professional development

FOCUS 2025-2026 Executive Board Application

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Females of Chemistry Uniting Scientists (FOCUS) is a student-run seminar series and community outreach program whose purpose is to promote awareness and understanding of the scientific achievements of prominent females within the field of chemistry. FOCUS promotes awareness of women’s achievements to inspire and encourage members of the scientific community.

FOCUS is now accepting applications for its 2025–2026 Executive Board — the next generation of leaders!

If you are interested in being more involved in the organization, being on the executive board is an excellent option, as it allows you a deeper insight into how an organization runs and what FOCUS does on campus within our scientific community.

If you have never been on an executive board, don’t worry! The current board members will help you transition into your new role!

Applications are due by Friday, August 15 at 5 PM.

DOE Office of Science: Spring 2026 Internships

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The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is now accepting applications for the Spring 2026 term of the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program. The application deadline is October 1, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

Through SULI, undergraduate students and recent graduates:

  • Delve into science and technology careers at the DOE national laboratories.
  • Gain new knowledge, skills, and professional experience to further their educational and career goals.
  • Work directly with national laboratory scientists, engineers, and technical professionals.
  • Contribute to cutting-edge projects that support the DOE mission, including new frontiers in artificial intelligence, quantum, nuclear energy and technology, critical minerals and materials, and fusion science and engineering.

SULI is open to full-time undergraduate students or recent graduates within two years of receiving their bachelor’s degree or associate degree. The program is stipend-based and offered three times annually in Fall, Spring, and Summer terms.

A workshop will be held on August 14, 2025, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT. This workshop will introduce the program, including the application process and strategies for submitting a compliant application. Register for the workshop on the SULI website.

Undergraduate Student Trustee Application Open

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The Ohio State University Board of Trustees has begun its search for a new undergraduate student representative. Each year, the governor of Ohio appoints one new student trustee to serve a two-year term as a full voting member of the board.

This student will serve on the board from May 2025 – May 2027, must maintain Ohio residency and student status throughout the entire term, and must be able to balance this significant responsibility with their academic and personal commitments. Candidates for this role must excel as leaders, be able to think strategically about the future of the university and interact in a professional manner with faculty, administrators and influential business and community leaders. More details and application information are available on the student trustee application webpage.

Ohio State’s current undergraduate student trustee, Joshua H.B. Kerner, will host information sessions on January 14 and January 15 for anyone who wants to hear more about the student trustee role and application process. Details about the information sessions can be found on the student trustee application webpage.

Applications are due by noon on Friday, February 7, 2025.

Volunteer: STEM Outreach at Local Elementary Schools

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Scientific Thinkers is seeking volunteers for the Spring 2025 semester!

Scientific Thinkers STEM Outreach is a student organization that is designed to promote STEM activities in Columbus schools. The volunteers lead school visits at Parkmoor and Mansion Day Elementary Schools that focus on hands-on science experiments to bridge the gap created by underrepresentation and underfunding of STEM programs.

Scientific Thinkers gives volunteers the chance to gain leadership skills, communicate science topics to a variety of age groups, and excite young children about STEM. No experience with teaching is required and all majors are welcome!

School visits will be on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon/early evening from January 29-March 6.

If you are interested in volunteering, program orientation will take place on Wednesday, January 22 at 7:00pm in the Physics Research Building, room 1080. This orientation is mandatory if you wish to volunteer with Scientific Thinkers as they will provide necessary paperwork and information, so make sure to mark your calendars! If you are unable to attend the orientation, please reach out to club president Mia Wang to ensure you receive the volunteering information and paperwork.

Volunteer: STEM Outreach at Local Elementary Schools

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Scientific Thinkers is a student organization and volunteer program at OSU. Through the organization, volunteers have the opportunity to travel to local elementary schools and engage students with fun, interactive science lessons. The schools the organization serves are comprised largely of underrepresented minority students in STEM. Scientific Thinkers gives volunteers the chance to gain leadership skills, communicate science topics to a variety of age groups, and excite young children about STEM!

Scientific Thinkers will visit two schools this semester: Parkmoor and Mansion Day. Visits to Mansion Day will take place on Wednesdays from 3:30pm–5:30pm from January 31–March 6. Visits to Parkmoor will take place once a month on Wednesday from 10:15–12:15. Dates are still being confirmed with Parkmoor. All times include travel times to and from campus.

