Welcome to the Maryland Younger Chemists Committee!
The Maryland Younger Chemists Committee (MD-YCC) is a committee of the Maryland Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). We aim to empower, support, and advocate for Maryland chemists under 40 as they develop and advance their professional lives.
Members
Olivia Wilkins (Chair)
Rowena Liu (Secretary)
Nic Brinza
Kyle Edwards
Jason Han
Jillian Malbrough
Dalton Pearl
Kaylyn Stewart
Sarah Zimmermann
Officer biographies
Olivia Harper Wilkins, PhD, is a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she conducts experiments to understand the chemistry of cosmic ices through the Sublimation of Laboratory Ices Millimeter/submillimeter Experiment (SubLIME). She earned her PhD in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. She also graduated with a BS in Chemistry and Mathematics from Dickinson College in 2015, after which she spent a year with the Cologne Laboratory Astrophysics Group in Germany as a Fulbright Research Fellow. Olivia is passionate about writing and art, something that culminated in her writing and illustrating Astrochemistry (2021) for the ACS In Focus e-book series. She is a member of the 2022 CAS Future Leaders cohort. In addition to serving as Chair of the ACS Maryland Section Younger Chemists Committee (YCC), Olivia is an Associate of the national YCC, Member-at-Large for the Maryland Section, and contributor to the Chesapeake Chemist. She enjoys traveling and spending time in coffee shops with her husband, Alex, and their son, Günther.
Rowena Liu is an undergraduate student completing a double major in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where she is part of the Honors College and graduating class of 2027. Rowena hopes to continue her education after graduation by receiving her PhD and pursuing research. Besides academics, Rowena is passionate about art, something she cultivates through photography and serving on the leadership team for a nonprofit called A Palette for Change. In her free time, you will find her reading, writing for the Letter Project, or spending time with family and friends. Rowena believes that anyone can be a great chemist and hopes to create an inclusive community for younger chemists. She spreads the joy she finds in chemistry to inspire others and learn about their stories. Her wish for younger chemists is for them to be confident in themselves and their ability to make a difference, at any age.
Archived information
2023 slideshow:
YCC reinstated PPT revised 4-28-23