Women to learn about on National STEAM/STEM Day
Get to know the women in STEM/STEAM doing brilliant things
National STEM/STEAM Day celebrates and acknowledges how far we have come in the field. Early 2000s studies showed U.S. students lag behind their peers in STEM. This threatened the economy, so educators prioritized science, math, tech research, economic policy, and education to improve the workforce. Studies on educational practices have urged U.S. state governors to graduate every high school student with STEM knowledge for postsecondary success. Six states were granted funds by the National Governors Association for this purpose. STEM jobs in America grew three times faster than non-STEM jobs in the early 2000s, but gender and racial gaps persisted. Employers struggle to find suitable STEM candidates. STEM Women's research in 2022 showed that only 26% of women are employed in STEM fields. Built By Girls has compiled women from that percentage who are doing brilliant things in the fields.
Dr. Ami B. Bhatt is the Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is a nationally and internationally recognized educator who has been acknowledged for her efforts in designing and building ACHD programs. She has authored guidelines and statements and researched to improve resource utilization for complex tertiary ACHD care. She also created a comprehensive curriculum at Mass General for cardiovascular fellows. Dr. Bhatt advocates for collaborative care between tertiary centers and community caregivers. She innovates at MGH Corrigan Minehan Heart Center in telemedicine and mobile health technologies. She believes that personalized care can be provided in the community and that concierge medicine should be accessible to everyone.
As dean of The Ohio State University College of Engineering, Ayanna Howard, PhD, is an accomplished roboticist, entrepreneur, and educator. She is also the founder and director of the Human-Automation Systems Lab (HumAnS). Dr. Howard has worked in higher education, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and in the private sector. She also founded Zyrobotics, which creates mobile therapy and educational products based on her research. Dr. Howard is the first female and second Black dean to lead the College of Engineering. Her appointment is significant as only 17% of engineering deans or directors across the country are female. She has been an active advocate for diversifying the engineering profession for women, underrepresented minorities, and individuals with disabilities throughout her career.
Nergis Mavalvala is a physicist at MIT who studies gravitational waves and quantum measurement science. She is a 2010 recipient of the MacArthur "genius" award. Nergis Mavalvala is a highly accomplished physicist. She earned a B.A. from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. from MIT. After completing her education, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist at the California Institute of Technology. In 2002, she joined the Physics faculty at MIT, where she served as Associate Department Head of Physics starting in February 2015. During her five-year tenure, she was responsible for overseeing the department's academic programming and student well-being. Nergis was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2017, a testament to her exceptional contributions to the field of physics. More recently, in 2020, she was appointed Dean of MIT's School of Science.
Dr. Radhika Nagpal is an Augustine Professor of Engineering at Princeton University. She specializes in Swarm Robotics and Collective Intelligence, as well as exploring various topics at the intersection of Robotics, AI, and Biology. In 2017, she co-founded ROOT Robotics, an educational robotics company that aims to widen participation in coding, AI, and robotics through creative early education. Dr. Nagpal was instrumental in launching the Black-in-Robotics Boston Chapter (BiR) and Amazon Day1 Fellowship. She is passionate about addressing diversity and equity issues within Robotics, Computer Science, and Academia.
Dr. Yvonne Darlene Cagle is an astronaut for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She is also a consulting professor at Stanford University's Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Department of Electrical Engineering. Dr. Cagle is known for her groundbreaking work on preserving NASA's legacy data. She leads the way in global mapping, sustainable energy, green initiatives, and disaster preparedness. Currently, she serves as the chief scientist for the Level II Program Office of NASA's Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program. Dr. Cagle has also been a part of the NASA Working Group, where she traveled to Russia to help establish international medical standards and procedures for astronauts.
More to check out:
Elections You Need to Know About This November
How I Started in STEM with Senior VP of Global Programs at Mozilla J. Bob Alotta
Inspiring Diversity in Actuarial Science for Women & Non-Binary Individuals in STEM
