A series of posters celebrating influential chemists from diverse backgrounds will be going up along the Lash Miller 1st-floor undergraduate lab hallway this month.
"Chemists of Influence is an initiative by the U of T Department of Chemistry to highlight chemists from diverse backgrounds who have overcome adversities to succeed in their respective fields of chemistry," said Anita Hu, a graduate student at U of T who helped create the posters. "From materials to biological to physical chemistry, these scientists are leaders in their field and inspire work being done by researchers in our own Department of Chemistry."
Hu said the hope is for students to learn more about the work of Carolyn Bertozzi, Raychelle Burks, Mostafa El-Sayed, Diana Aga, Jennifer Petter, Polly L. Arnold and Paula T. Hammond through these posters, and thus become inspired to pursue their own future discoveries in chemistry.
Like lab work itself, the creation of the posters was a team effort. Hu made the posters with Bennett Armstrong, a University College student in the final year of her Chemistry Major. (Armstrong was featured recently in an Elements of Success profile, where she talks about her CHM499 project as well as the Chemists of Influence initiative.) Hu and Armstrong also worked with Professor Andy Dicks, and consulted members of WICTO and the Chemistry EDI committee for reviews of the completed posters to ensure EDI and science communication criteria were met.
Armstrong said: "The project is rooted in making the chemistry community more welcoming and representative. Each poster features a chemist whose work has had a notable impact either scientifically, through mentorship, or through contributions to equity and inclusion. Our goal is to showcase a broad spectrum of research areas and personal backgrounds so that students can see themselves reflected in the field and learn about the many different ways to “be a chemist.” "
The Chemists of Influence posters offer the Chemistry community a reminder that science thrives on diversity, collaboration, and perseverance. The stories of the these remarkable scientists are an inspiration--and a challenge to all wo see them to add their own contributions to U of T's legacy of discovery.
For those eager for an advance look at these posters, a slide show of the work is below.
Our goal is to showcase a broad spectrum of research areas and personal backgrounds so that students can see themselves reflected in the field and learn about the many different ways to “be a chemist.” -Bennett Armstrong