Reading up on women in science

From article ant

How much do we know about the great women scientists of the past?

As part of researching a new children's book Sunetra Gupta of Oxford University's Department of Zoology has been finding out. OxSciBlog asked her about her new project and the unsung heroines of science...


OxSciBlog: Why choose to write a children's book on women scientists?
Sunetra Gupta: It was really my colleague Martin Maiden's idea. I was trying to think of a suitable project to promote women in science (as part of my application for the Rosalind Franklin Award) and Martin came up with this project. I instantly approached Ted Dewan to see if he was interested in illustrating it, and to my great good fortune he agreed.

Ted is an incredibly versatile illustrator and author of children's fiction and non-fiction as well as science books for adults. He also has a fantastic sense of humour: his website (www.wormworks.com) mentions that "at age 15 he won his first drawing competition at the local Baskin Robbins Ice Cream store. The prize was a pink card entitling him to 31 free ice cream cones" - two of these apparently remain unredeemed…

One of the reasons the project appealed to me was because I had, myself, been inspired at a young age by reading a biography of Marie Curie - and yet, I realised I had never had the opportunity to find out about any other women scientists. There is definitely a niche here waiting to be filled. Also, at a completely selfish level, I was eager to remedy my own serious gaps in knowledge about their lives and their science.

OSB: Which scientists did you most enjoy finding out about?
SG: So far, I have only read about two people in sufficient depth - Rosalind Franklin and Anna Thynne. Rosalind Franklin is an obvious choice and I have very much enjoyed Brenda Maddox's biography, as well the very interesting defence of her by Anne Sayre in response to James Watson's portrayal of her as 'Rosie', the grumpy research assistant.

I might never have come across Anna Thynne but for a lovely little book by Rebecca Stott which I had been sent some time ago when it had been submitted for a prize I was judging. She was a very remarkable woman - wife of the sub-Dean of Westminster Abbey (while Buckland was Dean), mother of many, and can be credited with establishing the first marine aquarium in her living room. This is all in the early 19th century - by the 1850s aquaria were all the craze.

Another woman I felt ashamed not to have known much about is the 18th century astronomer Caroline Herschel; I have been reading about her in Richard Holmes's fantastic new book 'The Age of Wonder' and cannot wait to lay my hands on her diaries.

OSB: What has been the most challenging aspect of your research?
SG: Finding the time to do it. My commitments as an academic are quite extensive, and I am also very far behind on delivering a book on science and literature that I was funded to write by the Arts Council in 2007. There is also the tug of wanting to carry on with my new novel, and to spend time with my two daughters.

Researching the book has been pure pleasure, and writing my fragments (we are currently adopting a scrap-book format) has also been a lot of fun. Ted has been producing some amazing illustrations - he is absolute dream to work with. We've had some crucial decisions to make regarding layout and content - these have probably been the hardest bits so far.

OSB: What do you hope young readers will take away from the book?
SG: Some acquaintance with the lives of these women would probably be as much as I expect, but I'm naturally hoping that they (girls and boys alike) might find some inspiration here. Many of these women had to struggle, to adapt, to compromise, to suffer, and they always carried on. Even if they are not attracted to a scientific career, knowing the stories of these women scientists can have a transforming effect on young minds.

OSB: How has the book changed how you think about the women scientists of the past?
SG: It is embarassing how little I knew about these women beyond the vague notion that they were brave and had to endure much. Whereas I had a much larger acquaintance with the lives of women writers, thanks to books such as Gilbert & Gubar's 'The Madwoman in the Attic' and, of course, all the biographies that are so readily available, not to mention the films about them.

I hear that a film is being made on Ada Lovelace (daughter of Lord Byron and possibly the first computer programmer) with Zooey Deschanel in her role, so perhaps women scientists will finally be in the public eye.

Again, I will say that the main benefit here is to learn about inspiring personalities - not everyone who enjoys 'Becoming Jane' is destined to become a writer, not everyone who falls in love with Zooey Deschanel as Ada Lovelace in ‘Enchantress of Numbers’ will become a scientist, but something will have been added to each person by learning about their lives and passions.

Reading up on women in science

Back to science!

Some days ago I posted the weekly schedule for Girl Scientist magazine... each day I'd discuss a different science.

I didn't follow that schedule for more than two days.... so this is a promise to get back on it starting tomorrow!

Let this be a lesson to everyone... if you have a plan...work to the plan, otherwise, you'll never get anything done! (And if you don't have a plan... make one!)

"Unschooling" produces worthless children

Perhaps my title is a little harsh. I should have said, not giving kids a DIRECTION in which to head, a "PURPOSE DRIVEN" life, produces worthless children. (I'm not using "purpose driven" in the sense that religious writer Rick Warren uses, to "find what God has in store for you," but rather, the PURPOSE is to achieve the best education you can, so that you are ready to be a contributing member of society. You do not want to be a drain on your parents or on society by living on welfare your entire life, you want to stand on your own two feet, be an independent woman (even should you desire to get married and have kids) and at all times support yourelf so you are not a burden on others... just as they should not be a burden on you.

There is apparently a movement afoot to "Unschool" kids. Kids don't have to go to school, instead they sit around and watch TV all day long, learning "naturally". Thus they gain no knowledge, no sense of responsibility, no idea that other people have to work to give them what they get for free (9 out of 10 of these parents and their kids are probably on welfare.)

[This is different from home schooling, please note.]

Edited: For some reason the video from YouTube on unschooling is not showing up. Not sure if its my own system, or if the video has been removed.

FDA mathematician to speak at math conference for girls

FDA mathematician to speak at math conference for girls

HARRISONBURG — Kyle J. Myers knows how far females can go with degrees in mathematics and science.

The director of the Division of Imaging and Applied Mathematics in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Myers will be the keynote speaker at the third annual Expanding Your Horizons math conference for girls at James Madison University.

The conference will be from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday in Miller Hall on the JMU campus west of Interstate 81. Myers' talk, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 2:20 p.m.

Myers, who received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Occidental College and a doctorate in optical sciences from the University of Arizona, will discuss how she became interested in mathematics and how she uses math in her job.

Female mathematics faculty from JMU will lead the conference, which is designed to stimulate girls’ interest in math through hands-on activities, provide them with female scientist role models and foster awareness of opportunities in math and science-related careers.

Participants will choose three of 10 workshops to attend during the day with topics such as “Vortices in Nature,” “Why is a Doughnut like a Coffee Cup” and “The Chemistry of Stickiness.”

Myers' address will close the conference.

You go, girl!

Katie Brice: Too Young to Drive, But Not for NASCAR
At 14, Katie Brice Can Drive a Race Car, but She Needs a Lift to the Track

With a figurine of her favorite superhero, Batman, strapped firmly to the roll cage for luck, NASCAR's youngest driver hit the course today at the Stafford Motor Speedway.

A 14-year-old becomes the youngest girl to compete in a Nascar race.Too young to drive to the racetrack (or the mall, for that matter), 14-year-old Katie Brice competed today in her first NASCAR-sanctioned race. Though she didn't finish, she got through more than half the race, which was better than many people expected.

She completed her heat in the entry-level series, racing alongside men more than twice her age, including her father. The middle-school student, who drives a bright pink 1986 Monte Carlo, is taking advantage of new NASCAR rules that allow kids as young as 14 to get a learner's permit to drive on sanctioned tracks.

"That was my dream," Katie says. "When you have your NASCAR license, you can race at any track in any car."

Related
WATCH: Teen Girl Makes NASCAR HistoryNASCAR Crash: Bad Blood at 190 MPHWATCH: NASCAR Feud Leads to CrashThe nation's largest stock car racing league made the decision to lower the minimum age for obtaining a license from 16 to 14 in an effort to compete with other leagues that allow drivers as young as 12 to race.

