Seven new committee members will be joining the Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR), hosted within the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, taking the place of four outgoing members. These new members will continue to contribute to the Roundtable’s effort in serving as a credible scientific resource for collaboration and innovation.

“In welcoming these new committee members, we are excited about their unique perspectives and expertise that they will bring to the Roundtable,” said Charles D. Ferguson, senior director of the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology. “With their help we will continue to provide a diverse forum to explore the myriad opportunities in the chemical sciences.”

Each incoming member brings valuable knowledge and experience that will greatly enhance the Roundtable. Biographies for all committee members can be found on the Chemical Sciences Roundtable webpage.

Incoming Roundtable Committee Members

Milad Abolhasani
ALCOA Professor and University Faculty Scholar in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University
Prior to joining NC State University, Dr. Abolhasani was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT. At NC State University, he leads a diverse research group that studies self-driving labs for accelerated materials and molecular discovery and manufacturing through human-AI-robot collaboration using fluidic micro-processors. 

Mahdieh Aghazadeh
Principal Process Engineer, Johnson and Johnson
Before joining J&J’s Innovative Medicine Supply Chain team, Dr. Aghazadeh has worked as a scientist in J&J’s orthopedic company with a team focused on research and design of medical device. In addition to her R&D and supply chain work, she has worked with J&J’s quality teams to enhance customers’ experience with drug delivery devices. 

Bibiana Campos Seijo
Co-Founder, Silver Consulting LLC
Dr. Campos Seijo has worked as the Vice President of C&EN Media Group and Editor in Chief of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) at the American Chemical Society. Her competencies and abilities include nonprofit management and, in particular, strategy development, operational efficiency, revenue diversification, market expansion strategies and growth optimization. 

Kimberly J. Madison
Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator, Tennessee State University
Previously, Dr. Madison was a research assistant at Jackson State University working on computational studies to help researchers design organic based dyes to be used in optoelectronic devices and more specifically, her research focused on polymers and small molecule design. Her research expertise consists of computational modeling using software’s such as Gaussian, VMD, and Autodock. 

Laurel Royer
Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Carinalis Consulting and Research
Dr. Royer has developed and built an inter- and trans-disciplinary consultancy focused on evaluating the balance between innovation and detrimental impact. She applies the fundamentals of the chemical and related sciences to evaluate manufacturing/production and application, disposal, contamination, and exposure issues via the use cycle to support stakeholders in achieving an overall positive impact. 

Andrew White
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester
Co-Founder, FutureHouse
Dr. White researches deep learning, explainable AI, and molecular simulation in the domain of chemistry. He is an active participant in policy and technical discussions about the future role of AI in through articles, policy discussions, red teaming of frontier models, and work at FutureHouse.

Susanna Widicus Weaver
Vozza Professor of Chemistry and Astronomy, University of Wisconsin
Before moving to Wisconsin, Dr. Widicus Weaver was a Professor of Chemistry at Emory University and a postdoctoral fellow in Chemistry and Astronomy at the University of Illinois. Her research, combining laboratory spectroscopy, observational astronomy, and chemical modeling, is aimed at understanding the mechanisms driving interstellar chemistry and the pathways for the formation of life.

In addition to welcoming several new committee members, the Roundtable must bid farewell to four longtime members concluding their service. Each of the outgoing members aided in a variety of efforts within the Division on Earth and Life Studies and the broader National Academies.

Outgoing Roundtable Committee Members

Franz Geiger
Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry, Northwestern University
Chemical Sciences Roundtable Committee Member, January 2018 – December 2023
Dr. Geiger was an active contributor to CSR and served on the workshop planning committee, Astrochemistry: Discoveries to Inform the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Communities. His insightful contributions enriched countless discussions. 

Mark Jones
Independent Consultant, MJPhD, LLC
Chemical Science Roundtable Committee Member, December 2016 – December 2023
Dr. Jones was an exceptionally active CSR member with close to a decade of service. During his tenure he led the Roundtable as Co-Chair. He served on several planning committees including the Innovations in Catalysis to Address Modern Challenges Workshop, and numerous webinars including Sustainable Recycling of Critical Materials in Lithium-ion Batteries Webinar and Advancing Agricultural Herbicides through Chemistry, among others. 

Robert Maleczka
Professor of Chemistry, Michigan State University
Chemical Sciences Roundtable Committee Member, January 2018 – December 2023
Dr. Malezcka has served on the Roundtable for two full terms and has been instrumental in shaping some of CSR’s most engaging workshops: Publishing in the Age of Open Science and Laboratory Automation and Accelerated Synthesis: Empowering Tomorrow’s Chemist. His passion for inclusivity in science has motivated CSR to expand its outreach programming. 

Jake Yeston
Editor, Science
Chemical Sciences Roundtable Committee Member, January 2018 – December 2023
Dr. Yeston has been an active member of the Roundtable since 2018 and has served on two major workshops committees, Innovations in Catalysis to Address Modern Challenges and Publishing in the Age of Open Science and several webinars. His enthusiasm for deeper scientific dialogue has propelled the Roundtable to think outside-of-the-box when outlining workshop formats and session topics.