Empowering Women in Science

The ACS East Central Illinois Women Chemists Committee was founded in the fall of 2005 to promote the development of women in the chemical sciences. With the support of our local ACS chapter and the University of Illinois Chemistry department, we have planned events that include professional and social opportunities that benefit graduate students, faculty, staff, and undergraduates. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to join.

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Featured Member - October 2008

Rachel Behrens is a fourth year in analytical chemistry in the lab of Andrzej Wieckowski. Rachel recently received the Coleman Fellowship through the University of Illinois, as well as winning a travel grant of sorts that will allow her to be one of two graduate students to represent the International Society of Electrochemistry at the upcoming Electrochemical Society meeting in Hawaii. She is an active member of the American Chemical society, as well as the two aforementioned electrochemical societies, as well as being a founding member of the WCC and ECS here at Illinois. Rachel also played a role in organizing this year's Bonding with Chemistry event by helping to secure an Innovative Award Grant from the ACS.

Rachel's research centers on fundamental studies of anodic reactions at an electrode surface, which would ultimately have implications for fuel cell research. By combining electrochemistry and spectroscopy, she is able to observe what occurs at the catalysts surface during oxidation reactions; her current focus is intermediates generated during formic acid oxidation on platinum electrodes and the determination of differences in catalytic pathways from surface structure.

Rachel hails from Grand Island, Nebraska. She received her B. S. in Chemistry from Illinois in January of 2001. Following her tenure here, Rachel would like to find a post-doc position and then find some place to be a professor.

We are honored to feature you, Rachel!

Do you have a nomination for a Featured Member of the Month? Did you or another WCC member recently publish a paper, receive an award, or present at a meeting? Let us know at wcc@scs.uiuc.edu!