Leveraging Leadership Skills

Arianne C. Hunter is a first-generation academic scholar whose love for chemistry has helped open many doors she could only dream of growing up. She is an alumna of Dartmouth College, where she received her B.A. in Chemistry and Anthropology in 2014. She then returned to her home state and completed her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 2019 with Dr. Indrajeet Sharma at The University of Oklahoma, where her research was focused on developing cost-effective synthetic methods to construct biologically relevant molecules with high levels of three-dimensionality rapidly. Upon completing her doctorate, Arianne moved to Atlanta, GA, to work as a Forensic Chemist for the Defense Forensic Science Center to fulfill her service agreement for the SMART Department of Defense Fellowship she received during her Ph.D. studies. In this position, she lived in Kuwait, conducting forensic analysis on evidence retrieved by US soldiers and allies from violent extremist organizations while leading the only accredited forensic chemistry laboratory in the ARCENT AOR. In the Spring of 2022, Arianne returned to academia as an NSF Ascend and Caltech Presidential Post-doctoral Fellow in the lab of Professor Sarah Reisman, where her research is focused on the development of synthetic methodologies enabled by electrochemistry and further optimized by data chemistry.

Julian G. West is a Canadian-American chemist who firmly believes the greatest advances in science are only possible through supporting and empowering a diverse team of scholars. Julian spent his mentored career collecting different chemistry experiences in the US and Canada. He received his B.Sc.H. in chemistry from UBC Vancouver with Dr. Glenn Sammis, his Ph.D. as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at Princeton with Dr. Erik Sorensen, and was an NIH and Resnick Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech with Drs. Harry Gray and Brian Stoltz. Julian joined Rice University in July 2019 as an assistant professor of chemistry, where his group has been captivated by the possibilities of free radicals in catalysis and many projects come from exciting student ideas. Julian recognizes the importance of work-life balance and group members pursue a wide range of interests outside of lab. Personally, he likes to play music, run, and sometimes write magazine articles. Julian and his group have been recognized by awards including the NIH Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award, the ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award, a CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research Award and being named on the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 – Science list. He is particularly proud of receiving the 2021 Rice Graduate Student Association Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award.

Dr. Jovana V. Milić is Assistant Professor at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland since January 2021. She has obtained her PhD in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences (D-CHAB) of ETH Zurich in 2017. She then worked as postdoctoral researcher and scientist in the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces of at EPFL, until taking on a Group Leader position at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg as Swiss National Science Foundation PRIMA Fellow in September 2020, where she presently leads the Smart Energy Materials group. Her research is centred around the development of (supra)molecular materials for renewable energy conversion that can respond to external stimuli and adapt to their operating conditions, with a particular focus on photovoltaics. This involves a multidisciplinary approach at the interface of chemistry, physics, material science, and engineering towards sustainable development. In addition to research and international collaborations, she is invested in science outreach, policy, and diplomacy as Science Advice Working Group Co-Lead at the Global Young Academy, as well as through activities of the Swiss Young Academy, European Young Chemists’ Network, and International Younger Chemists Network, connecting and supporting young scientists globally.

Dr. Cassandra Callmann is an Assistant Professor and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research in the Chemistry Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research program is centered on developing new chemical tools and materials to understand biological processes and manipulate biological systems. Prior to her appointment at UT-Austin, she was an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University, where she researched nanoscale cancer immunotherapeutics for triple-negative breast cancer. She earned both her M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, where she developed peptide- and lipid-based chemotherapeutic delivery systems for targeted cancer therapy.For her work as an early career researcher, she was selected as a 2019 CAS Future Leader by the Chemical Abstracts Service of the American Chemical Society.