Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Contact person: Mamta Dagar (Matson Group)

The Chemistry Graduate Association (CGA) is a student-led organization for and by chemistry graduate students. Our goal is to provide a platform for the members of the department to pivot from their academic life, come together as one big family to bond, celebrate, and give back to the community.

Community Outreach

If you enjoy fun, engaging science demonstrations and want to help young students explore just how awesome chemistry can be, then CGA is perfect for you! In the past years, we have worked closely with members of the department to organize interactive experiments for National Chemistry Week that have reached over 600 students (over the course of one week!) across the Rochester City School district. We hope to continue this initiative in the upcoming years as well! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you want to contribute in any way possible.

Additionally, we have formed a strong partnership with Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School No.19, participating in their annual Science Discovery Day for the past five years. Recently, we have also deliberated ways to reach out to high school students, discussing topics such as earning a degree in the sciences, as well as future career opportunities.

Department Events

CGA works closely with the department to plan annual events such as the Fall Luncheon and Awards Ceremony, the Holiday Party, and the Summer Picnic. All of these events offer great opportunities for students, staff and faculty to engage, so we are always happy to work with the amazing people who make such gatherings possible. Recently, we welcomed the new cohort of graduate students over a game of trivia, food, and drinks!

We also strive to facilitate inter-departmental relationships: we recently organized a poster session that brought members of the chemistry and chemical engineering departments together to learn about each other’s work and open a dialogue between people in our scientific community that might lead to future collaborations. Another poster session is currently being planned!

Chem In Motion was created to promote good mental and physical health among chemistry graduate students. Monthly events are graduate student organized and centered around maintaining social connections and exploration of new hobbies. Some of these activities include:

• Apple picking
• Sledding
• Hockey games
• Outdoor workouts
• Social hours
• Summer kickball league

We hope that these events will continue to happen in the future and expand to include undergraduatess and maybe even graduate students from other departments.

Group leader(s): Dasha Rodina (Paradine Group) and Cay McNichol (Paradine Group)

The Undergraduate Chemistry Society is a group of students interested in chemistry that work to engage the University and Rochester community through social, educational, and outreach events throughout the year. We host free tutoring hours twice a week to provide support for students taking various chemistry courses.