External Advisory Board Gives Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology a Boost

When Woo Lee, longtime professor in Stevens’ Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, took over as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in 2020, one of his first priorities was to bring a powerful engineering approach to his new role. He established an External Advisory Board (EAB) to review programs and provide counsel and advocacy to the department's mission and strategic plan.

“In engineering departments, we always had an EAB, mainly for the mandatory program review and assessment,” Lee said. “With our wonderful alumni and regional connections, I saw an opportunity for our program and our students to benefit from those relationships.”

From its original six members, the EAB has grown to 15, ranging from recent Stevens alumni to experienced research and industry leaders.  

“The enthusiasm of our EAB members has been more than I ever expected,” Lee said. “They are eager to contribute in a significant way. It’s been the best success I've ever had.”

Meeting formally to inform decisions

The EAB gathers annually to discuss the department's mission, strategic plan, approach and outcomes.

EAB members also meet with Stevens undergraduate and graduate student advisory boards, gathering candid feedback and offering recommendations regarding advising, research, teaching labs, career planning, recruitment and more to help students fulfill their professional ambitions.

Inaugural EAB member and Stevens chemical biology alumni Josh Ross ’18, who earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from New York University, is now an internal medicine resident physician at NYU Langone Health.

“Stevens was pivotal to my journey to medical school and beyond, and I wanted to help others experience what I have,” Ross said. “During our first meeting, students told us that while research is available for undergraduates, there was little opportunity to present that research and network at conferences. We shared that feedback, and by the next year, students were presenting at local American Chemistry Society meetings and other venues. It was a small but tangible impact that we could make for students.”

Supporting awareness of potential career paths

Debuting in 2022 as a key element of the chemical and chemical biology research spine – the research spine provides students with research exposure and experience from the first day through graduation – the mandatory first-year Diverse Career Pathways seminar invites guest speakers to help students consider a broad range of career trajectories. In addition to pharmaceutical leaders and medical and dental professionals, speakers have included an environmental engineer, a nutritionist and a science writer.

“It sets the tone of how we are not teaching chemistry or biology for the sake of teaching these disciplines, but rather preparing them to contribute to the world in diverse ways,” said Lee.

At least half of the EAB members typically volunteer to speak to the students each year.

“Our students enjoy starting their Stevens experience interacting with these accomplished, engaging individuals who talk about their experiences, their education and what got them to their career,” said Jeffrey Lam, CCB academic advisor and instructor for the Diverse Career Pathways course. “It’s inspiring. It helps them plan how they could successfully follow a similar path. They also like connecting with recent alumni who can speak about the Stevens experience and their post-graduation work. It allows for that bridge of knowledge to help them figure out a plan.”

One of those enthusiastic speakers is Adam Weinglass, executive director of screening and compound profiling department at Merck, and an EAB member since 2022.

“I wanted to be part of giving back and helping expose students to alternative careers, and Stevens is doing a great job addressing that need,” Weinglass said. “I enjoy sharing a different perspective to help students consider career decisions more objectively. I talk about our wonderful work at Merck to show how working on pharmaceutical research and development offers the opportunity to make a societal impact. I like to help them confirm that they've made the right decision to go into science and shape where they go with that science.”