When Katie was 12, she was just beginning to race in go-karts. With younger and younger children becoming interested in racing, she actually had a late start on dirt tracks, but her parents say she's always shown a passion for the sport, and more specifically, for speed. They like to talk about the first time Katie flew in a jet.

"She kept wanting the plane to go faster," says her father, Jim Brice, a truck driver and the owner of Smokey's Racing.

On the speedway, Katie will peak at 100 miles per hour on straightaways and roar around corners at up to 80 mph. She's not usually at the front of the pack, but given her age and experience, she's on the fast track for her racing career.

Her parents have been criticized for allowing their teenage daughter behind the wheel of a race car, but they compare it to other risky sports, such as skiing or football.

"The entry-level cars that they're participating in are safe, the tracks are safe, the specifications are really catered to safety," says Bill Long, vice-president of racing operations at Stafford Motor Speedway. "There isn't really a tremendous amount of risk and it's a great place to learn…"

Last year, Jim Brice was in a crash severe enough to require him to be airlifted to a hospital. He says if he had been wearing a HANS device for the head and neck, which is compulsory at many races, he would have walked away.

The accident didn't deter him or his daughter from racing, but Katie never races without a HANS brace.

"It doesn't feel dangerous," Katie says. "It feels not 100 percent safe, but 75 percent safe."

But still, she said she does worry about crashing.

"It's sometimes scary," she says, pointing to a specific part of the speedway that curves. "Not only did my crash on May 15 in that corner ... I get flashbacks sometimes, and it's really loose today, so if you get in it, you spin out."

The Science of Women's Psyches

SATC's Kristin Davis: "I'm Never Going to Be the Thinnest Actress"Us Magazine - April 23, 2010 7:00 PM PDT

celebs:Kristen BellKristin DavisMalin AkermanSarah Jessica Parker
topics: HottiesFitnessFood and DrinkBFFs

Us Magazine Here's the skinny: Kristin Davis has embraced her curves.

"I'm never going to be the thinnest actress, and I don't want to be," the Sex and the City star, 45 (the sequel hits theaters May 27), tells the May issue of Fitness. "I have hips!"

Davis admits it was "very intimidating" to slip into a bikini for the mag's cover.

"There are people who feel comfortable in bathing suits, and I don't know how they do it," she says. "I worked with Kristen Bell and Malin Akerman on the movie Couples Retreat, and they didn't care about standing around in their bikinis for days. The guys in the movie were more self-conscious than they were!"

PHOTOS: Find out how much the SATC clothes cost!

Davis -- who has been running since her days on Melrose Place, and even taught yoga when she first moved to L.A. -- tries to keep a healthy diet.

"I eat a lot of chicken, salmon, eggs and side salads. But if all I ate were salads every day, I'd shoot myself," she says. "Who cares if you can fit in your skinny jeans if you can't enjoy life and have something good to eat? I went through periods when I said I can't have this, I can't have that. Now I don't deprive myself. Food is meant to be enjoyed."

The actress -- who will host the More/Fitness Women's Half Marathon in New York City's Central Park on April 25 -- does indulge in M&Ms and ice cream in the summer.

VIDEO: The SATC 2 trailer

"One trick I've learned is that if I have an ice cream bar, I'm OK having four bites and then throwing it away," she says. "I don't need to eat the whole thing to feel satisfied."

When asked about the worst rumor she's read about herself, Davis says, "That the cast of Sex and the City hates one another. We're standing so close during filming that we touch for 18 hours a day, and then people want to say we don't get along. It's the funniest thing in the world."

She even hits the gym occasionally with Sarah Jessica Parker, 45.

"Sarah Jessica doesn't need a support buddy. She's one of the most motivated people I've ever met, and she has an amazing body even when she doesn't work out; though, like the rest of us, she doesn't feel that way," Davis says.

Videos: Women Mathematicians

Famous Women Mathematicians


More women mathematicians


Society of Women and Sciences and Mathematics 2008 Symposium

First woman in space: Valentina Tereshkova

On October 4, 1957, the Russians beat the United States into space by launching a satellite called Sputnik into orbit. The US had also been trying to launch a satellte, but the rockets they were using consistently blew up! So when the Russians succeeded, American pride was deeply hurt, and the Space Race galvanized into action. Seven male astronauts were chosen fo rthe Mercury Program, which became the Gemini Program, which became the Apollo Program.

Although American woman also wanted to go into space, and indeed, felt they were better suited for it because women were typically smaller than men, dealt with isolation better, and so on, no American women were chosen for the program, and no American woman would go into space until Sally Ride aboard the Space Shuttle in 1983.

The Russians were the first to put a woman into space, but unlike their satellite victory, this did not spur Americans to try to match that. And the Russians never put another woman cosmonaut into space until August 19, 1982, when Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman to travel in space during the Soyuz T-7 mission.

So first let's talk about Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born 6 March 1937) is the first woman in space.

When the Soviet Union called for female volunteers for the space program, she was one of of more than four hundred applicants and then out of five finalists. She was selected to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963 and become the first woman to fly in space. On this mission, which lasted almost three days, she performed various tests on herself to collect data on the female body's reaction to spaceflight.

Before being recruited as a cosmonaut, Tereshkova was a textile-factory assembly worker and an amateur parachutist. After the female cosmonaut group was dissolved in 1969, she became a prominent member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, holding various political offices. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she retired from politics but remains revered as a hero in Russia.

Early life
Tereshkova was born in a village in the Yaroslavl Oblast in western Russia. Her parents had migrated from Belarus at the beginning of the 20th century. Her father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant.

She began school in 1945 at the age of eight, but left school in 1953 and continued her education by correspondence courses. She was interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained at the local Aeroclub.

She made her first jump at age 22 on May 21 1959. It was her expertise in parachute jumping that led to her selection as a cosmonaut.

In 1961 she became secretary of the local Komsomol (Young Communist League) and later joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Career in Soviet space program
After the flight of Yuri Gagarin in 1961, Sergey Korolyov, the chief Soviet rocket engineer, came up with the idea of putting a woman in space. On February 16, 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected to join the female cosmonaut corps. Also selected were Tatyana Kuznetsova, Irina Solovyova, Zhanna Yorkina, and Valentina Ponomaryova. Qualifications included that they be parachutists under 30 years of age, under 5 feet 7 inches) tall, and under 154 lbs. in weight.

Tereshkova was considered a particularly worthy candidate, partly due to her "proletarian" background, and because her father, tank leader sergeant Vladimir Tereshkov, was a war hero. He had lost his life in the Finnish Winter War during World War II, when Tereshkova was two years old.

After her mission she was asked how the Soviet Union should thank her for her service to the country. Tereshkova asked that the government search for, and publish, the location where her father was killed in action. This was done, and a monument now stands at the site in Lemetti—now on the Russian side of the border. Tereshkova has since visited Finland several times.

Training included weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG-15UTI jet fighters. The group spent several months in intensive training, concluding with examinations in November 1962, after which four remaining candidates were commissioned Junior Lieutenants in the Soviet Air Force. Tereshkova, Solovyova and Ponomaryova were the leading candidates, and a joint mission profile was developed that would see two women launched into space, on solo Vostok flights on consecutive days in March or April 1963.

Originally it was intended that Tereshkova would launch first in Vostok 5 while Ponomaryova would follow her into orbit in Vostok 6. However, this flight plan was altered in March 1963. Vostok 5 would now carry a male cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky flying the joint mission with a woman aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963. The State Space Commission nominated Tereshkova to pilot Vostok 6 at their meeting on May 21 and this was confirmed by Nikita Khrushchev himself. At the time of her selection, Tereshkova was ten years younger than the youngest Mercury Seven astronaut, Gordon Cooper.

