women in stem @ science online teen

On Saturday I attended the inaugural Science Online Teen (#scioteen) unconference in New York City. An offshoot of the popular Science Online, the event’s aim was to get local teens talking about STEM education, STEM careers, and the ways in which STEM topics are communicated online.

The women-in-STEM session I led was packed with teens and teachers wanting to learn more about pursuing science as a female. Joining me on our panel were six STEM professionals: Hilda Bastian (epidemiology); Krystal D’Costa (anthropology); Cynthia Duggan (neuroscience); Julie Hecht (ethology); Gabrielle Rabinowitz (molecular biology); and Jayne Raper (parasitology). (Mathematician and computer scientist Delaram Kahrobaei was also slated to attend, but had to bow out due to illness.)

You can check out a full suite of tweets, posts, and photos from the session via Storify.

It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm in the room, and to hear not only from our distinguished panelists but from students and teachers who contributed their own unique experiences and questions, on topics ranging from single-sex education to STEM hiring biases to female representation at professional conferences.


I also borrowed an activity that I’d seen at AdaCamp last year, in which participants wrote about positive and negative experiences related to being a female in science/tech. At ScioTeen, I asked session attendees to recount on sticky notes one experience in which they were discouraged from following some STEM-related activity, and one in which they were encouraged. We then posted the results on a board, noting the ages at which the experiences took place. Here’s a sampling of the results:

Positive:

Mom and Dad told me never to “stop asking questions.” Age: 8

Math/science teacher made it fun and applicable, assisted in tutoring for [state exams]. Age: ~12

Teacher/mentor told me, “You’ve got what it takes.” Said I could be any kind of scientist I wanted to be. Age: 12

In 9th grade my biology teacher encouraged me to join a STEM group at school. Age: 15

Approached by math teacher junior year and asked to take a computer science class. Age: ~16

Teacher said I was the best student he’d ever had, that I was very good at science. Age: 17

Female physics teacher taught me calculus after class so I could take advanced physics. Age: 17

“Follow your dreams and prove to yourself and to everyone that doesn’t bet on you that you can do it.” Age: 18

Negative:

Someone told me it’s going to be hard to get a job in the science field because I’m a girl. Age: 12

A male teacher told me I was smart but could never be a doctor because I’m a girl. Age: 13

A female relative told me: “It’s okay if you’re struggling with math. Girls aren’t good at that.” Age 13

Tech teacher had lower standards for girls and made it clear that he had lower expectations. Age 15

Bio teacher from other class told me my dissection was bad and I should not be a doctor... Ended [doctor] plans immediately. Age: 15

“You are a woman. You aren’t good enough.” 16 years old

Seeing all the men in my college physics classes. Age: 19

Female physics professor I admired and sought out as a mentor told me there is no glass ceiling and implied I was whining by bringing up gender. I left her office feeling discouraged instead of inspired. Related or not, I did end up leaving physics for biology. Age: 20

Discouraged in graduate school in bio class by professor because I was struggling. Age: ~22

"You’re pregnant? You just sabotaged your career!" Age: 27

::Sigh:: To me, the negative comments outweigh the positive ones here, simply because, while we all appreciate praise and encouragement, discouragement based solely on gender can be an extremely powerful disincentive for those who don't want to “buck the system” or engage in a prolonged struggle against social norms. Of course there’s no formula for this, but I would argue that even one discouraging experience can cancel out any number of encouraging ones.

I should also mention that while our session was a great success, not one of the 30 or so self-selected participants was a male. Certainly we need to educate girls about what a future in STEM might look like, but we also need boys to understand and appreciate the discrimination that still exists on the road to a STEM career.

To that end, it’s worth noting that STEM is a massive buzzword these days, and it might seem with a quick glance through the blogosphere and twitterverse that challenges related to women in these fields are all too well covered. The reality is, however, that the individuals most affected by recent studies and reports on these issues—i.e. teenage and pre-teen girls, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds—may not be plugged in to what’s going on. And so, it’s important to see physical gatherings like Science Online reaching out to the STEM professionals of tomorrow and helping to bring some of the hurdles they may face into direct focus. Let’s hope we can continue the conversation with more teens, in more places, in the months and years ahead. ∞

do the right thing

My Dear Lego,

Now you're just messing with me. A few months ago, prototype designs for the upcoming Series 10 minifigures were released leaked to the public. I was happy as a clam to find out there would not only be a Maia-the-Bee lookalike but we'd also finally get a female scientist! All was right in Lego-land.


