An Engineering Council Affiliated Society Spotlight
Women in Chemical Sciences
at UIUC (WiCS)
What is Women in Chemical Sciences (WiCS)?
Women in Chemical Sciences (WiCS) is an RSO dedicated to promoting a sense of community and an inclusive environment for women in Chemical Sciences. In doing so, they aim to educate women about the challenges encountered in male-dominated fields.
With an approximate member count of 150 students, primarily women in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biochemistry, WiCS is certainly making strides in bringing women in STEM together. Though as 2023-2024 President Parmeet Kaur encourages, “We’re not only women exclusive — males can join as well!”
What does WiCS do throughout the school year?
General Meetings
WiCS places a large emphasis on their General Meetings, and works to maximize what each of their members take away from them with frequent alumni talks.
Each General Meeting, WiCS invites 2-3 alumni to come and talk about what challenges they’ve faced in their field and ultimately, what action they took to overcome these challenges.
For instance, a common, and important, issue that many women face in male-dominated fields is “their opinion not being valued in an entry level position.” In response, alumni have provided advice such as, “don’t take it personally/let it affect you” and “keep trying to give your own input, eventually you will bring something to that table.”
Each General Meeting focuses on a different industry, ranging from cosmetics to pharma to medical school, which has become a popular topic of discussion in recent years. Medical schools reach out to WiCS to advertise (and are often included in WiCS’s newsletter) and help more women learn about the application process and common challenges. In the near future, WiCS plans to have a medical school alumni come speak at one of their General Meetings.
Professional Development Events
In addition to their General Meetings, WiCS hosts professional development events such as LinkedIn workshops, career fair prep, and internship/undergraduate research panels with the School of Chemical Sciences (SCS).
They have also had their advisor Professor Jordan Axelson come to speak about her career path. Professor Axelson received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010, before completing her PhD in Inorganic Synthetic Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley under Professor Jeff Long in 2016. Since returning to the University of Illinois to join the instructional faculty, Professor Axelson has taught CHEM 232 (Elementary Organic Chemistry I) and CHEM 233 (Elementary Organic Chemistry Lab I).
Social Events
In working to build a community among women in Chemical Sciences, WiCS hosts a social event every 2-3 weeks, with each event being open to every member!
Past events have included cookie decorating socials, board game socials, and painting night (pictured right).
WiCS also co-hosts events with other chemistry-based and women-focused engineering RSOs. For instance, they co-hosted this year’s Welcome Back Barbeque with ACS (American Chemical Society), AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers), and OXE (Omega Chi Epsilon, the National Honor Society for Chemical Engineering).
They also hosted a pumpkin-painting social in 2022 with other Women in _____ Societies!
Back to School Barbeque, co-hosted with ACS, OXE, and AIChE
Kung Fu Tea Social
Looking to get Involved?
You can join anytime! As President Parmeet Kaur notes, “Everyone here is welcoming and every event we have new students coming, so don’t worry if you’re coming late.”
Events are publicized on WiCS’s website (wicsillinois.wordpress.com), on their Instagram (@wics.illinois), and on their mailing list.
To become an official member, fill out the WiCS membership form on their website (click the “Join our mailing list” button on the front page)! There are no dues!
Cookie Decorating Social
Painting Social
2023 Leadership
Academic Advisor: Professor Jordan Axelson
President: Parmeet Kaur
External Vice President: Katie Indorante
Internal Vice President: Valerie Chen
Treasurer: Mary Choy
Secretary: MaryAnne Nguyen
WiCS currently does not have any committees, but if you are interested in running for the executive board, you must attend one event per month in order to be eligible to run. Elections are held in March of each year, during which candidate statements are compiled and approximately 50 members vote to ring in the new leadership for next year.
Looking Forward - WiCS’s Goals for the School Year
WiCS was founded in 2021 and thus many of their goals focus on expanding their membership. They plan to keep consistent attendance, aim to host more professional development events, and introduce new events every year as more and more chemists join their ranks.
*A Special Thank You to Parmeet Kaur for speaking with the Engineering Council Publicity Committee about WiCS and for providing all included photos!