The 2021 Society election is the first opportunity for ECS student members to help choose the new ECS President and 3d Vice President. As previously reported, the Individual Membership Committee submitted a proposal to the Board of Directors to grant student members full voting rights. The proposal was approved by the Board of Directors in May 2020.
ECS President, Stefan de Gendt, says, “Students and early career professionals are vital to the health and long-term sustainability of the Society. By providing these critical members the right to vote we give them a voice and the ability to directly participate in the governance of the Society.”
The candidates’ messages for ECS student members
Eric Wachsman, candidate for ECS President, says: “Our student members are the future of our Society. Every effort must be made for them to decide, such as I did over 30 years ago, to make ECS their scientific home.”
According to Peter Mascher, candidate for 3d Vice President, “ECS meetings are highly international, which makes them very attractive for graduate students and early career researchers, as they provide a forum for information exchange, the development of collaborations, and gaining greater global awareness. It will be important to continue to provide support for students to participate in the meetings and to highlight their accomplishments. Through the years, I have always looked forward to adjudicating the student poster competitions and tremendously enjoyed my conversations with the presenters.”
Colm O’Dwyer, also a candidate for 3d Vice President, joined ECS after attending his first ECS meeting—the 199th ECS Meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2001—as a graduate student. “My commitment to all members is to lead ECS to maximize accessibility to all authors across academia and industry R&D—especially early career researchers, industry professionals, and underrepresented groups—so that the science and technology ECS showcases is diverse beyond standard metrics. My responsibility as part of the leadership is to provide the platform for our younger colleagues … who are the future leadership in our Society and society in general,” he says.
Electronic voting instructions
Click here to view the full candidate biographies and personal statements. Or, proceed directly to the electronic proxy ballot and follow these easy steps to cast your vote:
- Enter your ECS member number and password. To find your ECS member number, log into your ECS My Account.
- If you have trouble logging into the system, contact customer service.
- After you log on, your electronic proxy ballot appears. Enter your vote for each office. Space is provided if you choose to write in a candidate.
You can only vote once. Voting should only take a few minutes of your time.
— The voting deadline is 2400h EST, March 15, 2021 —
From student members to leaders
“A favorite thing about my 15-plus years as an ECS member is how the Society allowed me to be an active and engaged member in a huge community of people. My role has constantly evolved since my time as a graduate student, and my level of involvement and service in the ECS community has steadily grown—now I even serve as Vice Chair of the Energy Technology Division and Chair of the Individual Membership Committee,” said William Mustain.
Exercise your right to vote!
Voting, which takes only a few minutes, has a big impact on your Society. Mustain encourages not only student members, but all members, to vote in the upcoming ECS elections. “I’m from Chicago and you know what we say, ‘Vote early and often!’ (Maybe don’t listen to that last part!) Remember, your voice matters to us. Let us hear it!”
