questions about CPDO, learn more about joining our group, and provide suggestions for future initiatives.
November 23, 2009. Networking breakfast
Organizer: Alana Canfield
This event in our periodic series of networking opportunities enabled interaction between faculty, students, and postdocs over breakfast. Plates of different colors were successfully used to encourage participants to network with someone new.
November 11, 2009. Panel discussion: Industry and Beyond
Organizer: Valerie Cwynar
Drs. Lidaris San Miguel Rivera (Dow), Catherine Summers (Sankyo Pharma), Chris Whitehead (ex-Pfizer, now UM MBA), and Peter Wuts (Kalexsyn) shared their perspectives on different kinds of chemistry-related companies and the variety of career paths available in industry.
October 27, 2009. Dr. Debra Rolison: Careers in federal research
Organizer: Shannon Watt
Dr. Debra Rolison (Naval Research Lab) gave a talk on careers in federal research labs and discussed the wide variety of career paths she and her colleagues have pursued within the U.S. government.
October 23, 2009. CPDO seminar series: Rigoberto Hernandez
Organizers: Valerie Cwynar, Terry Watt
Professor Rigoberto Hernandez (Georgia Tech) presented a department research seminar, discussed balancing research and other components of an academic career, touched on diversity in academic settings, and met one-on-one with students as an outside mentor.
August 13, 2009. Panel on academic positions at non-R1 institutions
Organizers: Corissa Lamphear, Terry Watt
This event focused on faculty positions at schools outside the “Research I” world of UM. Professors Deborah Heyl-Clegg (Eastern Michigan), Tom Kuntzleman (Spring Arbor), Keith McCleary (Adrian), and Christopher Rohlman (Albion) gave advice to the 50 audience members on preparing for careers at teaching-focused institutions and shared their insights on teaching, chemical education, research, and community outreach.
August 11, 2009. Panel on mechanics of tenure-track academic job search
Organizer: Shannon Watt
A faculty panel discussed the process of applying for tenure-track academic jobs at Ph.D.- granting institutions like UM. Profs. Bartlett, Fierke, and Montgomery shared their perspectives with the 40 audience members, explaining and answering questions about all aspects of the process—from identifying open positions to negotiating once an offer has been made.
July 24, 2009. Ice cream social
Organizer: Alana Canfield
In response to numerous requests for networking opportunities to increase informal interaction among faculty, postdocs, and graduate students, our first in a series of such events brought together more than 80 people over Washtenaw Dairy ice cream.
July 10, 2009. Panel with departing postdocs on academic jobs
Organizers: Alana Canfield, Xiaomu Guan
This panel discussion featured four department postdocs on the verge of departing for their new faculty jobs at different kinds of universities. Drs. Gabe Hanna, Liz McDowell, Hung Nguyen, and Sam Pazicni shared their successful academic job search stories.
June 8, 2009. Networking/ CPDO kickoff
Organizers: Alana Canfield, Shannon Watt
Our first event was a joint kickoff session/networking event to help faculty, postdocs, and graduate students get to know CPDO and one another better over pizza.