By Sadaf Atarod

Scientific conferences are great for meeting interesting individuals in one’s field. These individuals may be well known Nobel Laureates, current or potential collaborators, patient advocates, your future Principal Investigator, or even your potential life partner! Even when conferences become routine, there is always something to find that makes it worthwhile to attend. At this year’s International Society for Stem Cell Research conference in Boston, I had the opportunity to connect with Samantha Yammine – first through Twitter and  then at the conference itself – to discuss science communication. Samantha is in her final year of her PhD program, and an enthusiastic, passionate communicator of science to the public. In fact,it was her consistent, informative tweeting that led to my discovering  Samantha  among the 3000+ attendees!

By Molly Connell

Becoming an engineer is a promising future. The expected yearly salary is high and chances of finding a job is high, since there’s a high demand for engineers in the labor market. According to the prediction of The American Association of University Women, in less than 10 years, the United States will need 1.7 million more engineers and computing professionals!

By Gabrielle-Anne Torre

The morning of the March for Science started off just like any other morning. I woke up and did an activity I’ve done many times over: put in my contacts and brushed my teeth. A German glassblower devised wearable contacts in 1887, centuries after Leonardo da Vinci and Rene Descartes played with the idea of enhancing corneal power. In the 1900’s, while experiments were being performed on plastic lenses, the formula for modern toothpaste gel was also being tested. The ingredients of toothpaste are still modified by labs, and both contact lenses and toothpaste are worth an estimated $17 billion combined. Compared to the cost of science, the cost I spend on these daily necessities is small. What would I do on any given day without contact lenses or toothpaste? But as I prepared for the day ahead, an even bigger question was on my mind: What would I do without science? 

By ​Poornima Peiris 

On April 8th & 9th Scientistas from across the country gathered for the annual symposium at the Microsoft Office in Times Square, New York City.  The symposium was attended by more than 100 undergraduate and graduate scientistas in various STEM disciplines. The two-day event included a poster competition, workshops, a career fair and the opportunity for attendees to network with other driven and motivated individuals in STEM careers.

By Indulekha Karunakaran

Confident, creative and risk taking- this unique blend of terrific traits make Apoorva Mandavilli a true leader. After all, ‘Apoorva’ in Sanskrit means ‘unique’ and she has stayed true to the meaning of her name throughout her successful career spanning 20 years. During this time, she has juggled various roles- journalist and editor, award winning science writer, professor, and mother of 2 children. Ask her the recipe for success and you’ll receive the reply- “Do what you love to do rather than what you are supposed to do”. 

We know everyone is busy and there is a ton of information around the web that you may have missed. Luckily for you, we are here to the rescue! Every two weeks, we will be diligently combing through all the noise out there and highlighting stories about women and STEM from the web that we think you should know about.

By Sarah Smith

There is a growing emphasis placed today on women in technology. In the past, however, women faced stereotypes that prevented them from pursuing jobs in tech. The recent movie “Hidden Figures” is an eye-opener, showcasing early progress made by women of color working for NASA. The idea that black women had a big hand in pushing the use of computer programming has been hidden for too long. Films like these serve as an inspiration for people, women and minorities to engage in science and technology.

STEM news:
Since the US elections, many scientists are concerned that the state of science and scientific discovery will suffer, especially immigrant scientists like Dr. Huda Yahya Zoghbi (who recently received $3 million dollars for her Alzheimer’s research as part of the cohort of awardees for the Breakthrough Science Award!)

By Nicole Hellessey

This December a cohort of female scientists from around the world, 78 to be exact, will come together for a journey to Antarctica. The group will be promoting gender equality in science with the specific purpose of increasing women’s roles in combating climate change. As West Antarctica is one of the fastest warming areas on Earth, it provides the perfect backdrop for these women to raise awareness for an important topic.

#WomenInSTEM
 
Mattel is releasing a new Game Developer Barbie doll: with a silver headset, a laptop and some cool glasses. This comes after the controversy of last year where the Computer Engineer Barbie book showed Barbie needing to ask a boy to help her.