Michelle Rivard, B.S.

Michelle Rivard often tells students that her job is a lot like the show CSI - except instead of solving crimes, she solves chemical mysteries. Using analytical tools such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, Rivard pinpoints the precise composition of Dow’s chemical products so that customers receive what they’ve ordered - and nothing that isn’t supposed to be in the mix.

Rivard didn’t start out as a chemical sleuth. She had dreams of vet school before a paperwork mix-up resulted in an unexpected job offer. Today, as the coordinator of her local Project SEED program, an ACS summer research program for economically disadvantaged high school students, Rivard inspires young people to pursue their own chemistry careers. Her professional and volunteer work have earned her many accolades, including the 2018 ACS National Chemical Technician Award and the 2022 Outstanding Service to the American Chemical Society Award. 

Rivard is always ready to take on new challenges. People grow the most when they are outside of their comfort zone, she says.  

You took a break from pursuing your degree at Central Michigan University to dive into the workforce full-time. What made you decide to leave college? And why did you return? 

Despite my plans for vet school, I always loved chemistry. So before my junior year, I applied for what I thought was a co-op position at Dow Corning. It turned out that I was handed the wrong application. I had actually applied for a full-time job as a chemical operator. And Dow Corning offered me the position! The salary was so competitive that I decided to go for it. I worked with machines that cut logs of polysilicon into slim rods. I then moved on to monitoring a robot that helped produce our polysilicon product. In both of these roles, I felt like I was following a recipe. I wanted to do more troubleshooting and optimizing. My coworkers told me that I could find those sorts of challenges as a chemical technical professional, but I’d have to finish my degree first. So I went back to school while working full-time. And Dow Corning paid for my education. 

What are your main responsibilities now as an analytical technologist at Dow? 

I work a lot with silicones that Dow sells to a wide variety of industries for use as coatings or resins. Your cellphone, for example, contains a lot of silicone. So do many personal care products, from lotion to toilet paper. I use instrumentation to figure out the chemical components of our products at different stages of production. Ultimately, we want to guarantee that we’re delivering the materials that a client ordered, while also complying with regulations that restrict certain harmful chemicals, like benzene. It isn’t always clear how to test a product for any individual component. Which instrument should I use? How do I optimize that instrument to give us the most reliable result? I do a lot of research to answer those questions. And then I develop the methodology that our quality control team uses. 

You worked on the national Project SEED committee for almost 10 years, and now you coordinate Project SEED for your local section. What motivates you to stay so involved with this program? 

In my current role, I match high school students with paid summer research opportunities at local colleges. Paying the students really removes a barrier because many of these young people work to help support their families. 

I love working with them and watching for those moments when they light up and say, “I love chemistry!” or “I can do this!” Then, it’s really a thrill to see them enter college, graduate, and move into STEM careers that excite them. I had one student from a farming community who became fascinated with agricultural chemistry. He’s now studying chemistry on a full ride at the University of Michigan. 

In addition to your work with Project Seed, you also volunteer on ACS’s Committee on Technician Affairs. And you’re the outreach coordinator for your local ACS section, as well as a mentor with the Mid-Michigan Technician Group. Do you have any advice on how to balance work, volunteering, and personal life?

One great perk of working at Dow is that I can dedicate 10 percent of my work time to volunteering with ACS. Beyond that time, I’ve had to give up some hobbies, like scrapbooking, because I am just so busy with my volunteer work. But I think it’s also important to set boundaries and to be intentional about what you are not willing to give up. Travel, for example, is really important to me, so I still prioritize trips. I just went to Ireland this past spring. When I find myself with a volunteer load that is more than I can handle, I pass responsibilities on to others. But overall, I’m happy to put in the time because volunteering truly brings me joy.

This profile has been edited for length and clarity. The opinions expressed in this interview are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of their employer or the American Chemical Society.