STEM Gems Book: Meet Our Science Gems

More than any other discipline in the STEM acronym, science defies any one definition. Science is both a field of study and the process by which we satisfy our curiosity about the world around us. Science is the gravity tugging at our bellies on a roller coaster ride, the lantern in the abdomen of a firefly and a common language that crosses political and cultural boundaries. Where technology is modeling, science is knowing. Where mathematics is rules, science is hypothesis. Where engineering is design, science is discovery. And while science cannot move forward without technology, engineering and mathematics, science, at its core, is simply the quest for understanding. 

Science is traditionally divided into two categories: the social sciences, which relate to human behavior, and the natural sciences, which seek to understand the natural world. Though educators debate whether or not to include the social sciences under the STEM umbrella, they generally consider only the natural sciences when referring to STEM. Natural science includes disciplines ranging from physics and chemistry to geology, meteorology, botany and biology. Other scientific disciplines include formal sciences like statistics and applied sciences like computer science. From particle science, which examines the parts of an atom, to astronomy, which takes on the observable and vast universe, if any human has ever been curious about an aspect of his or her environment, there is a scientific field dedicated to its pursuit. 

According to internationally renowned marine microbiologist Nicole Dubilier, “being a scientist isn’t simply a career choice; it’s a way of thinking, a way of life.” In the lives of the women scientists you will soon meet — an immunologist and a geneticist, a climatologist and a microbiologist, a physicist and a planetary scientist — you’ll discover that a curiosity about our world was present from an early age. Karen Olson was a schoolgirl capturing fingerprint patterns with packing tape and dust before she became a leading innovator in forensic science. Archaeologist Michele Koons excavated a New Jersey beach long before she implemented new, high- tech methods for excavating ancient ruins in South America. And before Marcia Kemper McNutt became a world- renowned expert on mapping oceanic floors, she was a little girl visiting San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and dreaming about the world’s sea animals. 

Today’s society is poised at the edge of a vast frontier of knowledge, one in which science intersects powerfully with techology, breakthroughs are shared instantly via the Internet instead of in academic journals and the sheer volume of data researchers have at their fingertips calls for a new word — zillionics. Science will likely advance more in the next 50 years than it has in the past 400 years. From perfecting the scientific method to disproving the theory that Earth is the center of the universe, past science has moved at a glacial pace compared to what the future will bring. The road ahead will see tremendous advances in biology and medicine, two areas of study that boast significant representation by women. 

The cause of the gender gap in science is puzzling. Although in high school boys still outnumber girls in physics classes, girls are evenly represented in biology studies and they surpass boys in chemistry studies. This trend continues into post-secondary education, where the physical and life sciences account for 57 percent of female STEM degrees, compared to 31 percent of male STEM degrees.

So why are women attracted to some areas of science more than others? Theories abound. As part of a larger study called Perceptions of Women in Academic Science, some 2,500 male and female biologists and physicists from leading universities in the U.S. were surveyed and interviewed. Almost half of all participants believed that women might be discriminated against in physics. Additionally, some theorized that women gravitate toward more “emotional labor,” dedicating themselves to scientific advancements that will help others. Still others attributed the gap to cultural stereotypes that keep women from pursuing male-dominated science fields. 

The scientists assembled here defy gender-based theories. Lisa Randall rose to the top of the physics world because she wanted to pursue the big picture of why we are all here. Christine Goforth, known as the Dragonfly Woman, developed an intense passion for insects. Jennifer Chayes’s lifelong pursuit has focused on mathematical algorithms. Physician and global health leader Helene Gayle followed the path of medicine because other women in her life told her “this is something you can do.” She believes confidence is the key to strengthening the number of women in science. “It takes people believing that it’s possible. The idea of do-ability is so important.” 

On the following pages, you’ll see glimmers of what is possible. These scientists stand at the edge of that vast frontier, one hand reaching toward progress, the other extended to the new generation of young, curious women.

One final aspect of science deserves mention. Science marches on. Always. Science will never be complete. There will always be new questions, new insights, new scientists to take the baton in our never-ending quest to reveal the truths about our world. Scientific advancements rely on generations to come. Scientific advancements rely on you.

Are you ready to take the baton? ●

Inspire the next generation of #ScienceGems!

#GiveGirlsRoleModels and get the STEM Gems book today for your daughters, nieces, goddaughters, granddaughters, students, mentees, and friends: www.STEMGemsBook.com