Math, Science, and Girls

     In 1947, a 17 year old young woman graduated from high school in Upstate, NY.   Having an A+ average, she was accepted into New York University.  The following fall, she traveled down to the city to begin her studies in biology.  Two months after receiving her degree, she accepted a job working in the cancer research labs at Sloan-Kettering.  In time, she was in charge of an entire lab.  Who is she?  She is my mother.

    I am perplexed by stories about young women not choosing careers studies in math and science.  So much is discussed and written in terms of the society preventing females from following this path.  While I don’t disagree that there may still be some obstacles out there, I do believe that the family has the biggest impact on the choices of our girls.   My mother’s family didn’t totally understand why she chose to study biology.  They thought nursing was a more viable option.  Yet, they did not prevent her from choosing her major.  The same followed for me and my siblings.  Whatever choices we made regarding school or career was ours to make.

     The fact that I had a parent who was allowed to make such a decision played a huge factor in knowing that I had the freedom to go into science.   My younger sister also made the same choice and became a successful engineer.   The achievement in math and science in my family was considered a good thing, and not something to disregard because we were girls.  I remember at the time some of my peers not having the same encouragement.  Their families felt that it was wiser for their daughters to work in a more traditional female job.  That is perfectly acceptable if it is the choice of the young woman, but if she has the talent and the interest to pursue areas pertaining to math and science, the opportunities are abundant.

     Society is not telling our girls they are not good at math and science.  That is a myth that has been handed down through the years.   Lest we forget the thousands of women who went to work during World War II working on projects that required a great deal of technical aptitude.  There have been many women who have made discoveries besides Madam Curie not present in our history books.  There are numerous female doctors, engineers, researchers, and professors who are presently working in a multitude of capacities.   There are a considerable number of female high school science teachers who present a role model to our children every day.  No one in “society” is telling our girls not to pursue their dreams.

     In 1947, a brilliant young woman walked her own path.  There were many others just like her who paved the road way before the issue of female equality was explored.  If they were able to do it during their lifetime, there is no reason why women today can’t as well.  It takes determination, hard work, encouragement, and a desire to live out a chance of fulfillment.  Let us stop telling stories about women not doing something because of society, and start telling about women who do because they can.

A Magnificent Victory

     It was a wonderful moment of achievement.  It took 10 years of hard work, sacrifice, and determination.  Countless hours were spent strategizing, analyzing, designing, and reviewing.   All led up to one moment that would end up as an outstanding success, or a disastrous failure.  There would not be a chance for a second try.  It was all or nothing.  The London Olympics have produced some wonderful and memorable moments, but this is not what I am referring to.   It is the scene of NASA scientists and engineers exploding with joy when they realized that the Curiosity rover reached Mars, and landed successfully.

     I am not always happy with the way the media reports certain topics, but I have to give them credit for repeatedly showing the moment when the mission was completed.  You could only smile when you saw this group of scientists and engineers jumping out of their seats, giving each other high fives, and shouting in a chorus of cheers.  Why is this so important?  It shows that people who work in this field are human.  They aren’t the stereotypical mad scientists or nerds so often portrayed, but real people.  It also highlighted the fact that there are a significant number of women who contribute in the creation of these incredible works.

     What they accomplished was a scientific and technological marvel.  It has been compared to a sci-fi movie about space.  But this was no movie, this actually occurred.  Many hours were spent developing and working toward a goal of providing a vehicle that will relay information about our nearest neighbor.  Images and tests will be transmitted back to earth adding information to the puzzle of how this planet and the universe formed.  With all the virtual images available at our fingertips, these real images will make people stop and take a look.  They might actually listen to or read the reports of what is being shown.

     America is in dire need of more of young people pursuing engineering and the sciences.  It requires years of study and hard work, but the payoff can be great.  There are jobs readily available, and there are a number of different areas where these skills are needed.  The Curiosity landing was a great example of what can be accomplished.  It gave us a glimpse of how interesting the work can be, and how necessary it is that we continue to develops projects that extend knowledge, advance technology, and provide services.  This week we saw a room full of people celebrate their victory and… dare I say it….what they did was cool.  Very cool.

Watch the landing and the reaction at this site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9hXqzkH7YA