After watching the successful launch of Vostok 5 on June 14, Tereshkova began final preparations for her own flight. On the morning of June 16, 1963, Tereshkova and her back-up Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the launch pad by bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside the Vostok. After a flawless two-hour countdown, Vostok 6 launched faultlessly, and Tereshkova became the first woman to fly into space. Her call sign in this flight was Chaika (English: Seagull), later commemorated as the name of an asteroid, 1671 Chaika.

Although Tereshkova experienced nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight, she orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere.

Vostok 6 was the final Vostok flight and was launched only two days after Vostok 5 which carried Valery Bykovsky into orbit for five days, landing only three hours after Tereshkova. The two vessels were at one point only 5 km apart, and communicated by radio.

Even though there were plans for further flights by women, these were scrapped, and it took 19 years until the second woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, flew into space, in response to the pressure of impending American Space Shuttle flights with female astronauts. None of the other four in Tereshkova's cosmonaut group ever flew.

Later career
After her flight, she studied at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction as a cosmonaut engineer. In October 1969, the female cosmonaut group was dissolved. In 1977 she earned a doctorate in engineering.

Due to her prominence she was chosen for several political positions: from 1966 to 1974 she was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, from 1974 to 1989 a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and from 1969 to 1991 she was in the Central Committee of the Communist Party. In 1997 she was retired from the air force and the cosmonaut corps by presidential order.

After the Vostok 6 flight a rumor began circulating that she would marry Andrian Nikolayev (1929–2004), the only bachelor cosmonaut to have flown. Nikolayev and Tereshkova married on November 3, 1963 at the Moscow Wedding Palace. Khrushchev himself presided at the wedding party, together with top government and space program leaders.

She gave birth to their daughter Elena Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova (who is now a doctor and was the first person to have both a mother and father who had travelled into space) in 1964. She and Nikolayev divorced in 1982. Her second husband, Yuli Shaposhnikov, died in 1999.

Valentina Tereshkova later became a prominent member of the Soviet government and a well known representative abroad. She was made a member of the World Peace Council in 1966, a member of the Yaroslavl Soviet in 1967, a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1966–1970 and 1970–1974, and was elected to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1974. She was also the Soviet representative to the UN Conference for the International Women's Year in Mexico City in 1975. She attained the rank of deputy to the Supreme Soviet, membership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Central Committee, Vice President of the International Woman’s Democratic Federation and President of the Soviet-Algerian Friendship Society.

Tereshkova crater on the far side of the Moon was named after her.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tereshkova lost her political office but none of her prestige. To this day, she is still revered as a Russian hero, and to some her importance in Russian space history is only surpassed by Yuri Gagarin and Alexei Leonov. Since her retirement from politics, she appears infrequently at space-related events, and appears to be content with being out of the limelight.

Tereshkova's life and spaceflight were examined in detail in the 2007 book Into That Silent Sea by Colin Burgess and Francis French, including interviews with Tereshkova and her colleagues.

Tereshkova was invited to President Vladimir Putin's residence in Novo-Ogaryovo for the celebration of her 70th birthday. While there she said that she would like to fly to Mars, even if it meant that it was a one way trip.

On April 5, 2008, she became a torchbearer of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in St Petersburg, Russia.

Stand and deliver

A few days ago, I saw that some tv station was showing an old TV movie from 1988, that I had watched when it originally came out, called Stand And Deliver.

Here's the plot:

Jaime Escalante (played by Edward James Olmos) is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into some of the country's top algebra and calculus students.

This was actually based on a true story.

One plot element that struck me then and has remained with me always was the subplot featuring a character named Angel Guzman, played by rising star Lou Diamond Philips. He is the leader of a rough gang - any rough violence he wants his gang to do, they will do. But, he also wants to learn calculus. But, he does not have the respect of his gang such that he can say, "Okay, guys, we're going to give up violence and learn calculus." Instead, he has to make a deal with the teacher to give him an extra calculus book that he can have at home, so that his gang never sees him carrying any school books. Thus, they retain their respect for him.

Now, fortunately I was raised in a middle class neighborhood and never had to fight my way out of a bad neighborhood... I hope that I would have had the determination to do it.... but the point is... why do so many students in poor neighborhoods fail? Even today, 30 years after billions of dollars have been poured into special programs to try to get them interested in learning.

Is it because spending billions of dollars is not enough, or is it because their own peers work against them? How many young kids in poor neighborhoods have started out their school careers enthusiastically, determined to get an education, move out of that neighborhood and become "middle class," standing on their own two feet with their own money earned from a real job? And how many have been beaten down by their own peers, with the constant refrain, "You think you're better than us?" and then an actual beating.

That even happens in middle class schools, of course. Perhaps not the actual beatings, but the verbal abuse towards students who have ambitions above and beyond what their classmates think they should have. A student can show off all they want on the athletic field, and that's fine, after all, athletic ability is god-given talent. But let someone show off in the classroom... that's not god-given ability, that's someone who actually spends their time learning so they can be smarter than everyone else...oh, no, that can't be allowed! Beat them down! Either physically or verbally.

There are plenty of role models for minorities and women on TV... all the drama shows typically have "strong women" and black co-stars. (Latinos and Asians are less well represetned, admittedly, although that is improving.) But what about the sitcoms, with their pervasive evils of lazy or dumb dad, smart and bossy mom, teeny tiny kids who speak like adults and act like them too, as for example Married With Children, an execrable show that lasted for ten seasons, or The Simpsons, that is still going after 20 seasons. All of them contributing to the coarsening of America, and uplifing nobody.

Then there are the commercials, reinforcing the stereotypes. Women must always be beautiful, they must always cover any "flaws" on their face, plain guys will be aboe to get beautiful girls if they use this or that product...

The media of mediocrity is all pervasive, and that is -- I think anyway -- what is contributing to the decline of America from a major world power to what we find ourselves today, bankrupt both morally and monetarily. By being morally bankrupt I don't mean because of our religion or lack of it, I mean because we are turning into a welfare state, where no one needs to do any effort, everything will be provided for them. A welfare state is a morally bankrupt state....and yet that is what Europe is and that is what the US is rapidly close to becoming.

What's wrong with a welfare state? Well, it penalizes the brilliant, the moneymakers, the achievers, and rewards those who sit on their butts and do nothing but procreate. It retards initiative. It destroys people's will to succeed!

Well...enough of this rant, back to science tomorrow.

When should a kid decide on their career?

I saw this article on the news today, and reproduce it below. First, I want to discuss it, though:

I always...from the age of ten or so...knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. A writer. That way, I could work from home and sleep as late as I wanted!

My interests, though - the things I wanted to write about - were many and varied. Astronomy, oceanography, volcanoes - I was very much interested in the sciences. And so I went to school and learned everything I could.

As the years passed, it always amazed me that most of the kids in my class had no idea what they wanted to do when they "grew up." How could they not know? I wondered. Even my own nephew, age 13, has no ambitions....

In any event, I hope all the girls reading this blog do have ambitions. Big ones! And don't let anyone talk you out of them, either.

Schools urging kids not to be taken to "Take a Child To Work Day"

CHICAGO – Many U.S. school districts urged parents to keep their kids in class and not take them to work Thursday for an annual event they say disrupts learning at an increasingly critical time of year.

From Arizona to Illinois to Texas, educators alerted parents that between high-stakes standardized testing in some areas and the H1N1 virus that kept thousands of children home earlier in the school year, the timing of "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" doesn't make sense.

"This year, of all years, to have a student miss a day for something like this that could be done anytime — it just seems the focus should be on students and their learning here," said Guy Schumacher, the superintendent of Libertyville Elementary School District 70 in suburban Chicago.

In many districts, some of which sent strongly worded letters or e-mails to parents explaining that taking part was putting their children's education at risk, officials reported that teachers were not finding rows of empty seats in classrooms Thursday.

