ChEGSA Symposium connects students and alums across years

Maryam Ali, Carolina Colombo Tedesco, and Jason Yao remember being first-year Ph.D. students at the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association (ChEGSA) Research Symposium. They had been in the program less than two months, and Colombo Tedesco says the symposium was one of the first times she felt like part of the department.

Three years later, they chaired the tradition that brings together all Ph.D. students and faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering. "You come in as a cohort of first-years, and then everyone goes their separate ways for their research. When we come back together for the symposium, we see what everyone has accomplished," says Yao. "We see each other grow."

ChEGSA started the symposium in 1979 to facilitate the exchange of research ideas within the department and with industry partners. Many alums and industrial guests return every year for the event. "The response from alums says a lot about the culture of the department," says Colombo Tedesco. She and the other chairs received messages from alums who couldn't attend, sharing their symposium memories and their intention to come back in the future.

Alums who attended this year found more opportunities to talk with current students and reconnect with classmates, thanks to new 15 minute breaks in between symposium sessions. The chairs say it turned out to be one of the best changes they made for the 46th symposium. "During these breaks, the students who presented were getting lots of follow-up questions and networking with alums and industrial guests," says Colombo Tedesco.

The symposium is completely organized by students, and all presenters are students, apart from the two keynote speakers. At the closing banquet, students, alums, and faculty celebrated this year's award winners. Cheick Dosso received the Geoffrey D. Parfitt Memorial Award For Excellence in Oral Presentation. The award was established to honor the memory of Parfitt, who was a professor of chemical engineering.

Ali received the Gary Powers Poster Award. Powers was a leading researcher in process systems engineering, known in the department for his enthusiasm in the academic setting, and the award is intended to continue his strong support of education.

Megan Walsh and Georgia Stinchfield received Symposium Awards. Camila Cue and Eric Giuffrida received honorable mentions.

Colombo Tedesco received the First-years Impression Award. The award is voted on by first-year Ph.D. students, whereas the other awards are judged by faculty, industrial guests, and alums. Without the deep scientific experience of the session judges, first-year students judge based on what they learn from the talks, making the award a way to recognize skill in scientific communication. It also shows first-year students that their voices are valued.

Whether as presenters or participants, students find unique growth opportunities through the symposium. "Alums told us they got to where they are in their career because they had symposium as a way of refining themselves as scientists and engineers," says Ali.

Chemical engineering undergraduate and master's students joined Ph.D. students for this year's keynote addresses, both given by alums. The chairs invited the keynote speakers to share not only their technical work but also their experiences on their path to their current position. "We wanted to hear about the journey their career took since they graduated from this department, says Ali.

Celia Cruz ('99), vice president of small molecule development and commercialization at Eli Lilly and Co., gave the Lubrizol Keynote Address. Victor Zavala ('08), Baldovin-DaPra professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, gave the Air Products Keynote Address.

"Even after many years and many changes, it's nice to see that the constant within the department is how we support each other," says Yao. "Alums come back because they want to continue this."