There have been so many awards shows lately for the entertainment industry, that I actually thought that the Oscars were over and done with. On the contrary, they will air tonight. So logically, the interwebs will be ticking with analyses of who got snubbed, who wore what and with a little luck, who said something controversial on camera to add a touch of flair to the seemingly stuffy evening.
I love movies and all, but really have no opinion-good or bad-on the Academy Awards. It's nice to see artists recognized for their hard work and dedication to their craft, but I don't need some committee to tell me who did a good job acting, directing, film editing, composing, cinemetographing, etc. (Okay, I made that last word up. Sue me). I've seen enough movies to know what's good and what's not according to my own tastes. If I had my druthers, there would be an award for Best Movie that Got Snubbed in the Past or Went Unnoticed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Topping that list would be the Hitchcock classic, The Trouble With Harry, for its quirky humor, pleasant scenery and what I suspect would be the record for the most reburials of a dead guy in a movie. I'd also advocate for The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain by the Messrs. Monger for the least understandable pronunciation of the name of a hill/mountain in a movie.
But I digress.
This past week was National Engineers Week and as part of the festivities, institutions across the country hosted events for Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day. Twitterheads could have been kept in-the-know by following tweets tagged #IGED2013. One fellow tweeted that he was confused why such an event even existed. The name does sound kind of odd. It's not like girls are bused in to shake hands with some tech guru who has had the misfortune of having parents geeky enough to name their kid "Engineering." I suspect though, that this gentleman missed the point of the event, which was to show female students all the career possibilities that await them in engineering and the other STEM disciplines.
Perhaps some day we will not need such events. A colleague noted that she has seen a trend of kids not really understanding this whole concept of being told what they can and cannot be based on their gender. One thing that might help accelerate this message would be more recognition of the roles scientists and engineers play in society. Maybe we should take a cue from the entertainment industry. As a scientist-by-training, I'd like to see a barrage of award shows for professionals and educators in STEM disciplines.
So the challenge to you, dear reader, is to come up with your own award categories and your top nominees in each. I'll start with my nominees for the category, "Best Scientist in a Female Role." This list is not all-inclusive, but what I consider a good start from my own personal observations.
1. Rita Colwell: Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology at the University of Maryland and Director of the National Science Foundation from 1998-2004. Once told by a male professor that fellowships are not wasted on women, she went on to be a top expert in preventing cholera outbreaks in third world areas. Her approach was simple, yet brilliant, in that it used everyday materials in local villages to filter water. Dr. Colwell is nominated for her role in the if-only-it-existed box office smash, "What's That You Said About Wasting Fellowship Money on Women?"
2. Rosie Redfield: Associate Professor in the Life Sciences Centre at the University of British Columbia. I came to know of Dr. Redfield through her persistent and adamant response to the claim by NASA Astrobiologists that a certain strain of bacteria "loves" arsenic. The original "study" was supposed to have shown that this As-loving bacteria can use arsenic in place of phosphorus for growth. Those of us who call ourselves microbiologists saw through the shoddy science and inadequate experimentation that comprised the hotly publicized "finding." Dr. Redfield is nominated for this award for her roles in the yet-to-be-released blockbusters "Doing Science the Right Way Pays Off" and "The Girl Scientist with the Cool-Ass Purple Hair."
3. Summer Ash: Director of Outreach for Columbia University's Department of Astronomy and Maddowblog In-House, On-Call Astrophysicist. We all know that scientists can do a better job communicating to the public. We all know that STEM professionals should do more outreach and engagement with teachers and students. Dr. Ash gets it. She posts weekly on Maddowblog under the feature, The Week in Geek, writes her own science blog called Newtonianism for the Ladies, and has even found the time to educate the masses on what it means to be a Defective Heart Girl. Dr. Ash is nominated for this award for her role in wish-someone-would-write-this-for-real hit movie advocating STEM Outreach: "Me Talk Pretty For A Scientist."
4. Samantha Joye: Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia. Dr. Joye's work brings to life the intimate web binding chemistry, geology and microbial ecology, especially with regard to marine ecosystems. I first learned of her work in the aftermath of the BP Oil Spill. Dr. Joye's group was one of the teams researching the microbial degradation of hydrocarbons that infused the Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. While industry-backed scientists painted a fairly rosy, but unrealistic, picture of the speed at which biodegradation of contaminants was occurring, Dr. Joye published findings that countered that assertion. It is not always easy to step up against the heavy hitters, especially in science. Dr. Joye is nominated for this award for her role highlighting the crazy notion that persistence pays off in the upcoming thriller "They Might Be Giants, But I Know My Shit."
5. Sally Ride: No list of nominees for Best Scientist in a Female Role would be complete without the first woman in space. Dr. Ride didn't just break the glass ceiling, she burst through it in true rocket-propelled fashion. After her mission at NASA was declared accomplished, she continued working to inspire kids-especially girls-to pursue their interests and passion for science. Sadly, she succumbed to cancer this past year, leaving behind her partner of 27 years. While it wasn't widely known by the public that Dr. Ride was gay, her parting has shed light on the inequality that exists for the LGBT community. She is yet another example of an American hero who lived in the shadows of second class status. Dr. Ride is nominated for her role in the I-hope-we-finally-get-to-where-we-should-be classic, "My Heroes Have Always Deserved the Same Rights as Me."
