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Nominate your Chemistry Student for the FUTURE Ignited Conference, hosted by CalTech

Categories: Undergraduate, Professional Development

Date: 9/28/2020

The Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech invites you to nominate rising Juniors and Seniors who identify as students of color* and thus, underrepresented in our fields, to participate in FUTURE Ignited, a one-day online virtual conference on Saturday, October 17, 2020. Specifically, we would like to extend an invitation for undergraduates who are interested in pursuing a PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Participants of FUTURE Ignited will have an opportunity to engage in short science talks and “day in a life” discussions as well as hear from panels of current students and faculty who will cover topics ranging from applying to grad school, challenges, building community and much more. The goal of FUTURE Ignited is to support the ambitions of aspiring young underrepresented students of color in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and related areas, who will go on to become part of a diverse generation of scientific leaders. As research at Caltech is interdisciplinary, we welcome nominations and participation of students with interests beyond the traditional areas of science and technology. One cross cutting program that spans all of Caltech’s Divisions is the Resnick Sustainability Institute where students, postdocs, faculty, and staff work on solving aspects of the water, climate, and energy problems facing our world. FUTURE Ignited will have specific programing for students interested in these topics, therefore we encourage you to nominate promising individuals from non-traditional fields.??

We are requesting that you complete a very short nomination form, which can be accessed through the following link: https://futureignited.caltech.edu/. Nominations are due by September 28, 2020. Additional information can be found on our website: https://future.cce.caltech.edu/.

Please distribute this announcement among your colleagues and encourage them to submit nominations. The student does not have to be from the same university as the nominator and does not have to be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. based student (we welcome you to nominate a student you may know through a research collaboration, visit, etc.). We strongly prefer nominations from faculty but will also consider nominations from non-faculty and self-nominations. Please do not hesitate to contact us at FUTURE_IGNITED_CCE@caltech.edu if you have any questions about the event.? Please note that participation in this year’s on-line conference does not preclude them from being nominated to attend an in-person FUTURE Ignited conference next year.

We would also like to bring to your attention undergraduate research opportunities at Caltech though the WAVE Fellows program. This program aims to foster diversity by increasing the participation of underrepresented students in research in science and engineering at Caltech. Similar to the FUTURE Ignited workshop, Caltech’s WAVE program’s goals include to increase diversity in Ph.D. programs and making Caltech's programs more visible and accessible to students not traditionally exposed to Caltech. Additional information can be found at: https://sfp.caltech.edu/programs/wavefellows

We are committed to building an inclusive cohort that recognizes and celebrates the diversity of students’ intersectional identities and experiences, and strongly encourage nominations of students historically underrepresented in our field.

*We use an inclusive definition of student of color in STEM including, but not limited to, Black/African-American, Latin(x), Indigenous, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, etc.

Sincerely,

Theodor Agapie Professor of Chemistry Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Caltech

FUTURE Ignite program webpage https://future.cce.caltech.edu/