Purdue WHPC Virtual Technical Talk Series

Purdue's WHPC chapter is launching a community-driven talk series to showcase innovative research and technical projects in STEM.

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to present or attend!

First event: July 17, 2026 @ 10am EST

Speakers:

Karolina Willicott – Postdoctoral Associate Florida International University
"Utilizing HPC to study Parkinson's disease modeled in worms"
Karolina finished her PhD at the University of Alabama in 2024. There, she developed substantial expertise in nematode genetics focusing on neurodegenerative disease, at the same time diving deeply into bioinformatics and transcriptomic analyses. Currently, her postdoctoral position at Florida International University includes assembling novel nematode genomes from around the world.

Sanae Moummi - Chemistry researcher with a strong interest in electrochemistry and computational organic chemistry
Her presentation will focus on the development of a solubility prediction model using merged experimental datasets, molecular featurization, machine learning, and graph-based modeling to support faster and more informed material screening.

Sanaae is passionate about applying creativity and design thinking to problem framing, with a focus on human-centered approaches and rapid prototyping. Her most recent work involved designing and testing organic electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries. A major challenge in that project was the solubility of these organic electrodes in the electrolyte solvent. That experience motivated me to develop a solubility prediction model that can help estimate performance earlier in the process, reducing time spent on synthesis and experimental testing.

To attend, please register here: REGISTRATION