At the risk of this post being dubbed a "long read" by the online community, I'll stop there. There are so many more who could be-and should be-included. Perhaps if we all share our nominees, we will reach a time where the standard response from kids who are told, "You can be anything you want to be; it doesn't matter that you are a girl" is, "Well, duh!"
I love movies and all, but really have no opinion-good or bad-on the Academy Awards. It's nice to see artists recognized for their hard work and dedication to their craft, but I don't need some committee to tell me who did a good job acting, directing, film editing, composing, cinemetographing, etc. (Okay, I made that last word up. Sue me). I've seen enough movies to know what's good and what's not according to my own tastes. If I had my druthers, there would be an award for Best Movie that Got Snubbed in the Past or Went Unnoticed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Topping that list would be the Hitchcock classic, The Trouble With Harry, for its quirky humor, pleasant scenery and what I suspect would be the record for the most reburials of a dead guy in a movie. I'd also advocate for The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain by the Messrs. Monger for the least understandable pronunciation of the name of a hill/mountain in a movie.
But I digress.
This past week was National Engineers Week and as part of the festivities, institutions across the country hosted events for Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day. Twitterheads could have been kept in-the-know by following tweets tagged #IGED2013. One fellow tweeted that he was confused why such an event even existed. The name does sound kind of odd. It's not like girls are bused in to shake hands with some tech guru who has had the misfortune of having parents geeky enough to name their kid "Engineering." I suspect though, that this gentleman missed the point of the event, which was to show female students all the career possibilities that await them in engineering and the other STEM disciplines.
Perhaps some day we will not need such events. A colleague noted that she has seen a trend of kids not really understanding this whole concept of being told what they can and cannot be based on their gender. One thing that might help accelerate this message would be more recognition of the roles scientists and engineers play in society. Maybe we should take a cue from the entertainment industry. As a scientist-by-training, I'd like to see a barrage of award shows for professionals and educators in STEM disciplines.
So the challenge to you, dear reader, is to come up with your own award categories and your top nominees in each. I'll start with my nominees for the category, "Best Scientist in a Female Role." This list is not all-inclusive, but what I consider a good start from my own personal observations.
1. Rita Colwell: Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology at the University of Maryland and Director of the National Science Foundation from 1998-2004. Once told by a male professor that fellowships are not wasted on women, she went on to be a top expert in preventing cholera outbreaks in third world areas. Her approach was simple, yet brilliant, in that it used everyday materials in local villages to filter water. Dr. Colwell is nominated for her role in the if-only-it-existed box office smash, "What's That You Said About Wasting Fellowship Money on Women?"
2. Rosie Redfield: Associate Professor in the Life Sciences Centre at the University of British Columbia. I came to know of Dr. Redfield through her persistent and adamant response to the claim by NASA Astrobiologists that a certain strain of bacteria "loves" arsenic. The original "study" was supposed to have shown that this As-loving bacteria can use arsenic in place of phosphorus for growth. Those of us who call ourselves microbiologists saw through the shoddy science and inadequate experimentation that comprised the hotly publicized "finding." Dr. Redfield is nominated for this award for her roles in the yet-to-be-released blockbusters "Doing Science the Right Way Pays Off" and "The Girl Scientist with the Cool-Ass Purple Hair."
3. Summer Ash: Director of Outreach for Columbia University's Department of Astronomy and Maddowblog In-House, On-Call Astrophysicist. We all know that scientists can do a better job communicating to the public. We all know that STEM professionals should do more outreach and engagement with teachers and students. Dr. Ash gets it. She posts weekly on Maddowblog under the feature, The Week in Geek, writes her own science blog called Newtonianism for the Ladies, and has even found the time to educate the masses on what it means to be a Defective Heart Girl. Dr. Ash is nominated for this award for her role in wish-someone-would-write-this-for-real hit movie advocating STEM Outreach: "Me Talk Pretty For A Scientist."
4. Samantha Joye: Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia. Dr. Joye's work brings to life the intimate web binding chemistry, geology and microbial ecology, especially with regard to marine ecosystems. I first learned of her work in the aftermath of the BP Oil Spill. Dr. Joye's group was one of the teams researching the microbial degradation of hydrocarbons that infused the Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. While industry-backed scientists painted a fairly rosy, but unrealistic, picture of the speed at which biodegradation of contaminants was occurring, Dr. Joye published findings that countered that assertion. It is not always easy to step up against the heavy hitters, especially in science. Dr. Joye is nominated for this award for her role highlighting the crazy notion that persistence pays off in the upcoming thriller "They Might Be Giants, But I Know My Shit."
5. Sally Ride: No list of nominees for Best Scientist in a Female Role would be complete without the first woman in space. Dr. Ride didn't just break the glass ceiling, she burst through it in true rocket-propelled fashion. After her mission at NASA was declared accomplished, she continued working to inspire kids-especially girls-to pursue their interests and passion for science. Sadly, she succumbed to cancer this past year, leaving behind her partner of 27 years. While it wasn't widely known by the public that Dr. Ride was gay, her parting has shed light on the inequality that exists for the LGBT community. She is yet another example of an American hero who lived in the shadows of second class status. Dr. Ride is nominated for her role in the I-hope-we-finally-get-to-where-we-should-be classic, "My Heroes Have Always Deserved the Same Rights as Me."
At the risk of this post being dubbed a "long read" by the online community, I'll stop there. There are so many more who could be-and should be-included. Perhaps if we all share our nominees, we will reach a time where the standard response from kids who are told, "You can be anything you want to be; it doesn't matter that you are a girl" is, "Well, duh!"