Women in STEM

Women In STEM Continued...

Open Ended

Lets reflect about what we have been learning for Women's History Month. Why is it important to talk about Women in STEM during this month?

Mae C. Jemison is an American engineer, physician and NASA astronaut. She became the first African American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992. She resigned from NASA in 1993 to found a company researching the application of technology to daily life. She has appeared on television several times, including as an actress in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She is a dancer and holds nine honorary doctorates in science, engineering, letters, and the humanities. She is the current principal of the 100 Year Starship organization.

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​Mae Jemison

Open Ended

Why is Mae Jemison a good role model for young people?

Dr. Cynthia Breazeal is an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she founded and directs the Personal Robots Group at the Media Lab. She is also founder and Chief Scientist of Jibo, Inc. She is a pioneer of Social Robotics and Human Robot Interaction. She authored the book Designing Sociable Robots, and she has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in journals and conferences on the topics of Autonomous Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Human Robot Interaction, and Robot Learning.

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Cynthia Breazeal

Gladys West is an American mathematician known for her contributions to the mathematics underpinning GPS. Her contributions to GPS were only uncovered when a member of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, read a short biography West had submitted for an alumni function.

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Gladys West

Multiple Choice

What did Gladys West help contribute to society?

• WiFi

• GPS

• Bluetooth

• The Radio

Rosalind Franklin was a pioneer of the study of molecular structures receiving recognition among scientists for her research on the molecular structure of coal, viruses, and DNA. Her X-ray diffraction images of DNA enabled the University of Cambridge’s Francis Crick and James Watson to identify the molecule’s double helix structure. For years her work on the structure went unnoticed as only Crick, Watson and Franklin’s colleague Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for the discovery in 1962. In 2003 The Royal Society established the Rosalind Franklin Award to bring attention to outstanding work of women in STEM.

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Rosalind Franklin

Open Ended

Rosalind helped discover the double helix structure which led to more medical discoveries. Originally she did not receive credit for her work. Why is it important to give credit to all people involved in scientific discoveries?

Open Ended

Which female figure did you find the most interesting?