"We had only six out today (and) that's actually less than usual," said Darrell Propst, principal of Taylor Road Elementary School in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, one of those who asked parents not to pull their kids out of school for the day. "Our attendance was very, very good today."

Some administrators said they recognized that spending time with their parents at work could be a valuable educational experience for children, but it does not justify pulling them out of the classroom — even for one day.

"Stakes have never been higher for student achievement," wrote Virginia B. McElyea, the superintendent of the Deer Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, Ariz. "Every day your child is out of school his or her learning achievement suffers."

Administrators have been complaining about the event's date for well over a decade. Some have said they've contacted the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation to ask that it be held on a school holiday or during the summer, but the organization won't budge.

A spokesman for the foundation, George McKecuen, said it's important that the event — launched in 1993 for girls and expanded to include boys in 2004 — be held during the school year so children can go back and tell their classmates what they learned. He suggested schools might schedule a holiday or teacher work day on that day or: "Maybe they can do their tests some other day."

"It's always there on the calendar, the fourth Thursday in April," McKecuen said.

At schools where standardized tests aren't being given that day, the exams may be looming. Student test scores have become increasingly important to public schools since the 2002 No Child Left Behind law was enacted, linking standardized test results to federal funding.

"Because of the high-stakes testing we're involved in during the spring, the kids need to be in school as much as they can," said Ron Simpson, a spokesman for a regional education service center in Richardson, Texas.

Some parents, however, say their children learn enough about their parents and the world that day to make up for whatever they miss in class.

"I think it's a great opportunity for my daughter to see her mother in action, so to speak," said Alicia Agugliaro, who planned to take her 7-year-old daughter to the drug development company in Princeton, N.J., where she works in marketing communications. "Our company emphasized leadership and partnership, and I think that's a good message for kids."

Other parents, though, acknowledge it may not be worth it.

"I think it's a great experience for the kids to see what a professional environment is like, but they also may need to weigh that with how much they are going to miss at school, whether there is a test they will have to make up or what is going on that day," said Jill Krizek, who for years has brought her 11-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son to the bank in suburban Kansas City where she's a human resources director.

Her son, a high school freshman, has decided not to participate.

"He feels like he misses too much work," she said. "I have worked here 13 years, so it hasn't changed enough."

But McKecuen, from the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation, said the event gives students a chance to see the connection between what they learn in school and the skills they will need as adults. He said it also can spark children's interest in careers they might not have considered or known about.

That's what happened in Chicago, at the office of Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown.

In a letter written to Brown last November, Jade Ieshia Cage, a college freshman studying to be a lawyer, wrote that participating in the event "helped me decide what I want to do in my life."

Lightning Coming From E15

You've probably heard of the volcano in Iceland that is erupting. The ash in the air is so thick that airplanes have been grounded for several days. Airplane engines do not operate well when they suck ash into the engines!

But have you ever heard the name of this erupting volcano?

It is called Eyjafjallajokull.
That is pronounced (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl).

Or, you can just call it E15. That's what the US military is calling it, in their E15 operation. It's an airlift to get wounded soldiers to appropriate hospitals, because so many flights had been cancelled in Europe - and in particular Germany, where there is a hospital at Ramstein for injured soldiers.

Of course, while calling it E15 may be the easiest thing, we're scientists, aren't we? Don't be afraid of that long name. Just practice saying it phonetically a few times!

This volcano is unusual, in that today, lighting was seen emanating from the volcano. Scientists have observed this in other volcanoes, but don't yet know what causes it. They have their theories, however:

Mysterious Volcano Lightning Creates Pretty Pictures

Scientists have long known the plumes that shoot from the mouths of erupting volcanoes can produce sheaths of lightning. While lightning is typically associated with thunderstorms, hurricanes and other severe weather, the roiling debris clouds of volcanoes can also produce them.

The lighting in volcanic plumes is connected to the rotation that these plumes undergo, something like a tornado. As a plume rotates, it can spawn waterspouts or dust devils, which gather together the electric charges in the plume to form a sheath of lightning.

Scientists don't know exactly how lightning is created in an ash cloud, however. But they expect it's a result of particles rubbing together, generating friction and electrical charges.

Videos: Volcanologists

Cave Exploring

Many years ago, I had occasion to go caving. It was just an introductory class. First, we - there were about 10 of us - learned how to rappel down a cliff that was about 20 - 30 feet high. When it came my turn to rappel down, I chickened out. Being rather wimpy, I didn't think my arms would be strong enough to hold my weight, and I'd fall all the way down the cliff and go splat.

My sister, who was also taking this class, and who'd already rappelled down, ran back up the hill and encouraged me. So I just gritted my teeth, said "que sera sera", and went backward over the edge of the cliff.

And found it exhiliarating. There was no need to be muscular at all. You had one hand behind your back to control your rate of descent, and one hand in front of you, and you just walked backwards down the cliff. Or you could slide all the way down if you wished, without even walking.

I loved it,and would gladly have spent the entire rest of the trip doing that again and again.

Unfortunately, we went caving. There were three parts of the cave where we'd have to rappel down, and of course there was an instructor right beside us as we went through the hole, and one down below holding the rope taut. And I really enjoyed these rappels. In between, not so much. The cave was dark, and uninteresting.

After the class had finished - it was only a one day thing, I had no interest going caving again, but I went rappelling often. Out in the sunshine where one could see the scenery!

Having said that, let's talk about cave terminology. (I'm writing a book about the caverns of Virginia - the commercial caverns that have lights so you can see everything, not the caves where its just you, a rope and a spelunking helmet, so I checked out a book on caves, just to read up on it.)

Caving terms

Anchor - a solid object like a cave or a rock, to which a rope can be attached.

Bad air - Air that is either low in oxygen or high in nonbreathable gases such as methane or carbon dioxide.

Balaclava - a hood that covers the entire head with an opening for the face.

Belay - a safety line used by one caver to help another keep from falling in case of a slip. Also, the act of providing a safety line for another caver,

Why no Astrid figurine from How To Train Your Dragon?

Let's say you're a girl. And you've just gone to see How To Train Your Dragon. And you really liked the character Astrid, the girl Viking who is the best dragon fighter in the training class. (Hiccup is better, but he's cheating, he knows Dragons don't like eels, and he knows they are trainable.)

Astrid is pretty, she's strong but feminine, she's smart, everything a little girl would like to be (one hopes.)

So you go to a Walmart with your parents, intending to pick up an Astrid figurine, and maybe even the rest of the characters - both the boys and the dragons...

And what do you see? The only character not available is Astrid!

Well, you decide maybe you'll get an Astrid t-shirt. You can't even do that. But there is a T-shirt with brother and sister Vikings Tuffnut and Ruffnut. (Ruffnut being the girl.) Tuffnut has his sister in a headlock and appears to be giving her head an Indian burn. The text on the T-shirt? "Only the strong can join!"

So what is this saying - "hey girls, don't you dare try to get involved in baseball, football, fencing, playing with us guys when we play "How to train your dragon," because you're not strong enough?

I find this all infuriating. It reminds me of a few years ago, when the last Pirates of the Caribbean came out, and all the toys that accompanied. There was a series of notebooks, with Jack Sparrow and WIll Turner. But Elizabeth Swann, in her really, really cool Chinese armour outfit? No - she doesn't appear in the series at all!

Having said that, I've just checked Amazon and there are a couple of Elizabeth Swann action figures. So that's something at least.

Nevertheless, back to the notebooks. I like buying notebooks, and what I'd really like to do is buy notebooks with female role models on them. And you can get Wonder Woman covers, but that's it. There's a Batwoman, Batgirl, The Invisible Girl, Black Widow...plenty of female characters they could choose, but they don't. It's Batman, Superman, a variety of other characters, but only Wonder Woman for the girls.

