2021 Keynote Speakers

URSA Lecture

Heavily influencing the emblems and symbols of the University of California system, the bear also has been chosen to represent the iconic nature of our conference and our opening keynote address. The invitation for this talk is decided upon by graduate student and post-doc attendees to honor and hear from someone who they consider to be one of the most influential members of our field. It is the opening keynote address for the University of California Chemical Symposium and addresses the career and work of the speaker and serves to address the state of chemical sciences as a field.

Jill Millstone is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. With affiliations to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Professor Millstone has engaged in highly interdisciplinary nanoparticle research. The impact of her work has led to several awards including a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2013-2018) and a Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Award (2018). She also serves as the Leo B. and Teresa Y. Wegemer Endowed Chair of Chemistry and as an Associate Editor of ACS Nano.

LUx Lecture

The motto of the University of California system is “Let there be light”; this call to action serves as the origin of the name of our closing keynote address. This lecturer must be nominated by multiple former attendees in recognition of their roles as a researcher, a mentor, and an inspiration to strive ever further. This lecture addresses the career and work of the speaker as well as should serve as an inspiration to return to our universities and continue our noble pursuits.

Brian Frezza is a co-founder and  lead architect of the Emerald Cloud Lab (ECL), an online service that allows scientists to remotely manage data from wet-lab experiments. Through the optimization and automation of routine experiments ECL has helped make pharmaceutical and materials science research more efficient and reproducible. Brian’s extensive work at both ECL and Emerald Therapeutics has led to him being awarded a Hollerith and Wolfram Innovator Award.

Workshops

SCIENCE SAYS

How do I get started communicating my science with researchers or the public? Science Says is a workshop dedicated to helping you out with the basics -- figuring out your audience, crafting your message, building your narrative, and effectively delivering your message. Workshop attendees will get to learn about resources for getting into science communication and practice their newfound skills during the workshop. Whether you need a full-on overview of what SciComm is or you need a refresher on communicating your work, this is the workshop for you.

MENTORSHIP AND ME

In this workshop presented by NOBCChE, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on best practices for mentorship, and discuss with other mentors the value of having wide mentoring networks. A special emphasis will be placed on mentoring students from historically excluded groups.