In the end, however, you turned the scientist into a librarian. To be sure, librarians are awesome. But............


You *might* be able to redeem yourselves. Numerous sources suggest you will be releasing a scientist, for real, in Series 11. (Gender as yet unspecified.)

For the love of the FSM, please do the right thing.

yours very truly,
20tauri

happy birthday, joan feynman

Today is the 85th 86th birthday of astrophysicist Joan Feynman.* If her name sounds familiar, it's because she has a very famous brother, the late Nobel prize-winning, Manhattan-project-building, quantum-electrodynamics-defining, O-ring-demonstrating, bongo-drum-playing physicist, Richard Feynman. Until this week, I had not known that Richard had a sister, nor that she was an accomplished physicist in her own right. I learned a bit about her, though, as I read the fantastic graphic novel, Feynman, which beautifully illustrates Richard's life and work. In the book, we meet Joan as a young girl in the early 1940s who revels in the scientific magic her older brother deftly demonstrates for her at home. We also learn, however, that Joan is actively discouraged from pursuing her scientific passions because her mother feels "women's brains are psychologically incapable of doing science."

As you might imagine, my interest at this point was indubitably piqued. So I ambled on over to Wikipedia to see what it would tell me about Ms. Joan Feynman. There was a loud sigh of frustration as I discovered her article was but a stub, just a few sentences long with barely any detail about her life and accomplishments.

After a little digging, I found that Feynman had indeed gone on to become a well-respected astrophysicist specializing in interactions between Earth and the solar wind. Among her biggest contributions to her field were key studies on the nature of coronal mass ejections, auroras, solar storms, and effects of the sun on climate change. Make sure to check out the wonderful clip above, by the way, of Joan explaining how she originally came to marvel at auroras...


Joan and Richard at the beach
I also read a compelling tale of how young Feynman drew strength from an astronomy book she'd received from her big brother. She could barely understand it at first, but with Richard's encouragement, she eventually made her way through. And when Feynman realized that one of the graphs in a later chapter was based on the work of pioneering astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposhkin, she gained new resolve in her dream of becoming a scientist herself.

Feynman would go on to face plenty of discrimination on her way toward becoming a senior scientist at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California, from where she retired a decade ago. But she displayed steadfast determination, and in so doing, carved out an important spot in the history of astrophysics.

After learning all of this, I decided a few days ago to beef up Joan Feynman's Wikipedia article. After all, just as she was once inspired by Cecilia Payne, so some other young budding scientist might be inspired by her story... After considerable expansion, the article has now been nominated for inclusion in the "Did You Know?" section on Wikipedia's main front page. So on this special occasion, I suggest you head on over to Feynman's shiny new Wiki and read all about her!

Happy birthday, Joan, and thanks so much for all you've done for science and for humanity.

*UPDATE: Since publishing this piece last night, I've traded a few emails with the lovely Dr. Feynman, who is doing well. She was delighted about the new Wikipedia page, but also informed me that her birth date was a year off! And so, both the Wiki page and this here post are now up to speed. (Fear not, my fellow Wikimedians, I found a citation!)

oscar doc picks

It's time once again for my annual foray into the world of Oscar. This year, I'm sad to say, I've missed out on many of the main live-action nominees. But I was able to catch most of the documentaries with a major assist from Netflix. Without further ado, I present my 2013 Oscar prognostications for the categories of feature-length documentary and documentary short.

FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY

Should win: 5 Broken Cameras -or- The Invisible War [tie]
Although this year's candidates are all very strong, I find it impossible not to give special kudos to those movies for which lives were literally on the line during their making and/or subsequent promotion. Case in point is 5 Broken Cameras, a maddening film about a Palestinian village in the West Bank that suffers relentless encroachment by Israeli settlements. While the main filmmaker, Emad Burnat, and his neighbors strive to protest these land-grabs in peace, the local Israelis do not respond in kind. Instead, they harass, threaten, arrest, and attack, often illegally and brutally. During four years of filming, Burnat burns through five video cameras, four of which are shot or otherwise destroyed, and one of which literally saves his life. 5 Broken Cameras is the sort of film that could serve as a poster child for Witness, a human rights organization with the motto "See it, film it, change it;" for that, I think it's well deserving of the Oscar.