But for the younger movie-going audience, for the 4 - 8 age group that probably loves How To Train Your Dragon, there's no Astrid to be found.

Common sense around the house

This is a somewhat off-topic post, but I thought, what the heck.

I was visiting my parents today. Dad and I were watching TV, when Mom came out of the bedroom saying that the toilet was overflowing. She didn't know enough to turn off the water that ran to the toilet.

Now, I can't really blame my mom for that. She's 70 years old and on medication that kind of "fuzzes up her mind," to state it unscientifically. I'm sure she did know how to turn off the water, she just didnt' think to do it in the stress of the moment.

Truth to tell, I at age 50, don't know that it would have occurred to me to do it either, and I have turned the water off at a toilet plenty of times. In the stress of the moment, I would have just reached for the plunger. But my dad was there, and he turned it off. Then was faced with vacuuming up an inch of water from the floor with a wetvac. (A traditional vacuum cleaner would not have worked, mark you!)

In any event, I'm wondering if kids know to do this. Indeed, there are plenty of things around a house or apartment that kids need to know how to do, but does it occur to parents to teach them how to do it?

Anything from knowing where all the water turnoffs are - and when to use them, to knowing an exit in case of fire, and a meeting point in case of some other kind of emergency.

Do you know what to do if something catches fire on the stove? Depending on what kind of fire it is, pouring water on it will just spread the fire everywhere - not to mention ruin the stove. Depending on how big the fire is, put a large frying pan cover on top of it to deprive the flames of oxygen, or pour baking soda on it if its a grease fire. (A box of baking soda always deserves pride of place on your oven or stove.)

Apparently, and sadly, many kids raid their parents medicine cabinets and take a variety of medicines that they use to get high. So parents need to start locking that stuff up. Even if they've got great kids whom they think are too smart to do something stupid like that Iand it is stupid)

Then there's the case of firearms in the house. I have no problem with that, but of course it is the parent's job to make sure any guns are locked up until they are absolutely needed, and no kids to have access to them.

So, kids, why not talk to your parents about all the maintenance they have to do around the apartment or house. (If they don't do regular maintenance, it is time for them to start! Many things that break need not do so, if they are properly maintained. Like vacuuming out the gunk in the very bottoms of refrigerators, and keeping the icebox ice-free. Running drain cleaner through the drains on a regular basis. Cleaning the filters in the air-conditioning vents, if you've got a central AC system. Making sure that your electric sockets aren't overloaded.

Making sure that no open-flame heaters are used near paper.

Videos: Sylvia Earle

"Her Deepness," "The Sturgeon General"

Oceanography Wednesday: The Mystery of the Moray Eels

This article explains how all the different sciences come together at one point or another.

Take oceanography, for example. If you're a physical oceanographer, you deal with the ocean bed, the composition of the water around the world, the temperature, etc. So you also have to know about geology.

If you're a marine biologist, you study the animals and organisms within the water itself. And so you'd be interested in biology, and species.

Moray Eel Evolution Baffles Scientists; 'Species Don’t Do That'

ST. LOUIS, Missouri -- Joshua Reece became interested in moray eels in 2005 when he was applying to the PhD program at the University of Hawai'i. Instead of taking him on a campus tour, his host, Brian Bowen, PhD, a biologist at the university, took him on a dive. Along the southwest coast of Oahu, Reece looked under a rock ledge and was startled to see five different species of moray eels looking back. When he later captured the eels, he found the same fish species in all of their bellies.

Reece immediately recognized the five eels as a dissertation project on a platter. "How can you have seven species of the same fish eating the same thing and, quite literally, living under the same rock?" he asks. "Species don't do that; if they exploit the same niche they don't diversify, and if they diversify they don't exploit the same niche."

What was up with the eels?

Reece, who is currently a graduate student in biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, still doesn't know the answer but having just completed the first phylogeographic survey of the Muraenidae, the family to which the eels belong, he now has a better sense of the problem.

The study, published in the online edition of the Journal of Heredity, was co-authored by Bowen, Allan Larson, PhD, professor of biology at Washington University and Reece's advisor, and two biology undergraduate students at Washington University: Kavita Joshi, now a student at the Washington University School of Medicine, and Vadim Goz, now at Mount Sinai Medical School.

Reece and his colleagues collected two species of eels, the undulated moray (Gymnothorax undulatus) and the yellow-edged moray (G. flavimarginatus) at a dozen different locations across the Indo-Pacific ocean. They were looking for genetic differences that might indicate interruptions in gene flow among populations of the eels either now or in the past.

The Indo-Pacific is a huge expanse of water, covering fully two-thirds of Earth's surface. Yet Reece and his colleagues found both species to be genetically homogeneous across the entire ocean basin.

Their results qualify the morays as the most cosmopolitan of reef fish but only deepens the mystery of how they — and the other 150 species of moray eel in the Indo-Pacific — formed separate species in the first place.

Science Vocabulary #4: Species

Yesterday I mentioned the word "species." What is a "species"?

A common definition is "that of a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring of both genders, and separated from other such groups with which interbreeding does not (normally) happen."

So, although seahorses, sea dragons and pipefish are in the same family, they are not all the same species, and so don't interbreed with each other.

Chemistry Tuesday: What is Chemistry?

Here's the definition of Chemistry:

Chemistry is "the science of matter and the changes it undergoes".

The science of physics also deals with changes in matter, but it "takes a more general and fundamental approach." Chemistry is more specialized.

Chemistry is concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions.

It is a physical science that studies various atoms, molecules, crystals and other aggregates of matter, whether in isolation or combination, which incorporates the concepts of energy and entropy in relation to the spontaneity of chemical processes.

Disciplines within chemistry are grouped by the type of matter being studied or the kind of study.

These include:

inorganic chemistry: the study of inorganic matter

organic chemistry: the study of organic matter

biochemistry:the study of substances found in biological organisms

physical chemistry: the energy related studies of chemical systems at macro, molecular and submolecular scales

analytical chemistry: the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition and structure

neurochemistry: the chemical study of the nervous system

This all sounds pretty complicated, doesn't it? Well, chemistry is like any other science. You start to learn with the basics, and the more you learn, the more you know.

Here at Girl Scientist Magazine, we wont' deal with actual chemical formulas or anything like that. What we'll do is cover the history of the study of chemistry, and talk about female chemists, so that you can see that girls can handle chemistry just as well as guys!

So if you're interested in chemistry, don't be scared away by how complicated it sounds. And... here's the thing, even if chemistry or any other science is too complicated for you...that doesn't mean you can't learn about the history of it, and what chemists are doing today.

It is our responsibility as citizens of the scientific world to be "scientifally literate." The "nitty gritty" may be too complicated for the general person to understand, but the overall uses can be understood, and should be known.

Science Vocabulary #3: Brood pouch

A brood puch is a sealed picket, located on a male sea horse's tail, in which the little seahorse babies grow. (I'm writing a book on seahorses, and reading a reference book about them to help me, which is why I talked about breeding season yesterday and "brood pouch" today!)

Of course not only seahorses have brood pouches.

First off, what's a brood? "a number of young produced or hatched at one time; a family of offspring or young"

With birds, "to sit upon (eggs) to hatch, as a bird; incubate." The same goes for seahorses, who "incubate" their eggs in their brood pouch.

Some animals have pouches in which they carry their young. The kangaroo carries her baby (called a joey) in her pouch.

The seahorse is a very interesting creature. It is a member of the Syngnathidae family (Syngnathidae is a long word, which comes from the Greek. Don't worry about it now!), which consists of seahorses, the pipefishes, and the weedy and leafy sea dragons. Every other species on earth, that we know of, that has male and female members of the species, has the female become pregnant. Not so the seahorse, pipefish and sea dragon.

