Harthcock Graduate Professional Development Symposium

At the Harthcock Symposium, graduate students will:

• Learn how scientists transition into leadership roles
• Develop skills that support professional growth beyond the laboratory
• Learn strategies for communicating effectively in professional environments
• Engage in discussions about workplace expectations, collaboration, and career transitions
• Hear firsthand perspectives from alumni and industry professionals
• Participate in small-group networking with invited speakers
• Expand their professional network within the chemistry community

This year’s theme is Leadership & Corporate Culture. The symposium is organized around three parts that will shape your experience:

Lead

Build a foundation for understanding how scientists transition into leadership roles early in their careers. The morning leadership address explores how expectations shift from individual contributor to team leader and introduces practical strategies for navigating that transition successfully.

Connect

Hear directly from alumni working across sectors through short career snapshot presentations and engage in small-group breakout sessions designed for informal conversation and networking. These sessions give students the opportunity to ask candid questions and learn from a range of professional experiences.

Inspire

Participate in an interactive leadership workshop focused on how effective leaders motivate teams and shape organizational culture. Students will leave with practical tools for communicating vision, supporting others’ growth, and contributing positively to workplace environments.

Keynote: Erin Tullos

Professor of Practice, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Session Title: Becoming a Leader – How to successfully become a leader for the first time

Dr. Erin Tullos is Co-Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis and a Professor of Practice in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. With nearly two decades of experience spanning industry, academia, and international policy, she focuses on advancing methane detection, measurement, and mitigation across the oil and gas supply chain. She previously served as Senior Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP 2.0), helping shape global standards for emissions reporting and reduction.

Before joining UT Austin, Dr. Tullos held a range of technical and leadership roles across the energy sector, including serving as Technology Development Team Lead at ExxonMobil, where she led large-scale methane detection and mitigation research and testing programs. She has also led aerial and drone-based measurement initiatives at Scientific Aviation and launched innovative gas and emissions programs at GTI Energy. Her career began in environmental science and regulatory roles at ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, grounding her work in both scientific rigor and operational reality. Dr. Tullos is widely recognized for building cross-sector collaborations that accelerate the deployment of practical, data-driven solutions to improve environmental performance and support a lower-emissions energy system.

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Workshop Session: Lloyd Colegrove

Consultant

Workshop Title: Creating Inspirational Impact – How leaders motivate people and shape culture

Dr. Lloyd F. Colegrove retired from Dow after nearly a 30-year career, where he served as Director of Data Services and Director of Fundamental Problem Solving within Manufacturing and Engineering. Over the course of his career, he held leadership roles in product development, global analytical infrastructure management, and global quality management, and later helped establish new organizations to address critical gaps in Dow’s manufacturing capabilities. These efforts were recognized with multiple industry awards. Dr. Colegrove earned both his B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Texas A&M University. During the final decade of his career, he contributed to teaching in Dow’s leadership academies and continues to mentor early-career professionals and consult in analytics and problem solving. He currently serves as Chair of the Texas A&M Chemistry Advisory Development Council, supporting initiatives that strengthen connections between the department, alumni, and industry partners.

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Panelist: Gerard (Trip) Van Trieste

Principal Engineer in Microelectronic Semiconductors, Northrop Grumman

Trip is a dry etch semiconductor engineer with 4+ years of expertise in high aspect ratio patterning and main feature etches in high-volume manufacturing environments. Before joining the semiconductor industry, Trip graduated with his PhD from the Powers Lab in 2022. During his time at A&M he directed and led collaborations with various research groups to acquire, interpret, and fit EPR spectra and synchrotron photocrystallographic data of sensitive reactive intermediates. He also conceptualized and developed new photoactive precursors to access reactive porphyrin-supported manganese catalysts for C–H nitrene insertion and copper catalysts for C–H oxo insertion.

After Trip graduated, he began his career at Intel in Portland Oregon where he developed his skills as a dry etch module engineer. At Intel he designed and implement five new advanced process control (APC) algorithms which use incoming and outgoing metrology and tool signals, designed two OES-based etch endpoint algorithms which used real-time data to endpoint specific steps, and identified and eliminated a fleet wide excursion resulting from a previously unknown to Intel cross-process contamination, saving millions of dollars.

Recently Trip moved to Northrop Grumman’s Advanced Technology Lab (ATL) in May 2025 to continue developing his skills, tackling new problems, and leading a diverse set of teams.

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Panelist: Michael J. Moore

CEO + Founder, Breakthrough MSL Consulting

Senior Medical Science Liaison (MSL), Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals

Michael J. Moore, PhD, is the CEO + Founder of Breakthrough MSL Consulting and a Senior Medical Science Liaison (MSL) at Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals, where he partners with neurologists and headache specialists to advance evidence-based migraine care and improve patient outcomes. He is a Korean American adoptee and an experienced Medical Affairs professional in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Moore earned his PhD in Biological Chemistry from Texas A&M University and launched his industry career as a Psychiatry MSL at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. Over the past eight years, he has worked across multiple therapeutic areas—including psychiatry, neurology/migraine, hematology/oncology, and internal medicine—within diverse biopharmaceutical companies.

He is recognized for communicating complex scientific and clinical data with clarity, delivering engaging, impactful presentations, and building collaborative relationships with influential thought leaders in medicine.

Through his side business, Breakthrough MSL Consulting, Dr. Moore equips clients with the strategy and skills needed to secure highly competitive MSL roles and build lasting careers in Medical Affairs.

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Panelist: Jacqueline Pope Bates

Technical Account Manager, BASF

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