Enjoy a panel discussion on the career paths of women graduates from the class of 1993 in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Presented by the Class of Artsci'93 and the Department of Chemistry, and moderated by Maria Pemberton, four classmates of the class of 1993 will participate in a panel discussion regarding their career paths over the last 30 years. Faculty Champion, Dr. Diane Beauchemin, will join the panel to provide insights into resources and opportunities available to students as they plan their own journey.
This panel discussion is taking place in Chernoff Hall, room 117. The main entrance (North) door and vestibule door are accessible with an automatic door opener. The entrance door to Chernoff Auditorium from Bader Lane is accessible with an automatic door opener. There are accessible Male and Female designated Multi-user washrooms on all building floors, but without automatic door openers. All washrooms are located near the North elevator. There are no Single-user, accessible washrooms in this building. There are accessible water fountains on each floor.
Permit parking is available on Bader Lane and Albert Street. Time limited parking spaces are on Stuart Street and St. Lawrence Avenue. Read more about the venue features.
Speakers
Maria Pemberton, Artsci'93 (Moderator)
As Senior Director, Operations of CanmetENERGY (Ottawa), a branch of the Energy Efficiency & Technology Sector of Natural Resources (Canada), Maria is responsible for the planning, and leadership of the operational activities necessary for the efficient delivery of the lab’s energy research program. She is accountable for the lab’s capacity to meet client and stakeholder expectations in terms of quality and scientific outputs.
Her public service career started 25 years ago as a Fuels Chemist in the same lab and was her first exposure to exciting world of energy research. Prior to joining Natural Resources Canada, Maria worked in laboratories at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute assisting on diabetes related clinical trials, at Sybron International (California) and at the Royal Military College (Kingston).
Janet Bukovcan, Artsci'93 (Panelist)
After graduating in biology, Janet moved to Ottawa and started a career in biotech research and development, utilizing enzymes to convert agricultural waste into clean fuel. From there, she moved to radiopharmaceutical manufacturing process development, for products used to treat cancer. Looking for an opportunity to move out of the labs, Janet accepted a position in Regulatory Affairs which was a relatively new profession at the time. Janet has spent the past 20 years in Regulatory Affairs, helping companies obtain regulatory approvals for a variety of drug products and medical devices in several countries around the world. Janet currently works for Boston Scientific Corporation, overseeing the regulatory activities for TheraSphere, a medical device used to treat patients with liver cancer. She also mentors students in post-graduate Regulatory Affairs programs.
Jill MacAlpine, Artsci'93 (Panelist)
Jill MacAlpine focuses on strategic counseling, prosecution, and patent litigation, primarily in the chemical and pharmaceutical areas. With over 20 years of experience in intellectual proper law, she spends a significant portion of her time involved in pre-litigation analyses, due diligence investigations, opinion preparation, and strategic client counseling, Orange Book listings of patents covering FDA-approved drugs, and patent term extensions. She has experience in all aspects of patent litigation at both United States district court and appellate levels, including managing day-to-day activities during every phase of litigation, conducting offensive and defensive discovery, drafting dispositive motions, and taking and defending depositions.
She has written and lectured on diverse patent law issues and was a permanent faculty member of the Patent Resource Group’s “Chemical Patent Practice,” a comprehensive U.S. chemical patent law course taught multiple times a year. Jill is the recipient of the team award for Innovative Leadership from Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence and Power in Law. She also has significant experience in organic chemistry. Jill earned her PhD in organic chemistry at the University of British Columbia, where she studied porphyrins and porphyrin derivatives for use as pharmaceutical products in photodynamic therapy.
Mona Rahman, Artsci'93 (Panelist)
Mona received her degree in biochemistry in 1993, graduating with the Medal in Biochemistry, the Prince of Wales Prize in Science and the Governor-General’s Silver Medal. She continued on at Queen’s as a direct entry PhD student, defending in 2001. She was an active member of Queen’s University Muslim Students’ Association, serving in several Executive positions including Chair in 1993-94. After a two year hiatus, she trained as a post-doctoral fellow in the Vascular Biology Group at the Robarts Research Institute after which she took another two-year career to marry and start a family prior to returning to Queen’s for a second post-doctoral fellowship in structural biology, working in a multidisciplinary group involving researchers in Biochemistry, Pharmacology & Toxicology and Chemistry. In 2017, she joined the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio as the Coordinator of Research Activities and Communications and currently serves as the Research Awards Coordinator. Mona was the inaugural Co-chair, with Stephanie Simpson, of University Committee for Anti-Racism and Equity and is co-founder, with Dr. Adnan Husain, of Queen’s University Muslim Inclusion Network, an employment resource group for Muslim staff and faculty.
Shona Shneider, Artsci'93 (Panelists)
After completing her biology degree and working as a lab technician at Agriculture Canada, Shona went back to Queens for her teaching degree. In 1995, Shona began teaching at Merivale High School in Ottawa and then transferred to South Carleton High School as a full-time Biology teacher. There she began building up the senior biology program, expanding the enrollment in both grade 11 and grade 12 university level classes. In 2007, Shona left Canada and moved to Istanbul where she taught the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program for standard and high-level biology.
She returned to Canada in 2010 and transitioned from regular-stream high school to specialized day treatment for middle schoolers. Shona taught math, science and art to small groups of grade seven and eight students who were receiving day treatment and support for severe mental health and behaviour problems. It was the most rewarding and instructive professional experience she has had and it allowed her to transition back into the regular high school stream with a host of new skills. Shona now teaches biology and junior science back at South Carleton and is one of three learning support teachers in the school.
Dr. Diane Beauchemin (Faculty Champion)
Dr. Diane Beauchemin has been a professor for over 35 years with the Department of Chemistry. As an acclaimed researcher and full tenured professor, she has spent years working on techniques to help law enforcement solve crime and to assess food safety more pragmatically. In 2019, Dr. Beauchemin was awarded the Canadian Society for Chemistry’s Clara Benson Award, recognizing a woman scientist who has made a distinguished contribution to chemistry while working in Canada. In 2018, she was the first woman in Canada to receive the Gerhard Herzberg award from the Canadian Society for Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy and the Maxxam award from the Canadian Society for Chemistry in 2017.
She was also recognized with the Dedicated Service Award by the Canadian Association of University Teachers. In 2021, she was again recognized for teaching excellence with the Award for 4th Year Excellence in Teaching from the Chemistry class of 2021 and the Award for Teaching Excellence from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. Dr. Beauchemin has worked in a variety of areas of chemistry and collaborates with both Queen’s and other Canadian university researchers and private sector partners.
