Alumna Wills-Karp highlights 2nd Annual WISE conference

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
March 31, 2011

A keynote address by Marsha Wills-Karp of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will highlight the 2nd Annual Women in Science and Engineering Conference will be held April 8 at Texas State University-San Marcos.

The conference will run from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. in the LBJ Student Center on campus.

Wills-Karp is director of the division of immunobiology in Cincinnati. She earned her Master of Science in biology from Texas State in 1982 and was honored as a Distinguished Alumna in 2002 for her contributions to the understanding of immunological factors surrounding asthma. She was also named one of the top 1,000 scientists in the world by the Faculty of 1000. Her studies focus on allergies and immune responses, which she hopes will help with the future prevention of debilitating diseases.

The conference focuses on friendly interaction among attendees, and will provide multiple opportunities to learn about research currently under way at Texas State, explore future research directions, give student participants the chance to meet experienced professors and experts from industry, and showcase career paths for women in science and engineering.

Programming events include a scholarship competition for current Texas State students (sponsored by the Women in Science and Engineering Initiative, Southwest Research Institute and Samsung Austin Semiconductor), poster sessions, engineering and science career panels, an engineering entrepreneurship seminar, practice job interview sessions and networking sessions with industry professionals, faculty and alumni.

For additional information, contact the College of Science at (512) 245-2119, via email at collegeofscience@txstate.edu or visit the website at http://wise.science.txstate.edu/conference.html.