Thank you to everyone who attended the symposium!
The Spring 2025 installment of the St. Elmo Brady Research Symposium was a success bringing together a diverse group of scientists to celebrate the legacy of St. Elmo Brady on February 15, 2025. We were especially thrilled to welcome members the NOBCChE Chapter from the University of Illinois at Chicago who made the trip down to Urbana to join us for this gathering.
The highlight of the symposium was the keynote presentation by Segun Victor Obisesan Ph.D., who shared insights into his work at Evonik Corporation and his journey toward earning a Ph.D. in chemistry. His talk offered a glimpse into how chemical research works in industrial contexts as well as the hard work required for under-represented scientists to be successful in academia and industry.
Our Career Panel featured distinguished professionals, Craig Richard, Ph.D. (Science Communication Professional), Ari Nuñez (Laboratory Manager), and Kyle Shelton, Ph.D. (Technology Transfer Professional), who provided invaluable guidance on career pathways and professional development. Their discussions sparked engaging conversations about mental health, preparing oneself for future employment before graduation, and offered attendees a wealth of knowledge on navigating careers in chemistry and beyond.
Our Graduate School Panel was an intimate conversation between undergraduate students interested in achieved advanced degrees in Chemistry and related fields with current graduate students. They discussed the reasons why one should obtain an advanced degree, how to choose an advisor, and work-life balance.
The poster session featured poster presentations from Wolfgang Trier, Lucia Rodriguez and Meixuan Tong, Michael Myszka, and Sonji Lamichhane. The poster contest was judged by Post-doctoral Scholars Meghan Orr, Jonathan Turnley, and Vishnu Raghuraman. Congratulations to the winners of the poster context Wolfgang Trier and Sonji Lamichhane who each won a $200 prize awarded by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Chemical Sciences at Illinois.
The symposium concluded on a lively and engaging note, as participants came together for board games and networking, reinforcing our commitment to building a strong, supportive community. Thank you the the executive board members of NOBCChE Micah Robinson )President), Kristin Martin (Vice President), Imani Jones (Treasurer), Brittany Prempin (Communications Chair), Chloe Lin (Secretary) and Adrian Lindsay (Undergraduate Liaison)–without their tireless work, the symposium would not have been a success.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event a remarkable success. We are especially thankful to the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the School of Chemical Sciences for funding this event! We look forward to an even bigger and better symposium next year!
The UIUC Student Chapter of NOBCChE is excited to present the Spring 2025 St. Elmo Brady Symposium. The St. Elmo Brady Lecture Series is held each semester to honor Illinois Chemistry Alumni St. Elmo Brady (PhD, ’16). This year’s event will feature breakfast at 9:30am preceding a lecture from our esteemed speaker Segun Victor Obisesan Ph.D. from Evonik Corporation at 10:00am in Illini Union Room 104, which will be followed by concurrent informational panels and a poster session in the afternoon.
This event is supported by the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering,
the Department of Chemistry, & the School of Chemical Sciences
All students, faculty, and staff are welcome – you do not have to be a NOBCChE member to attend!
| Attire | Business Casual |
| Date | Feb 15, 2025 |
| Time | 9:30am – 3:30pm (lecture at 10:00am) |
| Location | Illini Union 104 |
| Time | Event | Location |
| 9:00-10:00 AM | Registration | Illini Union Room 104 |
| 9:30-10:00 AM | Breakfast | Illini Union Room 104 |
| 10:10-11:00 AM | Spring 2025 St. Elmo Brady Lecturer: Segun Obisesan, Ph.D., Evonik Corporation “Mechanism of reaction and process optimization of a nitrile derived dialkylamine” | Illini Union Room 104 |
| 11:00-12:00 PM | Career Panel | Illini Union Room 104 |
| Grad School Panel | Illini Union Room 103 | |
| 12:00-1:00 PM | Lunch | Illini Union Room 104/103 |
| 1:15-2:15 PM | Poster session | Illini Union Room 103 |
| 2:15-2:30 PM | Concluding Remarks | Illini Union Room 104 |
| 2:30-3:30 PM | Board and Card games | Illini Union Basement |