Activities – Visitation Weekend Celebrations and more…

The Department of Chemistry hosted eleven visiting students from across the United States March 4-6, 2022. The Visitation Weekend is a recruitment opportunity for potential graduate students who have received an offer to join WSU’s Chemistry graduate program. It was a busy weekend, but, after missing out on an in-person visitation last year, it was a welcome opportunity to show off the people and facilities that make our program so great.

Students arrived in Pullman on Friday and started their visit with a tour of Pullman and the WSU campus. Next was dinner at Lumberyard in Pullman with current graduate students.

Saturday began with a Meet & Greet with visiting students, current students, and Department Chair Kirk Peterson. He welcomed the students and discussed the department, life in Pullman, and what to expect as a Chemistry graduate student. For the rest of the morning, each visiting student had five 20-minute meetings with various faculty members to discuss their research and ask any questions about their group. After the faculty meetings, current grad students hosted a Q&A for the visiting students. After lunch, most students went on a tour of the Nuclear Science Center with Prof. Liane Moreau. Some students also toured the NMR Spectroscopy Center, led by student Cole Fisher, as well as informal tours of research labs.

In the evening, Chemistry faculty and visiting students enjoyed a dinner and research poster session. Dinner was provided by Nikki Clark, Chemistry’s undergraduate academic coordinator. After the poster session, visiting students were treated to a night on the town in Pullman, courtesy of GCS.

While 11 students visited during our visitation weekend, six other prospective students visited individually in the month following the visitation weekend. We know that visiting a graduate program in person can greatly help the decision-making process. Of the 17 visiting students, 6 chose to join our Chemistry department, with an overall new class of 16.

Written by: Sarah Oesch Miller