Finding confidence, a career path in a TU immunology lab
How mentorship, research shaped Hill-Lopes scholar Sumra Chaudhryâs TU experience
Events
Women make groundbreaking contributions to the STEM workforce. Join us to learn from and honor their achievements.
Events are sponsored by the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program and the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics. All students, staff, faculty and community members are welcome to attend.
Explore upcoming events or learn about past events.
Upcoming Events
Women in Science Now: Stories and Strategies for Achieving Equity
Thursday, March 26, at 4 p.m., Towson University Science Complex
Join the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program for a workshop with Selena Rezvani, author of âQuick Confidence: Be Authentic, Boost Connections, and Make Bold Bets on Yourself.â
About the workshop
Quick Confidence: Own Your Power
Most aspiring leaders know they need self-confidence: the ability to project authority, belief, and authenticity. Yet lasting confidence requires more than fake it âtil you make it platitudes. This session, based on Selena Rezvaniâs Wall Street Journal bestseller, , helps you summon your personal power by addressing three key confidence filters â mindset shifts, body language habits, and interpersonal techniques. Through immersive exercises, youâll practice owning your authority and making your credibility known. Whether youâre dealing with intimidating people, hoping to ace a presentation or better connect with others, participants will walk away ready to show up and speak up â and help others do the same.
About the Speaker
Selena Rezvani
Selena Rezvani is a leadership consultant and speaker, and was named by Forbes âthe premier expert on self-advocacy at work.â She helps leaders and teams build trust, share power, and communicate with confidence. The author of four leadership books â including the Wall Street Journal bestseller âQuick Confidenceâ and the brand new âQuick Leadershipâ â Selena also creates content for her 500,000+ social media followers, offering practical strategies on negotiation, leadership and workplace influence.
Past Events
Using Chemistry and Nanoscale Structure to Improve the Performance of Batteries with Sarah Tolbert, Ph.D.
The Hill-Lopes Scholars Program presented a talk with Sarah Tolbert, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA.
About the Talk
The talk focused on understanding how chemical control of nanoscale structure can be used to improve the performance of rechargeable batteries. It began with a basic review of battery chemistry, with the goal of explaining how rechargeable batteriesâspecifically lithium-ion batteriesâdiffer from other systems. The presentation then addressed two of the biggest challenges facing current lithium-ion batteries: slow charging and limited energy storage capacity. Both issues were shown to be addressable through the development of nanostructured versions of conventional electrode materials. Solution-phase synthetic methods were discussed as a way to create electrode materials filled with nanoscale pores, which allow liquid electrolytes to carry lithium ions into the bulk of the materials and speed up charging. For very high-capacity materials, the focus shifted from charging speed to the problem of electrode expansion during lithium insertion, which can lead to cracking and battery failure. The talk explained how porosity helps mitigate this issue by providing internal space to accommodate expansion. For both systems, X-ray techniques were used to observe batteries during cycling in order to understand nanoscale structural changes.
About the Speaker
Sarah H. Tolbert
Sarah H. Tolbert is a Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She holds the Charles and Carolyn Knobler Endowed Term Chair. Her research focuses on controlling nanometer-scale architecture in solution-processed nanomaterials to generate unique optical, electronic, magnetic, structural, and electrochemical properties.
Publications and Awards
Sarah has published over 250 scholarly research article and has more than 20 patents. She also directs a program aimed at bringing nanoscience concepts to schools, students, and the general public throughout the greater LA area. Professor Tolbert is the recipient of a number of awards including the American Chemical Society Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry, the Southern California ACS Tolman Medal, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, an NSF Special Creativity Award, the ACS R.A. Glen Award, and a UCLA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award. She currently directs the Center for Strain Optimization for Renewable Energy (STORE), which is part of the DOE Science Foundations for Energy Earthshots program.
For questions or special accommodations, please contact the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program at or 410-704-2275.
Women in Science Now: Stories and Strategies for Achieving Equity
The Hill-Lopes Scholars Program presented a book talk with Lisa M.P. Munoz, author of Women in Science Now: Stories and Strategies for Achieving Equity.
