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Voting for next year's AIChE Board of Directors is under way as of September 6th at http://www.aiche.org/election. Have your say and help direct the future of AIChE by voting!
The Young Professionals Committee (YPC) asked potential members of AIChE's board four questions about Young Professionals and AIChE. They were asked to answer two main questions, and were given the option of choosing to respond to additional questions, so you may not see responses from every candidate for every question. Answers are shown in alphabetical order by position and the candidate's last name.
In addition to learning about the candidates here, you can also learn more about candidates and the election process on the AIChE election page. You can also hear from candidates for president-elect in this debate.
Q: If a young professional wants to get more involved in AIChE, what steps do you think he or she should take?
For President-Elect
Liese Dallbauman
The first step should be identifying what benefits you want to achieve and what you want to contribute. Is your primary goal to make contacts in your city or region? Local sections often have regularly scheduled meetings and may also host special technical and/or social events. Do you want to interact with experts on a specific technology? Some of the top names in research and practice are engaged in AIChE divisions and forums. There are more than 20, ranging from Separations to Computational Molecular Science and from Process Development to Pharmaceutical Discovery, Development, and Manufacturing.
Christine Seymour
There are many ways to get involved with AIChE — back when I started, we had to go to the meeting and sign the volunteer sheet and if you didn’t physically attend the meeting, you really couldn’t volunteer.
The contact information for all the committees/divisions/forums is on the AIChE website — send them an email and volunteer to help. When I was in the Pharmaceutical Discovery Development and Manufacturing Forum Chair, our newsletter editor was an undergraduate who I had never met. She did a great job running the newsletter meetings, getting the contributions in and publishing the newsletter. And a word of caution, don’t volunteer and then not help — we had several people do this in the Pharmaceutical Discovery Development and Manufacturing Forum and then we cut them from future leadership opportunities.
For Treasurer
Dennis Griffith
AIChE is a great organization for opportunities in development of volunteers, and volunteering at the local and Institute levels is the best way to become involved in AIChE. By volunteering, AIChE members can meet their peers and learn skills for working with and leading other people. Local sections are totally volunteer-run organizations, and their vitality depends on their volunteers. Depending on the size of the local section, a Young Professional volunteer can assist with arrangements for monthly meetings, help with programming, be the webmaster, or serve as an officer. The Institute offers many Young Professional volunteer opportunities from delivering papers at the Spring and Annual Meetings to serving on operating councils. Similar to local sections, Divisions and Forums provide Young Professional volunteer opportunities. It is from the ranks of these volunteers that the nominees for the AIChE Board of Directors are selected.
To get started on the AIChE volunteer path, Young Professionals should contact the chair of the local section to learn about the opportunities that are available. Likewise, at the Institute level, Young Professionals should contact Division and Forum officers, members of the Operating Councils, and AIChE directors and officers.
Rosemarie Wesson
First I recommend getting involved with the local chapter of AIChE. Local chapters are ideal for determining where your strengths and interests lie. Maybe you're interested in scheduling speakers or interacting with AIChE student chapters at local colleges or universities. By becoming involved in local AIChE chapters you find numerous growth opportunities.
I would then recommend presenting or volunteering to organize a session at the Annual or Spring AIChE meeting. Again, based on your strengths, determine which Division most closely matches your interests.
For Director
Billy B. Bardin
The most important step to becoming involved in AIChE is to take the initiative and grab an opportunity. At the Local Section, Division/Forum, or national level, numerous opportunities exist to become involved in AIChE and to support our chemical engineering profession. I believe as a practicing engineer, we must give back to the field and support the development of those less experienced around us in order to pass on our knowledge and experiences as well as to elevate the profession overall. As a first step, identify a mentor who can help open doors and make introductions to leadership teams or executive committees. These groups are always looking for volunteers to fulfill officer positions, lead project teams, or coordinate events. Once you have a group of members in the AIChE that understand your desire to give back, new opportunities to become involved will naturally develop through this network. A second and necessary step is to identify about what you are passionate and volunteer in a related area: Technical Divisions if you are dedicated to a specific field within chemical engineering, STEM outreach to develop our next generation, process safety knowledge transfer to prevent future injuries, and AIChE Student Chapter sponsorship to help new graduates transition from academics to future roles are just a few examples. Working in an area in which you are passionate is critical to having fun and fulfilling the opportunity long term. Finally, a third requirement to gain the most from the experience is to step outside your comfort zone. Try something new to grow, stretch, and challenge. In this way, you will continue to advance professionally and personally.