Risking one's life, or certainly one's reputation, is also apparent in my other top pick for this year's Oscar docs: The Invisible War, a deeply moving, highly-charged account of sexual abuse in the U.S. military. Watching this film, I was brought to tears as, one by one, proud women (and one man) who wanted nothing more than to honorably serve their country recounted how they were coerced, harassed, beaten, and raped by their colleagues and superiors—and then ignored, belittled, and persecuted when they reported these events. Even more troubling were statistics about just how common such assaults in the military are today; by all accounts, at least 19,000 service members were sexually abused in 2010 alone. We also learn that prosecution of such cases cannot be handled effectively in the current system, since they are processed not through a federal court system but through the military chain of command, where serious conflicts of interests often lie. Of the five nominees, I feel this film has the most potential to create change as a result of its nomination, and it's heartening to know that even if it doesn't win, system reform may already be on the horizon.

Will win: Searching for Sugar Man
While it lacks the gravitas of the other four contenders, Searching for Sugar Man is the film to beat in this year's feature-length documentary category. It tells the improbable story of the search for a Dylanesque singer-songwriter named Sixto Rodriguez who all but disappeared after his 15 minutes of fame in the U.S. came and went in the early 1970s. It's a truly heartwarming tale, much akin to 2010's Winnebago Man. The movie could probably win on buzz alone, but it doesn't hurt that there are two contenders on the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (which will likely split votes), plus a very hot-button challenger in The Invisible War, the topic of which some Academy voters may shy away from.


DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Should win: [Draw]
I'm slightly handicapped in this category this year by the fact that I've only been able to watch three of the five nominees: Kings Point, Mondays at Racine, and Inocente. Of these three, I thought the latter was the strongest, most unique, and most artfully told, and not just because its protagonist is a 15-year-old artist herself. The film's cinematography was well done, and the combination of themes—immigration, homelessness, abuse, and arts education—was a refreshing reminder of many of the contemporary social problems we Americans like to sweep under the rug. In comparison, while I was moved by both Kings Point and Mondays at Racine, I honestly don't think either one has what it takes to take home the golden statuette. Finally, I hesitate to comment on the other two nominees, Open Heart and Redemption, without having seen them, but I will say that their trailers lead me to believe they're both excellent films. So, I'm actually going to give this category a pass on final judgment, but if it were between the three I watched, my vote would be for Inocente.

Will win: Open Heart
Call me crazy, but if you see a pattern in what the Oscar voters like, you stick with it. Two short documentaries that have won this category in recent years, Smile Pinki and Saving Face, were about savior doctors helping poor citizens of developing countries with free medical procedures to fix crippling conditions—cleft palettes in the first case and facial disfigurement from acid attacks in the second. In this year's Open Heart, poor children from Rwanda are brought to the Sudan for potentially life-saving heart surgery. Sound familiar? Until the Academy proves me wrong, I'm picking this story line every time. ∞

regarding nemo

New England came to a halt this week with the passing of the Nemo megablizzard. I decided to chronicle the storm's wrath with a little time-lapse film, which doubled as practice for the documentary editing class I'm currently taking. Of course, I had to shoot some stills, too! I think we're gonna be digging out from under this one for a while... ∞

remembering columbia

Ten years ago today, I was at home, still half asleep, when I received word of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy. My mom rang, but as I was wont to do in those days, I let the machine pick up. Clearly upset, she began to leave a message explaining the heartbreaking news. I eventually picked up and turned on the television... I could never bring myself to erase that message; it died along with my phone system in 2011.

In the years since then, there have been plenty of remembrances, many of them artistic in nature. I remember walking in Brooklyn past a street mural, painted by school children, depicting the Columbia crew. There is, of course, a memorial at the Kennedy Space Center, which I visited a few years ago. More recently, I discovered a lovely, if haunting, song called "The Commander Thinks Aloud," by the Long Winters...

Just three days before the accident, John Lennon's "Imagine" was the wake-up song for the Columbia crew. I recommend you listen to the clip in its entirety, as it includes not only the song as it was played in low earth orbit that day, but the inspirational, timeless, and, at least to me, tear-inducing comments of astronauts Willie McCool and Ilan Ramon.

RIP to the Columbia seven. You will not be forgotten. ∞

seeing is believing

"I watch Bill O'Reilly every day. I love Bill O'Reilly. I'm proud to be an American. But I saw this movie, Chasing Ice, today. And it hasn't just changed me about global warming. It has changed me as a person."