About the Book
Women in Science Now examines solutions to the persistent gender gap in science, offering new perspectives on how to make STEM fields more equitable and inclusive for all. This book shares stories and insights of women from a range of backgrounds working in various disciplines, illustrating the journeys that brought them to the sciences, the challenges they faced along the way and the important contributions they have made to their fields.
Author Lisa M.P. Munoz combines these narratives with a wealth of data to illuminate the size and scope of the challenges women scientists face, while highlighting research-based solutions to help overcome these obstacles. She presents groundbreaking studies in social psychology and organizational behavior that are informing novel approaches for combating historic and ongoing inequities. Women in Science Now combines her passion for telling the stories of individual scientists with her drive to share groundbreaking research studies and help to effect change in the culture of science.
About the Speaker
Lisa M.P. Munoz
Lisa M.P. Munoz is a science writer and the founder and president of SciComm Services, a science communications consulting firm. A former journalist and press officer, she has more than twenty years of experience crafting science content for scientists and the public alike. Munoz was the publicist and outreach producer for the Emmy-nominated documentary film Picture a Scientist and holds an engineering degree from Cornell University.
This event was hosted in partnership with .
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Online Child Safety
Presented by Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, Ph.D., a globally recognized cyberforensic expert in the area of internet crimes against children. In her seminar, Seigfried-Spellar shared her interdisciplinary approach to online child safety through her research that merges the behavioral and social sciences with cybercrime.
About the Speaker
Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar
Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, Ph.D., M.A., is the chair of the digital multimedia sciences section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She studies the personality characteristics and socio-legal factors associated with cyberdeviance, such as internet child pornography use, hacking, cyberbullying, trolling and cyber threats via social media. Seigfried-Spellar has published in the area of digital forensics, specifically the ability to conduct a behavioral analysis of digital forensic evidence from child pornography investigations.
Becton Dickson STEM Virtual Career Panel
Previous speakers included:
- Panel speakers from Becton, Dickinson and Company â Brandy Garzel, a Research and Development Manager in Molecular Diagnostic Systems; Rita Matta, Surgery Innovation and Strategic Lead; Caitlin Austin, Senior Manager and Software Product Owner
- Lisa Orbé-Austin, licensed psychologist and executive career coach
- Dawn Wright is Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute
- Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-founder of Stemettes
- Teresa Norberg-King, an aquatic toxicologist
- Malika Grayson, founder of STEMinist Empowered LLC
- Meg Urry, pioneering researcher who discovered several black holes
- Rita Colwell, a groundbreaking microbiologist
Women in STEM discussed their careers at , one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world that is advancing the world of healthâą by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care.
Panel Speakers
Brandy Garzel, Ph.D.
Brandy Garzel is a Research and Development Manager in Molecular Diagnostic Systems at BD. She leads a team of scientists in the development of molecular PCR tests for the diagnosis of diseases such as respiratory illness. Brandy joined BD as a research scientist in 2018, after spending a year at the FDA as an ORISE fellow. She was promoted to R&D Manager in 2023, and enjoys the challenging, yet rewarding nature of Molecular Diagnostics.
Rita Matta, Ph.D.
Rita Matta is a Surgery Innovation and Strategic Lead at BD. She is in the Technology Leadership Development Program (TLDP), a R&D rotational program for Ph.D.s, which consists of three successively more challenging assignments that can span multiple businesses and/or locations within BD. TLPD strengthens skillsets while developing leadership skills across multiple disciplines.
Caitlin Austin, Ph.D.
Caitlin Austin is a Senior Manager and Software Product Owner, driving product feature design for the next generation blood culture instrument at BD. Caitlin first began her journey with BD as an intern at BDTI in 2015. She joined BDâs Technology Leadership Development Program in 2017 and rotated through three business units on efforts spanning Technology Development, Strategic Innovation and Product Development.
This event is hosted by the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program in partnership with . The Hill-Lopes Scholars Program seeks to support women in STEM at Towson University and beyond through professional development, community and career exploration.