In these three species, and in these three alone, out of the millions on the earth, it is the male becomes pregnant.

Math Monday: Emmy Noether - she revolutionized mathematics

Here's an article from Wikipedia on woman mathematician Emmy Noether:

Amalie Emmy Noether, (23 March 1882 – 14 April 1935) was a German-born mathematician known for her groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics. Described by David Hilbert, Albert Einstein and others as the most important woman in the history of mathematics, she revolutionized the theories of rings, fields, and algebras. In physics, Noether's theorem explains the fundamental connection between symmetry and conservation laws.

She was born to a Jewish family in the Bavarian town of Erlangen; her father was the mathematician Max Noether. Emmy originally planned to teach French and English after passing the required examinations, but instead studied mathematics at the University of Erlangen, where her father lectured. After completing her dissertation in 1907 under the supervision of Paul Gordan, she worked at the Mathematical Institute of Erlangen without pay for seven years.

In 1915 she was invited by David Hilbert and Felix Klein to join the mathematics department at the University of Göttingen, a world-renowned center of mathematical research. The philosophical faculty objected, however, and she spent four years lecturing under Hilbert's name. Her habilitation was approved in 1919, allowing her to obtain the rank of privatdozent.

Noether remained a leading member of the Göttingen mathematics department until 1933; her students were sometimes called the "Noether boys". In 1924, Dutch mathematician B. L. van der Waerden joined her circle and soon became the leading expositor of Noether's ideas: her work was the foundation for the second volume of his influential 1931 textbook, Moderne Algebra.

By the time of her plenary address at the 1932 International Congress of Mathematicians in Zürich, her algebraic acumen was recognized around the world. The following year, Germany's Nazi government dismissed Jews from university positions, and Noether moved to the United States to take up a position at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. In 1935 she underwent surgery for an ovarian cyst and, despite signs of a recovery, died four days later at the age of 53.

Noether's mathematical work has been divided into three "epochs".[4] In the first (1908–1919), she made significant contributions to the theories of algebraic invariants and number fields. Her work on differential invariants in the calculus of variations, Noether's theorem, has been called "one of the most important mathematical theorems ever proved in guiding the development of modern physics". In the second epoch, (1920–1926), she began work that "changed the face of [abstract] algebra".

In her classic paper Idealtheorie in Ringbereichen (Theory of Ideals in Ring Domains, 1921) Noether developed the theory of ideals in commutative rings into a powerful tool with wide-ranging applications. She made elegant use of the ascending chain condition, and objects satisfying it are named Noetherian in her honor. In the third epoch, (1927–1935), she published major works on noncommutative algebras and hypercomplex numbers and united the representation theory of groups with the theory of modules and ideals. In addition to her own publications, Noether was generous with her ideas and is credited with several lines of research published by other mathematicians, even in fields far removed from her main work, such as algebraic topology.

At an exhibition at the 1964 World's Fair devoted to Modern Mathematicians, Noether was the only woman represented among the notable mathematicians of the modern world.

Noether has been honored in several memorials:

The Association for Women in Mathematics holds a Noether Lecture to honor women in mathematics every year; in its 2005 pamphlet for the event, the Association characterizes Noether as "one of the great mathematicians of her time, someone who worked and struggled for what she loved and believed in. Her life and work remain a tremendous inspiration".

Consistent with her dedication to her students, the University of Siegen houses its mathematics and physics departments in buildings on the Emmy Noether Campus.

The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) operates the Emmy Noether Programm, a scholarship providing funding to promising young post-doctorate scholars in their further research and teaching activities.

A street in her hometown, Erlangen, has been named after Emmy Noether and her father, Max Noether.

The successor to the secondary school she attended in Erlangen has been renamed as the Emmy Noether School.

Farther from home,
The crater Nöther on the far side of the Moon is named after her.
The 7001 Noether asteroid also is named for Emmy Noether

Science Vocabulary # 2: Breeding season

When breeding season comes, the males of the species usually develop brilliant plumage, or in mammals, some other signs, that allows it to attract a female with whom to mate, so they can have offspring - eggs in the case of birds, pups and so on in the case of mammals. The photo above, the male at the top has its brilliant blue breeding plumage. The male below it has its normal plumage. Below that is the female, which typically is not as brightly colored as the male. And below that, is a different type of blue bird, just for kicks!

A "breeding season" is a specific time of year when an animal produces its young. Most animals only breed once a year. The breeding season is the most suitable season, usually with favorable conditions and abundant food and water, for breeding among some wild animals and birds.

"Breeding" means "the production of offspring," and can be used to refer to any kind of animal, including humans. "Breeding" is an impersonal term, though, and when someone uses it in regards to human beings, they are usually being sarcastic.

Most words in English have several "shades" of meaning, and breeding is teh same.

In addition to meaning "the production of offspring," breeding can mean "the improvement or development of breeds of livestock, as by selective mating and hybridization. " It all depends on the "context" in which the word is used.

Acronyms, Acronyms Everywhere

Space Sciences Sunday

Acronyms and the Space Shuttle

Every group of people forms a kind of "code" with which to communicate with each other. The military is particularly famous for this, with their acronyms.

Acronyms are abbreviations that are formed using the initial letters or components in a phrase or name.

Even though the space shuttle program is, sadly, going to end at the end of 2010, I'm still going to take you through the acronyms that came into use for it. When you study the history of our space program, you will be able to see these words used in context.

I found these acronyms whie reading How To Fly The Space Shuttle, a kids book by Russell Shorto.

ADI - Altitude Direction Indicator
AOA - abort once around
ATO - abort to orbit
CAPCOM - capsule communicator.
CDR - commander
ET - external (fuel) tank
HAC - heading alignment cylinder
KSC - Kennedy Space Center
JSC - Johnson Space Center
MECO - main engi ne cutoff
OMS - orbitl maneuvering system
PLT - pilot
PL - payload
RCS - reaction control systemRTLS - return to launch site
SRB - solid rocket boosters
SSME - space shuttle main engines
TAL - transatlantic landing abort
TDRSS - Tracking and data relay sattelite system. Pronounced Tee-dris.
ZOE - zone of exclusion

That's a lot of acronyms. In next week's Space Sciences Sunday article, I'll talk more about them. Once you see them used in sentences, you'll find it easier to remember them. Or, don't wait until next Sunday, but do some resesarch on your own to learn more about them.

Science Vocabulary #1: aquaculture

Each day, we will post a word for you to learn to build your science vocabularly. Write the word in your notebook, and do some research into the word. Try to use it in a sentence, which will demonstrate whether or not you really understand the word and how it is used.

Depending on how old you are, you have probably learned what "prefixes" and "suffixes" are in school. If not, I'm going to tell you.

A prefix is "an affix placed before a base or another prefix, as un- in unkind, un- and re- in unrewarding."

A suffix is "an affix that follows the element to which it is added, as -ly in kindly."

Most prefixes, used in scientific terms, come from Latin or Greek.

For example, in aquaculture, the prefix is aqua. Auqua means water in Latin. Culture, in this context, does not mean a social culture, like a civilization, but rather culture as in cultivation, such as "the cultivation of microorganisms, as bacteria, or of tissues, for scientific study, medicinal use, etc." ("Cult" is another prefix, which we'll discuss at a different time.")

So aquaculture is "the cultivation of aquatic animals and plants, esp. fish, shellfish, and seaweed, in natural or controlled marine or freshwater environments; underwater agriculture"

Another word that uses the prefix aqua is "aquanaut." Again, aqua means water, so aquanaut means "an undersea explorer, esp. one who skin-dives from or lives for an extended period of time in a submerged dwelling".

