The Texas A&M University Department of Chemistry is set to roll out the maroon carpet this week for two days of back-to-back symposia celebrating all things graduate student education, research, service and networking, graciously underwritten by private support and gifts of time from former students and industry partners alike.
On Thursday (June 13), the department will play host to its second annual Graduate Awards Symposium preceded by the Dow Professional Development Workshop, followed by Friday’s (June 14) fifth annual Dr. Matthew A. '82 and Patricia J. Harthcock Professional Development Symposium. Thursday's events will be held in Texas A&M's Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building (ILSB), while Friday's will take place at the Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center.
The Dow Symposium originated in 2015 and is funded primarily through the Dow Chemical Aid to Education Fund, one of many philanthropic initiatives sponsored by Dow Chemical Company. The Graduate Awards Symposium was started in 2023 by the Texas A&M Chemistry Graduate Office to celebrate student research and related achievements. The Harthcock Symposium is generously supported by an endowment established in 2017 by Matt and Patricia Harthcock with the goal of educating and inspiring current graduate students through first-person industry and academic insight shared via presentations, professional development panel discussions, networking events and an alumni advisory committee meeting.
Harthcock, a native of Springfield, Missouri, earned his bachelor of science in chemistry from Missouri State University and his doctorate in chemistry from Texas A&M under the mentorship of Texas A&M Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Dr. Jaan Laane en route to an accomplished four-decade career as a scientist, executive and visionary leader in the plastics and chemical industry. He held successive roles as a research manager at Dow Chemical (1982-1997), a technology manager at GE Plastics (1997-2000), a research and development director at L&L Products (2000-2010) and director of engineering and quality for Ohio-based Schneller LLC (2010-2019) prior to founding his own consulting company, Solutions by Harthcock Associates, in 2019.
As founder and chief executive officer, Harthcock leverages his considerable experience, skills and passion for delivering positive continuous improvement in businesses to create innovative solutions and unprecedented value for a vast range of clients across multiple industry sectors. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Phi Lambda Upsilon National Honorary Chemical Society as well as chair of the SPE Foundation Board. In addition, he is a member of the Texas A&M College of Arts and Sciences External Advisory and Development Council, the Missouri State University Department of Chemistry Advisory Board and the MSU Foundation Board of Trustees.
Thursday’s Dow Workshop morning session, titled “Dissertation Distillation: How to Effectively Summarize Your Work,” will run from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in the ILSB Auditorium. The series of three consecutive breakout sessions — culminating in the two-minute drill — is designed to help students better describe and promote themselves and their science, courtesy of direct feedback from former students regarding their resumes, interviewing and communication skills.
The afternoon session will run from 1 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. and feature presentations from student-nominated speakers from among the chemistry graduate student body who will be competing for a Graduate Presentation Award. The winner will be selected based on a student vote after the presentations. The workshop will be immediately followed by the department’s 3:30 p.m. Graduate Awards Ceremony, along with a 4:30 p.m. reception in the ILSB lobby to close out the day’s events.
“Our hope is that the Graduate Awards Symposium will bring together all members of the department to celebrate the amazing research and accomplishments of our graduate students,” said Dr. Tamara Powers, instructional assistant professor of chemistry and assistant head for graduate studies.
Friday’s Harthcock Symposium, centered around the theme “Chemists Taking Care of Business,” will kick off with an 8:30 a.m. breakfast at the Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center, followed by 9 a.m. opening remarks. The morning session will consist of a crash course in Business 101 featuring keynote addresses from Harthcock and fellow Texas A&M chemistry Ph.D. graduate Dr. Carl D. McAfee ’90, founder of McAfee Consulting LLC. At 10:30 a.m., four experts from industry and academia — Dr. Sherrika Sanders, Technical Services Manager at Manner Polymers; Dr. Leslie O’Leary, R&D Director at Dow; Dr. Jessica Demott ’15, R&D Manager at Arkema Inc. and Dr. Raúl Hernández Sánchez, assistant professor of chemistry at Rice University — will present their firsthand experience regarding career trajectories, product development and lessons learned. The morning session will conclude with an 11:30 a.m. career panel featuring all six guest speakers.
Following an RSVP-required mix-and-mingle networking lunch, the afternoon session will feature two one-hour concurrent events: small group breakout sessions where students can engage with two to three symposium presenters and capitalize on networking and focused discussion opportunities, and a science writing workshop led by the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ Dr. Barbara Gastel that will emphasize effective science communication to non-scientists. After closing remarks, there will be a brief reception at 3:30 p.m. for all attendees and presenters.
Learn more about graduate studies in Texas A&M Chemistry.