Texas A&M University, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Women in Materials Science (WIMS)
Women in Materials Science (WIMS) is a student organization in the Materials Science and Engineering department at Texas A&M that is advised by Dr. Sukhishvili. WIMS is currently led by Jordan Brito (president) and Ciera Cipriani (vice president). Our officers include treasurer Ozge Kaynan, reporter Rebeca Gurrola, internal secretary Olivia Esmacher, external secretary Galilea Puente, and ambassadors Isabella Alvarado and Kaleigh Curtis.
The mission of our organization is to encourage the younger generation to pursue studies in materials science and careers in STEM fields while promoting a welcoming community atmosphere among students and faculty. To obtain our goal, we participate in outreach activities targeted at younger students with the hopes that providing them first-hand experience doing scientific experiments will kindle their interest in science. We also encourage members to build a network with professionals in STEM fields by organizing on-site visits at leading companies and hosting lunch and learn seminars with industrial experts and professors from academia.
To inquire about the organization or request to be added to the WIMS email list, please contact us at tamu.wims@gmail.com. Please see below for previous activities that WIMS has participated in.
WIMS president Hanna Hlushko and officers Raman Hlushko, Ciera Cipriani, and Jordan Brito performed demonstrations for parents and children of all ages at the Mini Physics Festival hosted by the TAMU Women’s Club.
Dr. Svetlana Sukhishvili, Hanna Hlushko, Mengying Liu, Diana Al Husseini, and Jordan Brito provided departmental information and performed demonstrations for prospective high school students at Aggieland Saturday.
From left to right: Jordan Brito, Diana Al Husseini, Hanna Hlushko (president), Mengying Liu (vice president), and Dr. Svetlana Sukhishvili (faculty advisor) at Aggieland SaturdayThe WIMS organization performed demos for prospective students
WIMS sponsored a few members to attend the WISE Conference on February 22, 2020. At the conference, Hanna, Diana, and Jordan attended presentations and workshops related to this year’s theme: Women Evolving in STEM.
Hanna and Jordan gave lessons about materials science and polymers to students of Allen Academy. The lessons were given by video call and incorporated live demos to teach about hydrogel properties and their response to environment.
Hanna and Jordan taking a selfie with the Allen Academy class (on the laptop)Hanna and Jordan showing a hydrogel demo to students via video call
WIMS members Ciera Cipriani, Tanaya Mandal, Trevor Hastings, Diana Al Husseini, and Jordan Brito performed demonstrations for Girl Scouts and their parents at STEMFest. These demos included testing the strength of different chocolate bars, making ‘fake snow’, and electroplating pennies.
From left to right: Jordan, Ciera, Diana, Tanaya, and Trevor after performing demos at STEMFest and Discover S&E Day
To kickoff the semester, WIMS hosted a well-attended game night for the MSEN department. Drinks, snacks, board games, and video games were available for attendees.
WIMS members Hanna Hlushko, Diana Al Husseini, and Jordan Brito performed demonstrations for prospective Materials Science & Engineering students at DI Saturday. The demos illustrated the concepts of electroplating, hydrogels, and responses of materials to changes in environment.
