Experience is widely recognized as one of life’s most effective teachers, and organizers of the upcoming 2020 Susan M. Arseven ’75 Conference for Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) guarantee multiple opportunities to learn from some of the best within the STEM professions and Aggieland next month on the Texas A&M campus.
Registration opened today (Jan. 30) for the popular annual WISE Conference, now in its 28th year and set for Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M campus. This year’s theme, Women Evolving in STEM, focuses on creating professional and personal networks — critical connections essential to successfully navigating, mastering, and maximizing the many facets and phases of life.
The event will feature a day of common ground, conversation and inspiration among friends in a series of interactive workshops featuring speakers who will share their insights gained along the journey from diploma to career and all points in between. Topics include transcending technicalities, owning your career, traits for success, and evolving in an ever-changing industry.
“This is a two-way participatory opportunity to discuss a variety of challenges women face in preparing for and pursuing successful science, engineering and technological careers, with knowledgeable speakers addressing obstacles and opportunities they have encountered in both their personal and professional lives,” said Dr. Nancy Magnussen, director of Educational Outreach and Women’s Programs in the College of Science, which organizes and hosts the annual event. “Whether trying to get out of graduate school or deciding if the current career path is the correct one, everyone should take away new thoughts and ideas from our motivated and inspired speakers.”
The daylong conference (see schedule) will feature a keynote presentation by 2006 Texas A&M graduate Charlotte Burress, Senior Technology Manager for Multi-Chem, a Halliburton Service. She earned her Ph.D. in chemistry in 2006 as a member of Texas A&M Distinguished Professor of Chemistry François P. Gabbaï’s research group and, in the years since, has held a variety of leadership roles in the U.S. and abroad during her 14-year career with Halliburton.
The complete list of speakers includes representatives of Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, Halliburton, Inscripta, Intel, Merck and Thermo Fisher and features six Texas A&M former students including Burress.
The conference is named in honor of the late Dr. Susan M. Arseven ’75, one of the leading strategists in information technology during a career spanning several disciplines and a pioneering example of Aggie leadership. Thanks to generous funding from a permanent endowment established through the Texas A&M Foundation by Arseven’s husband, biostatistician Dr. Ersen Arseven ’74, the event also showcases the Susan M. Arseven Make-A-Difference Award — two $1,000 awards presented to female graduate students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in science, engineering or technology as part of the conference.
The registration fee is $50 ($35 for students) and includes a pre-conference reception at Benjamin Knox Gallery on Friday, Feb. 21, a registration packet and lunch on Saturday. Participants are encouraged to register online before the Feb. 18 deadline and also to check with their academic departments, several of which cover registration fees.
Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) at Texas A&M is a university-recognized organization of graduate students, staff and faculty from various science and engineering backgrounds. The group was created to address specific problems faced by women in non-traditional fields.
For more information about the conference or other outreach events and women’s programs in the College of Science, visit https://outreach.science.tamu.edu.
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Contact: Shana K. Hutchins, (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@science.tamu.edu or Rhiannon Kliesing, (979) 458-4450 or rhiannonk@science.tamu.edu
