The American Chemical Society (ACS) hosts two national meetings a year that attract tens of thousands of scientists from all over the world. For each ACS National Meeting and Exposition, a Graduate Student Symposium Planning Committee (GSSPC) is chosen by the previous GSSPC to plan and host a symposium.

When presented with a flyer and the persuasion of a colleague to apply to be the next GSSPC for the Fall 2020 ACS National Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco, CA, doctoral chemistry student Tepora Su'a and her lab mates blew it off. The application deadline was two weeks away and they'd be competing against some heavy-hitting institutions that had won in the past.

"A couple days passed and I couldn't stop thinking about how awesome it would be to host a symposium at a national conference," she says. "So, I pitched a couple of ideas to my closest colleagues and put together a small group" composed of students from Drs. Stephanie Brock's and Claudio Verani's labs in the Department of Chemistry. They picked "women in science" as their theme, recognizing that early support of female scientists is critical to increasing recruitment and retention of women in STEM fields, Su'a says. Then, they "hashed out a proposal and hoped for the best."

Months later and much to their surprise, the Wayne State committee received official notice that they'd won.

Titled "Pushing the Boundaries: Women Scientists Catalyzing Change," the symposium takes place on August 18 (the exposition takes place August 16-20) and will highlight the contributions female chemists are making in molecular and nanoscale catalysis by featuring female speakers who are conducting high-level research in these fields.

"We are so grateful to have been given this opportunity to spread awareness towards issues affecting the representation of women in science," Su'a says, "to highlight the current state of catalysis research, and to enhance diversity and inclusion in STEM. We are also happy to give our university high-level exposure to the scientific community at the national level. We hope this will have a positive impact on Wayne State's visibility and student recruitment."

The GSSPC has secured all 10 speakers and have raised $14,000, one-third of the final budget. They continue to fundraise and contact sponsors. In January, they will open an application for undergraduates to apply for $1,000 travel awards to the national five-day event in San Francisco.

"Students from underrepresented or disadvantaged identity groups are highly encouraged to apply," Su'a says. "We hope to establish a strong line of communication between us and these students, who may potentially be interested in graduate school or advanced careers in STEM and may not necessarily know how to initiate or navigate that process."

Know an undergraduate who should apply or want to donate to the GSSPC fund? Send an email to gsspc@wayne.edu.