Imposter Syndrome 101
Lisa Orbé-Austin, Ph.D. gave an overview of impostor syndrome, including:
- typical signs and behaviors
- different ways it may manifest as a result of sociocultural and environmental factors
- how it impacts leadership and team functioning
- the most effective coping strategies
- action planning to address it in daily practice
About the Speaker
is a licensed psychologist and executive coach, with a focus on career advancement and leadership development. She is a co-founder and partner of , a career and executive coaching consultancy, where she works mostly with high-potential managers and executives. She earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.
The Dive of a Lifetime to the Deepest Place on Earth
Dawn Wright, Ph.D. shared the results of her recent mission to Challenger Deepâthe deepest place on Earth. A major objective of the dive was a technological proof-of-concept operation of the first portable FOD sidescan sonar to be installed and operated on a submersible, and for well beyond the standard commercial limitation of 6000 m.
About the Speaker
is Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (aka Esri), a world-leading geographic information system (GIS) software and data science company.
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Women Taking Back Tech
Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE lead a discussion about her book .
About the Speaker
Anne-Marie Imafidon is the co-founder of , an award-winning social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation of young women in the STEM sectors. Since its inception 10 years ago, it has exposed more than 60,000 girls across Europe to her vision for a more diverse and balanced science and tech community.
Deemed a prodigy, she was the youngest girl ever to pass A-level Computing at age 11, and was just 20 years old when she received her Masterâs Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford.
Picture a Scientist Film Screening and Panel Discussion
The program hosted a screening of Picture a Scientist - a feature-length documentary film that chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. After the film, a panel of faculty and staff members from the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts and The Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity lead a discussion.
Highlights of Career Research Experiences at the EPA
shared highlights of her career research experiences at the EPA. Her presentation included personal and professional experiences about how she developed aquatic toxicity test methods for wastewater, contaminated sediments and problem pollutants. She discussed technical challenges, scientific accomplishments and how methods and approaches were vetted through the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) journals and scientific conferences - essential for environmental management decisions within EPA.
About the Speaker
Teresa Norberg-King is an aquatic toxicologist. During her career at the EPA, Teresa conducted research in the Office of Research and Development, where her research interests included chemical testing, mixtures, bioaccumulation, effluent and sediment toxicology, toxicity identification evaluations, toxicity of major ions (TDS), early life stage fish testing, and animal alternatives. She focused on various biological approaches to assessing the effects of chemicals and chemicals on aquatic ecosystems.
Teresa Norberg-King is now self-employed and continues to pursue her research interests and mentor professionals in environmental toxicology and chemistry.
Hooded: A Black Girl's Guide to the Ph.D
, discussed her âABCs of STEM Successâ and spoke about her book
About the Speaker
Grayson is the founder of STEMinist Empowered LLCâan organization focused on the empowerment of women of color who pursue graduate degrees, through consultancy and mentorship.
Dr. Grayson is a Fortune 100 global speaker, mechanical engineer and bestselling author. Her passion for increasing the number of women who graduate through the STEM pipeline motivated her to create ASPIRE STEM, which focuses on providing financial assistance to young women from high school and secondary school who aspire to pursue STEM at the university level. In 2021, Grayson was awarded the inaugural scholarship to three young women from Trinidad.
Black Holes, Galaxies and the Evolution of the Universe
has discovered several black holes. During the presentation, she discussed her research on black holes and advocacy for advancing women in STEM.
About the Speaker
Meg Urry is the Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University, Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, former Chair of the Yale Physics Department, and former President of the American Astronomical Society. Dr. Urry earned her Ph.D. in Physics from Johns Hopkins University and her B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Tufts University.
Her scientific research on active galaxies appears in over 330 refereed research papers, including one of the most highly cited review papers in astronomy. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Academy of Sciences, and received the Annie Jump Cannon and George van Biesbroeck prizes from the American Astronomical Society.
A Lab of Oneâs Own: One Womanâs Personal Journey Through Sexism in Science
shared stories from her new memoir, . The book documents Colwellâs journey through six decades in science, from sexual harassment in the lab to obscure systems blocking women from leading professional organizations or publishing their work.
About the Speaker
Colwell is a groundbreaking microbiologist and the first woman to lead the National Science Foundation, where she served as the director from 1998 to 2004. She is a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland at College Park and at Johns Hopkins Universityâs Bloomberg School of Public Health.