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Student Organizations

The Department of Chemistry supports six student organizations:

Research Safety Student Initiative (RSSI)

The mission of RSSI is to develop and promote a stronger culture of safety across research laboratories at Northwestern University through an increased awareness of safety hazards and a more positive mindset toward safe laboratory practices. In conjunction with ORS, we aim to encourage university-wide commitment to safety by providing education, resources, and training.

Phi Lambda Upsilon (PLU)

The Alpha Gamma chapter of PLU is determined to promote an enjoyable and broad learning experience for chemistry graduate students at Northwestern University. We enhance each member’s ability to become active in the department and the greater chemical community by providing volunteer opportunities and holding social events and career panels throughout the year. The chapter also sponsors the annual Marple-Schweitzer Lecture, where we recognize graduate-level excellence in research, teaching, and activism through a series of awards. Additionally, we encourage conference travel by offering a series of travel grants. Board recruitment happens in mid-July after second-year students have completed their qualifying exams; only Ph.D. candidates are eligible to become members of PLU and serve on its board.

Graduate Liaison Committee (GLC)

GLC serves as the liaison between the chemistry graduate student body and the chemistry faculty. The GLC aims to facilitate positive and productive student-faculty interactions, foster department community, suggest and enact departmental change in accordance with feedback from the student body, and work with the department and other student organizations to address graduate student concerns.


Paideia

Paideia is a graduate student organization started out of the chemistry department. We host weekly talks given by students, post docs, or faculty, where we provide snacks and refreshments. Our mission is to provide a collaborative student-focused space to encourage discussions, learning, and common knowledge among researchers studying energy-matter interactions. We bring together students across different departments to share their knowledge and grow a scientific community. This community enriches researchers’ perspectives on different approaches to the physical sciences. Overall, by uniting a diverse group of researchers we will improve Northwestern’s culture of strong scientific collaborations through shared presentations and developments of “Friday afternoon experiments.”

NUBonD

NU BonD is a graduate student-led organization whose primary goal is to promote community excellence through celebration of the depth and breadth of the diverse backgrounds represented within Northwestern University’s Department of Chemistry. We host a variety of events throughout the year, including numerous workshops, community building events and the Faces of Science Seminar where we invite extraordinary scientists who have broken boundaries and overcome adversity to come to Northwestern to present a lecture series.

Women in Science and Engineering Research (WISER)

(WISER) is a graduate student organization at Northwestern University. We work towards building community among graduate women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, promoting & advancing women's leadership in STEM, and sponsoring workshops & seminars focused on professional skills development for early-career women in the sciences. Board recruitment typically occurs in May; all graduate students in STEM-related fields at Northwestern are eligible to serve on the board.

Chemistry Graduate Student Teachers (CGST)
The mission of CGST is to positively impact the departmental culture around teaching and learning through the professional development of chemistry graduate student teachers and the improvement of undergraduate chemistry education at Northwestern. CGST initiatives include monthly lunch discussions on topics in teaching and learning as well as support in organizing and facilitating new TA training. 

For more information on graduate student organizations, please visit the TGS student organizations page or check out the Chemistry Graduate Student Organization Calendar for upcoming events.