If you are interested in volunteering, program orientation will take place on Wednesday, January 24th at 7:00pm in the Physics Research Building room 1080. If you cannot attend the orientation but are still interested in the club, you can contact club president Elly Yoder at yoder.459@osu.edu or reach out to scientificthinkers@gmail.com.

ASC Launch Your Career: Science and Research Resume Review

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Tomorrow, January 17, from 5:30pm-7:00pm, ASC Career Success is hosting a science and research-focused resume review. The goal of this event is to help science-focused students interested in pursuing careers in environmental science, sustainability, biotechnology, and manufacturing, better craft and tailor their resumes with real-time industry feedback.

At this in-person workshop, students can expect an interactive experience to learn more about what to put on their resumes, especially as it pertains to more technical fields in Science and Research. This is a great opportunity for students to perfect their resumes before the Spring Career Fair on January 23!

Representatives from the Ohio EPA, Andelyn Biosciences, and Proctor & Gamble (P&G) will assist in reviewing student resumes before the career fair, allowing you to get direct feedback on crafting a successful resume for science and research-focused fields. Some employers may also offer on-site interviews following the event. To prepare for this opportunity, students should bring a copy of their resume that they can edit or make changes to. Students can expect some one-on-one career coaching and consultation for improvements to their documents and materials.

Spots are limited, so be sure to sign up as soon as possible. All ASC undergraduate and graduate students, exploration students, and recent alumni are invited to attend. Please check Handshake for the most up-to-date event information.

Bio-Hack (Pre-Med Opportunity)

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This year, Ohio State student org Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) will be hosting its 5th annual Bio-Hack, a weekend-long hackathon full of engineering, learning, networking, and innovation. The event will be held November 4-5, 2023. Bio-Hack gives students a unique experiential learning opportunity to build and engineer health technologies in a welcoming and supportive environment.

The theme this year is Patient Safety. Each year there are over 125,000 patient deaths each year due to medical errors, so BMES wants participants to develop solutions to mitigate the risk of these errors in areas such as medications, surgery, diagnosis, infection, and patient care. This is a great opportunity for students interested in healthcare to experience both the clinical and technical innovations of the field.

Teams can take inspiration from challenges presented by supporting companies and organizations. After the 24-hour “hacking” session is over, teams present their projects to industry experts and judges to get feedback and compete for prizes.

Compete to win up to $500 in prizes with food and drinks provided!

Deadline to register is October 29.

The Paper Trail UG Research Symposium

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The Paper Trail is an online, open-community journal club. Their mission is to create an informal space for scientists to discuss recent, groundbreaking studies with people of all ages and backgrounds.

The Paper Trail Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held virtually on November 1, 2023. It is an opportunity for undergraduate trainees to share their work, with a particular focus on trainees from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

This symposium is for undergraduates who are planning to apply for graduate school* to share their research with an audience that includes professors looking to hire new graduate students.

*with the intention of starting grad school in Fall 2024

The event will include undergraduate research presentations, as well as timeslots for short lab overview presentations from faculty members interested in recruiting new graduate students. An event schedule is available on the symposium webpage.

Another goal of the symposium is to serve as an alternative to large society meetings that happen this time of year (e.g., BMES and AIChE) but are often difficult to attend because of any number of financial, personal, familial, or professional hurdles. There is potential for vouchers for graduate school application fees. Presenters will also be offered gift cards for lunch.

The deadline for abstract submissions is Thursday, October 12 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Ohio State Leadership Week

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Leadership Week 2023 is taking place now: October 2-6.

Leadership Week is a university-wide collaboration to strengthen the culture of student leadership at Ohio State.

Sessions will be connected to at least 1 of 5 leadership themes:

Check out the schedule of events and register for sessions.

FOCUS Professional Development Panel

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On Friday, October 6th from 3-4 pm in Fontana Lab 2000, Females of Chemistry Uniting Scientists (FOCUS) is hosting three distinguished scientists for a Professional Development focused panel.

  • Dr. Lauren McCullough is an associate research scientist at Dow Chemical. Her work is focused on New Process Technology development.
  • Dr. Maude Desroches works at Dow Chemical in Personal Care R&D.
  • Dr. Grace Jang is a Technology Scout at Owens Corning. Her experience includes over 6 years of science specific industry positions.

All OSU students and staff are welcome to attend the event. Attendees are invited to pre-submit questions using this online form.

If you have questions or concerns, reach out to focus.osu@gmail.com.