

Grace Wischmeyer
Co-President
Grace Wischmeyer is a fourth year Biology and Chemistry double-major who is also pursuing a Master of Chemistry co-terminal degree. Although there is no official pre-veterinary program at Illinois Tech, Grace has been working hard to prepare herself for vet school upon graduation in Spring 2019. She has previously interned at the Brookfield Zoo under the Environmental Quality Director, and currently works as an Animal Caregiver at PAWS-Chicago. She also enjoys community outreach through her Assistant Counselor position in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Grace is a person with many passions, but the first and foremost is helping other women succeed. She is so excited to see where the Women in Science Project goes in this upcoming year, and will work to provide the support, community, and opportunity that women in science at Illinois Tech deserve.

Nihan Abaci
Vice President / Internal Affairs
Nihan Abaci is a second year computer science student from Turkey. Apart from excelling at her classes Nihan is an entrepreneur who runs her own e-commerce website, coldbrewstyle.com. Nihan also has an avid passion for dancing that she shows by performing weekly with the Love to Dance club. Her bright personality and dedication has earned her an executive board position in the club. Nihan was the student body president at her high school where she worked hard to bring positive changes to the community. As the vice-president of Women in Science project Nihan hopes to continue her good work while promoting women!

Dheeksha Ranginani
Secretary
Dheeksha is a first-year psychology and pre-med student. She works in the Undergraduate Admissions Office and is a research assistant in a psychology lab on campus. She is involved with numerous student organizations on campus, including AMSA and MEDLIFE. Additionally, Dheeksha is a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha. Her passion for helping women in science started with her own desire to pursue a career in medicine and grew when she joined a GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math and Science) club in high school. Dheeksha saw how easy and empowering it was to create a community of women who encouraged and supported each other. When she found out about WISP, she knew this was her chance to bring that type of community to IIT. Beyond her interest in science, Dheeksha loves to sit in coffee shops, dance and spend time chatting with her friends.

Emma Prager
Treasurer & Webmaster
Emma is a second year Computer Science student who is also minoring in Internet Application Development. She develops her own personal website, EmmaPrager.com. Emma is involved in many organizations on campus, including Alpha Sigma Alpha, Order of Omega, and Camras Scholars. She works at Barnes & Noble College, the campus bookstore, as well as lifeguards at Keating Sports Center. Emma also enjoys volunteering at PAWS Chicago Medical Center, where she helps to take care of homeless dogs. She is passionate about animals, reading, photography, calligraphy, and yoga. Emma feels passionate about being a leader of WiSP at Illinois Tech so that she can help build an organization that will empower women in science to reach their goals.

Nicole Neveu
Co-founder / Student Advisor
Nicole Neveu is a fifth year PhD candidate in Physics with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. She has spent the last three years carrying out her thesis work at Argonne National Laboratory in accelerator physics. This work includes optimization of simulations using high performance computing and experimental verification of results. She enjoys volunteering for local STEM outreach events at Argonne and in the greater Chicago area.

Dana Alramahi
Grad Representative
Dana is a second year master student at IIT studying Materials Chemistry and Engineering, and her plans are to keep going for her doctorate degree. At IIT, she does research in polymeric materials for use in energy storage devices, and her goal is to one day be able to develop a commercial product. Apart from school, Dana is a research scientist at Ecolab Company where her responsibility is to help provide water treatment programs to help reduce energy, water, and natural consumption with minimal environmental release. Being a Middle Eastern women with a Science background has always motivated Dana to advocate and support women who are interested in science and engineering. Dana knew she had a passion for science from the time she was a high school student, where back home it was not that common for a girls to be in a physics/chemistry club, yet her strong and determined personality did not stop her from doing what she wanted. Ever since then, Dana was interested in being a voice for women and helping them succeed in their aspirations. During her free time, Dana loves to go on walks and explore the beauty of nature!

Gayle Ratliff
Faculty Advisor
Gayle Ratliff received her Ph.D. in physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology where she conducted research. with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). First as a graduate student, and then as a postdoctoral research associate with the Adler Planetarium Astronomy Department, she conducted research focused on understanding diffuse gamma-ray emission from starburst galaxies and improving techniques to detect weak gamma-ray sources with ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov arrays.