(Explaininng how the word "naut" was derived, such as astronaut, aquanaut, aeronaut, would also take time, and I'll explain it later on, too. Either subscribe to or Follow this blog so you can find out all about it, unless you want to do research on your own.)

How about aquifer? It doesn't have "aqua" but it has "aqui", so you can still figure out that it has something to do with water. "any geological formation containing or conducting ground water, esp. one that supplies the water for wells, springs, etc"

Girls prefer Journalist Barbie to Environmentalist Barbie

Girls prefer Journalist Barbie to Environmentalist Barbie is the headline from an article on Mother Nature Network.

Stephanie Rogers writes the article.

"In an online vote, adult voters give Barbie her new computer scientist vocation, but little girls want her to be an anchorwoman." [Note in the photo that computer scientist Barbie wears glasses, whereas anchorwoman Barbie doesn't. Are little girls buying into the brainwashing that glasses are ugly, and they, and their dolls, must never wear them?)

It’s official — Barbie has officially “gotten her geek on,” joining the ranks of female computer engineers worldwide. But if the little girls who voted had won out, Barbie would have had nothing to do with binary code — or saving the whales, the environmentalist option. She’d be sitting in front of a news desk, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Out of the more than 600,000 votes cast to determine Barbie’s new career, a surprisingly large number were from adults. A viral campaign by female computer engineers generated an enormous response from people who wouldn’t normally be caught playing with plastic dolls — including men.

The goal? Driving more girls toward careers in math, science and technology. Women make up only a small percentage of college graduates with computer science degrees.

“There is a perception that an interest in math, science and computers means being socially awkward and boring and sacrificing the opportunity to be creative and fun," explains Erin Fitzgerald, a science and technology fellow in the U.S. Department of Defense who helped organize the campaign.

Mattel sought input from women in the field to design Computer Scientist Barbie’s snazzy binary-covered tee, colorful jacket and pink glasses, heeding requests to avoid lab coats and nerdy accessories.

Meanwhile, Barbie aficionados will be rewarded with their true choice. Mattel will be releasing a microphone-wielding Anchorwoman Barbie along with her scientist double this fall.

Amid all the hubbub, Environmentalist Barbie got left in the dust — but with growing exposure to Earth-friendly causes such as planting trees and helping animals, perhaps 2011 will be her year.

Women pilots

World War II Unsung Women Pilots



Svetlana Kapanina - Best Woman Pilot Of XX Century




Brazilian wingwalker (OK, wingwalkers aren't scientists... but they sure are brave!0

Mae Jemison speaks on Houston PBSs program encouraging Science Literacy Programs

Dr. Mae Jemison encouraging science literacy.

Don't let the naysayers discourage you!

Here's a press release from the Bayer Corporation, released on March 22, 2010

U.S. Women and Minority Scientists Discouraged from Pursuing STEM Careers, National Survey Shows

PITTSBURGH, MARCH 22, 2010 -- Significant numbers of today’s women and underrepresented minority chemists and chemical engineers (40 percent) say they were discouraged from pursuing a STEM career (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) at some point in their lives, according to a new Bayer Corporation survey.

U.S. colleges are cited by them as the leading place in the American education system where discouragement happens (60 percent) and college professors as the individuals most likely responsible for the discouragement (44 percent).

The U.S. K-12 education system falls short, too. On average, the survey respondents give it a “D” for the job it does to encourage minorities to study STEM subjects and a “D+” for girls.

The Bayer Facts of Science Education XIV survey polled 1,226 female, African-American, Hispanic and American Indian chemists and chemical engineers about their childhood, academic and workplace experiences that play a role in attracting and retaining women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields.

“If we want to achieve true diversity in America’s STEM workforce, we must first understand the root causes of underrepresentation and the ongoing challenges these groups face,” said Greg Babe, President and CEO, Bayer Corporation. “We want to knock down barriers. If we can do that, we’ll be able to develop the attitudes, behaviors, opportunities and resources that lead to success.”

Other major findings include:

● Regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, interest in science begins in early childhood. Nearly 60 percent of the respondents say they first became interested in science by age 11. This parallels the findings of a 1998 Bayer Facts survey of American Ph.D. scientists, which included white men. In that survey, six-in-ten also reported interest in science by age 11.

● More than three-quarters (77 percent) say significant numbers of women and underrepresented minorities are missing from the U.S. STEM workforce today because they were not identified, encouraged or nurtured to pursue STEM studies early on.

● The top three causes/contributors to underrepresentation in STEM include lack of quality science and math education programs in poorer school districts (75 percent), persistent stereotypes that say STEM isn’t for girls or minorities (66 percent) and financial issues related to the cost of education (53 percent), according to the survey respondents.

● They say science teachers play a larger role than parents in stimulating and sustaining interest in science. During the elementary school years, 70 percent of the respondents say teachers have the most influence. During high school, 88 percent say teachers do.

● Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of those polled say underrepresentation exists in their company’s/organizations/institution’s workforce.

● Leading workplace barriers for the female and minority chemists and chemical engineers include managerial bias (40 percent), company/organizational/institutional bias (38 percent) and a lack of professional development (36 percent), no/little access to networking opportunities (35%), and a lack of promotional/advancement opportunities (35 percent).

● Nearly three-quarters (70 percent) of the chemists/chemical engineers say it is harder for women to succeed in their field than it is for men, while more than two-thirds (67 percent) think it is more difficult for minorities to succeed than it is for non-minorities.

● Across the board, respondents give their companies/organizations/institutions a “C” for having women and underrepresented minorities in senior positions to serve as role models and mentors for the younger employees.

“This and previous Bayer Facts surveys confirm something I’ve long known – that interest in science is genderless and colorless,” said Dr. Mae C. Jemison, astronaut, medical doctor, chemical engineer and Bayer’s longtime Making Science Make Sense® spokesperson. “All children have an innate interest in science and the world around them. But for many children, that interest hits roadblocks along an academic system that is still not blind to gender or color.

“These roadblocks have nothing to do with intellect, innate ability or talent,” said Dr. Jemison. “On the contrary, they are the kinds of larger, external socio-cultural and economic forces that students have no control over. As students, they cannot change the fact that they do not have access to quality science and math education in their schools. But adults can. And we must.”

I must disagree with Dr. Jemison's final comment. We live in an age where every library has computers, that must be offered free to anyone who wants to use them. (I assume this is in poorer neighborhoods as well, federal funds aren't allowed to discriminate.) Anybody who wants to get an education these days, can do so.

The key is to encourage them to want that education, rather than just spending their time outdoors playing basketball or whatever it is they do, instead of sitting inside with a good book.

Local students watch their astronaut take off in the Discovery

These are the events that will provide role models for kids. We need scientist role models, not athletes. Athletes may be fun to watch.. but they contribute only entertainment to life. You can't eat that. What we need are scientists who can help come up with new ways to feed the exploding population on the earth, or a way to save the various animal habitats that are being destroyed because people keep taking over the land they need to live...

Reading about the astronauts, the space shuttles, and the International Space Station aren't only confined to news reports like the one below.

You can actually talk to astronauts online! Many of them have twitter accounts!

http://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts

Meadowlark students watch the launch of the space shuttle Discovery with an alum of the school on board

Impressive as it was to watch the shuttle Discovery roar into the predawn darkness above Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Monday morning with former Eugene resident James Dutton Jr. aboard, the allure of space travel was lost on some of the kids at his old elementary school.

“I’m kind of scared that I might float off,” said third-grader Sydney Nash, who gathered with her 200-some schoolmates in the Meadowlark Elementary School cafeteria soon after the start of school to watch tape-delay footage of the nearly flawless 3:21 a.m. (PDT) launch.

Seated on the floor watching the NASA Web site digitally projected on a big screen, Sydney kept her hands firmly in her lap when Principal Juan Cuadros asked how many of the children might want to visit outer space some day. Classmate Katelyn Steward wavered, raising her hand a bit, then thinking better of it.