L. S. Fan
The AIChE organization has many levels and outreach efforts where one can become involved. At the university level, I encourage all students to participate in their Student Chapter, where they can actively engage with their peers, interact with professional chemical engineers, and increase their presence within the chemical engineering community. Upon graduation, the young professional chemical engineer should become an AIChE member (if not already), network with senior co-workers, and attend regional meetings. I would also urge them to proactively engage with the online AIChE community and immerse themselves in the resources available to them. The AIChE organization is a great tool to learn about career opportunities, continue one’s education through webinars, conference presentations, and workshops, and become more familiar with the chemical engineering profession. In addition, the young professional should attend the annual spring and/or annual conferences where they can attend presentations and interact with AIChE members on diverse subject material that align with their professional and personal interests. AIChE also holds events that are specific to an industry or field and represent an important means of increasing knowledge, furthering one’s education, and networking.
Kate Gawel
The best way for anyone to get more involved in AIChE is by reaching out to the Young Professionals Committee (YPC). Over the past nine years, the Young Professionals Committee has grown into a thriving network of young professionals all over the world who are more than happy to tap into their personal network to help other young engineers succeed. The members of YPC will gladly connect you with local section leaders in your area (especially other young professionals), share upcoming opportunities to get involved in AIChE on a Institute level, and ways to help give back by getting involved with local student sections.
Zenaida Otero Gephardt
There are many steps young professionals can take to get more involved in AIChE in addition to joining the Young Professionals Committee. It is important for young professionals to participate throughout the Institute and work with people who are in different life stages and have different levels of professional experience. Here are a few suggestions.
- Become active in Local Sections. With their monthly meetings, educational and service opportunities and events, local sections are an excellent way to identify and foster one's interests, and also to contribute to the profession and the Institute. Local Sections are a great source of mentors and provide young professionals an opportunity to mentor both students and other young professionals.
- Participate in regional student conferences. Presenting at these conferences is an excellent way to strengthen communication skills. it is also an opportunity for young professionals to help AIChE Student Chapters.
- Co-chair technical sessions at Spring and Annual Meetings. Division chairs are looking for volunteers. Young professionals can find mentors in session chairs and meet researchers in their technical areas.
- Attend the Spring and Annual Meetings and the meetings' receptions. AIChE meetings strengthen and expand one's technical knowledge and network of colleagues and friends. Check out the many technical and operational committees that need help and, in turn, can help young professionals develop technical, business and personal skills.
- Become active in Operating Council Committees. AIChE's three Operating Councils have committees where young professionals can contribute and further enhance their professional and personal development.
AIChE has numerous groups and committees where young professionals can make strong contributions while getting the professional and personal development they need for success. Whatever one's interest, there is an AIChE group that young professionals can join and work with on the road to becoming seasoned professionals.
Mary Kathryn (Kathy) Lee
AIChE has unlimited opportunities for young professionals locally and nationally. I'll just share my experience of my early involvement in AIChE. I was sent by my company to national meetings on a regular basis as part of my own continuing education. I was invited to a attend MAC Business Meeting. From there, I learned about the work MAC was doing and realized that work was closely aligned with my interests. And thus my involvement began. All you need is an idea, a passion or an interest. You can meet people, both volunteers and AIChE staff, who will help you execute.
So my advice is just to come to a business meeting that represents your passion and you will find a community that welcomes you. You can make a real difference. And you don't have to attend every meeting to be involved.
JoAnn S. Lighty
I would get involved with your Local Section as much as possible as a first step, or get involved with a Division. Submit abstracts to the Spring and/or Annual Meetings and volunteer as a co-chair or chair of a session. Of course, volunteering to be on the Young Professionals Committee is also an important step. As much as you can, stay involved and visible.
Al Sacco, Jr.
What I did is typical of most young professionals. I first got involved as a student, then volunteered in areas of interest to me in my Regional Chapter, and then moved into more national and international activities. At both the regional and national level it is good to be a session chair or co-chair to se how the AIChE works, to meet like-minded people and to just be involved.