And that's where I'll begin my review of the marvelous new Chasing Ice, a feature-length documentary from director Jeff Orlowski about a scientist-cum-environmental photographer who's out to change the world, one snapshot at a time. The quote is from an anonymous woman caught in the iPhone crosshairs of one Justin Kanew, a reality-TV star who recently walked out of a screening alongside this visibly moved mystery lady...

"I did not believe in global warming," she explains. "Every time someone mentioned global warming to me, I told them if they wanted to remain in my home they needed to step out. I said it was bullshit. I didn't believe it. And that is because I listened and I—this is the truth—I believed Bill O'Reilly. And I saw this movie, and I apologize to anyone I ever talked into believing there was no global warming. I have talked every friend, every person I know into believing there was no global warming. And now I have to undo my damage. And I will."

I recommend you take a moment to watch the rest of her soliloquy below.



To be sure, many global warming deniers are so deeply brainwashed entrenched on this issue that nothing save an abrupt about-face by the Faux News pundits would allow them consider otherwise. And of course, there are plenty of climate change skeptics who don't deny the existence of global warming or its effects, but who refuse to believe that the current warming trend is human-caused or that there's anything we can or should do about it. For a more comprehensive look at this cohort, you'd be better served watching Climate of Doubt, a recent Frontline documentary that deals head-on with the modern politics of climate change. In that film, viewers come to understand the anatomy of one of the biggest scientific smear campaigns of our time. It's at once eye-opening and maddening, but not surprising in the least; as with many things in life, just follow the money...

Chasing Ice takes an entirely different—and, in many ways, more powerful—appeal-to-your-gut approach. It does little to communicate the nuts-and-bolts science of our planet's rapid warming, other than to borrow a key graph from 2006's An Inconvenient Truth—the one with a carbon spike at the present day that leaves previous "natural cyclical rhythms" of atmospheric CO2 in the dust. Perhaps this is because the film's lead subject, James Balog, admits that he, too, was once skeptical about climate change's human origins...until he began to see things for himself.

At its heart, Changing Ice is a love story. It projects the passion and dedication of a small army of scientists and engineers with Balog's Extreme Ice Survey, an "arts meets science" project aimed at conveying the reality of global climate change with cold, hard, breathtaking visual evidence. The painstaking lengths this team goes to to mount and check their time-lapse cameras, to fight the often blistering elements, and to overcome severe technical and personal challenges hints at the urgency of the tale Balog and his colleagues are trying to tell.

And then there's the imagery. Jaw-dropping deep blue crevasses that seem to lead straight into the center of the Earth. A bright green aurora dancing wildly in the starry night sky above a stunningly beautiful icy scene below. A gigantic ice slab, miles long and hundreds of feet high, eviscerated in an instant as it calves off and crashes thunderously into the choppy Arctic sea.

All of which led me to ponder a familiar phrase: If a tree falls in the forest and no one's around to hear it, does it make a sound? The old adage kept popping into my mind as these incredible scenes filled the screen before me. It is clearly Balog's mission to make sure someone is present to witness and record for humanity what is happening in these glacial forests. And now, thanks to his work, a once doubting woman is starting to hear the reverberating din that these disappearing ice sheets have begun to make.

"There must be something I can do to help this, to help our children, to help my grandkids," she says, almost pleadingly, to Kanew and the phone camera in his hand. "I don't know what I can do ... But I'm gonna change it, because this movie was fantastic. Every human being in this world should watch this movie. Every one."

I could not agree more. ∞

CHASING ICE: OFFICIAL TRAILER

honoring tip

For much of the past year, Cambridge has been awash in banners celebrating 100 years since the birth of the late Democratic congressman and former speaker of the House, Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, who was born and raised in the northwest part of the city. Tip was an extremely influential politician who served more than 30 years in the United States Congress. He began his career campaigning for FDR and ended up as the second-longest-serving House speaker in history!

Cambridge is holding a number of events to honor Tip's 100th birthday today, but I'll be marking the occasion in my own way. In 2008, a bakery called Verna's renamed one of their most popular donuts after Tip, as he had grown up just blocks away and was apparently fond of the local establishment. So of course I'll be ordering half a dozen of their Honey "Tip" Donuts in his honor. Happy birthday, Congressman!