“I’m so-so,” she said. “I think it’d be cool, but really scary.”

What all the kids can agree on is how proud they are that a Meadowlark alum is piloting the shuttle to the international space station, fulfilling a dream of becoming an astronaut. What’s more, he has taken into space with him a banner with photos of every student and staff member at Meadowlark, and he has said he hopes to personally return it later this year.

“It’s pretty cool — he went here, so he wanted to do something for this school,” said third-grader Josiah Jones, who has reservations but wouldn’t write off space travel.

Among other items Dutton has taken on the 12-day resupply mission are another banner made by Sheldon High School students, some Sheldon Irish shamrocks, a University of Oregon car flag and a gold-plated 1958 Rose Bowl ring belonging to the late Len Casanova, legendary UO football coach and athletic director.

This is Dutton’s first time in space, and one of just four shuttle missions NASA has planned this year before retiring the orbiters in September.

Known as “Jimmy” to friends and family, Dutton, 41, already was talking about becoming an astronaut when he was at Meadowlark in the 1970s. He went on to Cal Young Middle School and graduated from Sheldon High in 1987.

He graduated with honors from the Air Force Academy in 1991 with a degree in astronautical engineering, then earned his master’s in aeronautics and astronautics in 1994 from the University of Washington. He then became an Air Force fighter pilot, flying F-15 combat air patrols in Iraq, and later served as a test pilot.

Dutton now lives in Houston with his wife, 1988 Sheldon grad Erin Ruhoff Dutton, and their four sons. But his local connections remain strong, said Nancy Muhlheim of Eugene, the mother of one of his closest friends.

Her son, Eric Muhlheim, a Disney executive who briefly attended Meadowlark and graduated with Dutton from Sheldon, is one of seven former high school classmates who traveled to Florida — in his case, from his home in Shanghai, China — to see Dutton off Monday morning. Also on hand was Linda Ague, a retired Cal Young librarian who helped Dutton research a school project about what it would take to become an astronaut.

A handful of students in Phyllis Ryan’s third-grade class at Meadow­lark also rose in the wee hours to watch the shuttle liftoff on their home TVs. They’ve done a space-related art project in honor of Dutton, and got a taste of what it takes to train for space when they visited the Science Factory for a screening of “Astronaut.”

“It was really exciting to see it,” said Isabelle Briggs, who went back to bed after watching it. “I’ve never seen anybody go off into space before.”

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Women in space

Four Women Astronaut in Space at the Same Time

The women astronauts on the Discovery mission: (from left) Naoko Yamazaki, Stephanie Wilson and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger.

Depending on where you live, you may have the rest of the week off as Easter break, or Monday may have been your last day off and you're back to school on Tuesday.

If you are back to school, here's a question for you... have any of your teachers mentioned the record that was set on Monday, April 5?

Three women blasted off on the space shuttle Discovery early Monday, and they will be joining a fourth woman already on board the International Space Station, so there will be a total of four women in space at the same time - the first time this has happened.

Here are a few news articles:

Discovery lifts off successfully with three women crew members

Washington DC: The Discovery space shuttle blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in a spectacular pre-dawn launch on Monday. Carrying a crew of seven astronauts as well as equipment and supplies, it took off on a 13-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The shuttle, a multi-purpose logistics module, carries three women-mission specialists — Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki. NASA said, “With three female crew members arriving on board Discovery and one already at the station, the STS-131 mission will mark the first time that four women have been in space at one time.” Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson is already at the space station.

NASA added, “And as there is one Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut on each crew, the mission is also the first time for two JAXA astronauts to be in space at the same time.” Monday's mission follows the successful launch of the Russian Soyuz TMA-18 from Kazakhstan. The Russian mission, also headed for the ISS, carried Ms. Dyson, Russian astronaut Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko.

The ISS, which orbits the Earth at a height of some 400 km, is due to be finished next year and is about 90 per cent complete. The mission entails three spacewalks, unloading, transfer and installation of equipment, replacement of an ammonia tank assembly and retrieving a Japanese experiment from the station's exterior, according to NASA. Earlier this year, NASA administrator Charlie Bolden had said President Barack Obama's new budget for space exploration would demonstrate “our commitment to extend the life of the International Space Station, likely to 2020 or beyond. This will keep a commitment to our international partners and develop the full potential of this amazing orbiting laboratory where humans regularly do things we have never done before in NASA.” On the future plans for the ISS, Mr. Bolden said, “We're going to start by using the ISS as the national lab that it was envisioned to be.”

and

Discovery Teacher-Astronaut Breaks the Mold
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger's Unusual Route to Becoming a NASA Astronaut
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger seems like such an unlikely astronaut --riotously curly hair, and a bubbly personality, passionate about inspiring students. She is a far cry from the test pilots with the right stuff who flew the legendary Apollo missions.

This mission has a record four women among the crew.At 34, "Dottie" is the youngest astronaut on the space shuttle Discovery crew, which is headed to the International Space Station this week after blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday. She wasn't even alive when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and was only a toddler when Columbia flew on the first space shuttle mission, and yet somehow, she caught the space bug.

When she entered a contest to go to Space Camp, and came in second, with a consolation prize of a T-shirt, her parents, Keith and Joyce Metcalf scraped together enough money to send their daughter away to space camp. They laugh about that now. "Clearly it was money well spent".

NASA Calls, but Will She Answer It?

NASA has sent teachers to space before, starting with Christa McAuliffe, who died in the Challenger accident in 1986. It would be 20 years before they would try again, with Barbara Morgan in 2007.

Metcalf-Lindenburger grew up in Fort Collins Colo., majored in geology in college and went on to teach high school science, most recently at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Wash. She runs marathons, and sort of shelved the idea of ever being an astronaut. Until one day in 2003 while researching a question from a student, "how do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?" She discovered NASA was once again recruiting teachers to become astronauts.

Some 8,000 teachers sent in applications, three were picked, including Metcalf-Lindenburger. In 2004, less than a year after the Columbia accident, she got the call while she was teaching a class – a call she was afraid to take in case of disappointing news. She called her mom, who recalled that day for ABC News. "We cried on the phone together, it was just so exciting to have her dream fulfilled."

Her sense of humor shines through as she talks about juggling the brutal training schedule, her marriage, and parenting her three-year-old daughter Cambria. She bubbles with laughter when talking about her very independent daughter. " We sing twinkle, twinkle – she is just turning 3, so and now it is very cool, she always points out the moon, probably because I pointed it out to her for a long period of time, she knows a couple of other songs that have to do with the moon and the sun and has started singing those on her own. Just like any good child she says 'no, no! No singing from you!' And I realize I probably told my mom that a couple of times too!"

You can catch Metcalf-Lindenburger on occasion, singing lead vocals for the astronaut band, Max Q, after a hard day learning the intricacies of space shuttle operation and finessing her skill as a robotics operator. What is she taking on her iPod on this mission? 'I have some show tunes, of course, I have to have some "wizard of Oz" stuff there, being a Dorothy, I love hymns, my great grandmother used to teach me some hymns, stuff like that, I like oldies, my husband's influences, '70s rock 'n' roll, and then of course I have new stuff too, relatively new'.

Metcalf credits her parents, and her younger sister Neva, for encouraging her to pursue her dream even though the odds were stacked against her. She keeps her life as normal as possible. "I try to keep every day normal. I have a normal cup of coffee, do my family stuff, and then come to work, but as it keeps approaching I keep thinking, we are probably really going to take off, unless the weather scrubs us or something, wow, this is going to be amazing!"

She dreams, she says, about her mission. "Sometimes I dream about floating around, in space, I have always dreamt a little bit about flying, and definitely have been dreaming about that more."

Videos: Geology