Irene Chan is an aerospace advocate, education enthusiast, and webmaster. Born and raised in the East Los Angeles area, she was fortunate to have mentors, communal support, and opportunities that supported her pursuit of a career in the aerospace industry – despite all the stereotypes that come with being an East Angeleno. Chan received her …
Eden Full Goh is a solar energy engineer and product developer who turned a science fair project into a nonprofit organization! A daughter of brave refugees, Eden is proud to be Chinese-Canadian, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. She attended Princeton University and received the prestigious Thiel Fellowship, which allowed her to develop the SunSaluter: …
Everything you see around you—stuff made by nature and stuff made by humans—is known as “materials.” The way that materials behave and interact, even at the scale of atoms and molecules that are too small for us to see, shape the way we live. The Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia, worked with Penn State University’s Center …
Continue reading "Guest Blog Courtesy of The Franklin Institute – Color Control"
Laura McGill is an aerospace systems engineer. She was inspired to study the science of flight by an elementary school teacher who was also a private pilot. She attended many airshows with her family and read about the technical challenges that were overcome in the development of leading-edge air and spacecraft. As a chief engineer …
Becky Jeanes is an architect who runs Designtrait Architects, a small design company in Austin, Texas. Growing up around construction sites and real estate in Houston, she developed an avid interest in the built world. Becky loved art and math as a young girl, and one day, someone piqued her curiosity by saying, “You should …
Christina Diaz is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Growing up, her mother and father both encouraged her to pursue her curiosity about science, engineering, and the universe. In 2013, Diaz graduated with a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from California Polytechnic State University, and she began working at …
Meg Gallagher is a software engineer at Walmart Technology, and her path to this career was not a typical one. She graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in clinical dietetics and spent her first few years after college helping patients with nutritional risks and deficiencies. Though she loved working with patients, she started learning …
Elizabeth Ruedas is a surface water engineer for Michael Baker International. She has a passion for civil engineering and works with land developers and local business owners to develop projects that take into account the engineering, science, and environmental aspects of surface water. Ruedas is an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Orange County Past …
Sarika graduated in 2019 from UT Austin with a bachelor's in Linguistics and a minor in Computer Science. Sarika knew she wanted to pursue linguistics, the study of human language and communication, when she took an introductory class offered at her high school. In college, she learned to combine her passion for studying language with …
Maryam Mirzakhani grew up wanting to be a writer, but she fell in love with math in high school. During her junior year, Mirzakhani and her best friend became the only Iranian women to qualify for the International Mathematical Olympiad. She won the gold medal both times she attended this competition and received a perfect …
Jennifer Hakala is a Senior Software Engineer and Team Lead at Bloomfire in Austin, Texas, and she has over four years of software engineering experience. Hakala specializes in front-end technologies, specifically React, and is also skilled in JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and Redux. Hakala studied communication at the University of Texas and briefly worked in design before …
Priya Ramachandran heads R&D Global Operations at NI. She is responsible for the operational efficiency and effectiveness of NI’s R&D organization, and she supports and enables engineering teams to deliver innovative products. Her division manages financial, talent development, employee engagement, and strategic planning operations. Priya is passionate about building high-performance teams that develop and deliver …
Joy Chik is a software design engineer who currently works as a corporate vice president for Microsoft. Chik graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1998 and first joined the Microsoft team as an intern. She rose through the ranks of software design to become a developmental lead in …
Nila John is a marine engineer who fell in love with the sea on her first visit to the Cochin University of Science and Technology in Kochi, India. During her first year of study, Nila had a difficult time fitting in with all of her male classmates, but her interest in marine engineering only grew. …
Learn about osmosis by observing how water moves in and out of gummy bears! In this experiment, you will compare the sizes of gummy bears that were soaked in tap water and salt water to determine what makes water move! https://girlstart.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/1_Gummy-Bear-Osmosis-UT-WINS1.mp4
Dr. Kimberly Arcand is one of the world’s preeminent experts in astronomy visualization and has been a pioneer in 3D imaging and extended reality in astrophysics. Arcand began her career in astronomy after being hired for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1998. She presented her TEDx talk entitled “How to Hold a Dead Star in …
Kate Biberdorf is a chemist who is breaking stereotypes and blowing stuff up—all in a good pair of heels. She became interested in chemistry during high school, and her mother encouraged her to try different experiments at home. Biberdorf majored in chemistry and German at the University of Michigan, and she received her Ph.D. in …
Maria Goeppert Mayer won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics (only the second woman to do so!) for her discoveries surrounding atomic structure. Born in 1906, Goeppert Mayer was the only child of an academically-minded father who encouraged her to attend university. Maria enrolled at the University of Göttingen in 1924, a time when fewer …
Chien-Shiung Wu was an award-winning physicist and the only Chinese person to work on the Manhattan Project. Born in 1912 in a small town near Shanghai, China, Wu’s parents believed in education for girls, despite it being an uncommon belief at that time. She went on to study physics at a university in Shanghai, where …
Christine Goforth is an entomologist, educator, and science advocate based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She works as the head of citizen science for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and holds a degree in both biology and entomology. Goforth researches dragonflies and engages the public in hands-on science experiences! On any given day, you …
Happy winter, scientists! Temperatures outside are definitely dropping, and when it reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit, liquid water is sure to freeze solid, right? Well...not always. Join us in honoring the cold weather with a fun demo that’s sure to topple everything you thought you knew about ice! https://girlstart.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3_ecotarium.mp4
Jennifer Mieres is a board-certified nuclear cardiologist, an award-winning professor of cardiology, and an author. Internationally recognized as a leading advocate for women’s heart health and diversity in healthcare, Dr. Mieres’s passion is to educate and empower women to take charge of their heart health. For more than two decades, her efforts have been focused …
Kate McCarthy is a Senior Geologist at Golder and Professional Geologist in Texas. She always knew she wanted to be a scientist and discovered geology in college. In fact, Kate has been working in the environmental field for her entire career! An understanding of geology is critical to predicting how contaminants will move in the …
Megan has always loved being outside, from an early age picking vegetables out of her mom’s garden, up to her job now as a Senior Horticulture Manager at the Dallas Arboretum. She started volunteering with the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in 6th grade and continues to volunteer with them when she can. A Texas …
Continue reading "Guest Blog Courtesy of Dallas Arboretum – Cold Frames"
Carrie Grant is a chemical engineer, wife, mom, and breast cancer survivor. Her curiosity about engineering began at an early age when she would bake with her mom and grandma. Carrie enjoyed the process of putting things together to create something different. Math and science were her favorite subjects in school, and she was encouraged …
Sophie Harker is an award-winning aerodynamics and performance engineer for BAE Systems, but she had no idea what job she wanted when she was growing up! However, after a visit to the Kennedy Space Center, Harker decided that she wanted to be an astronaut. Shortly after, Dr. Helen Sharman, the first British person in space, …
Jessica Esquivel is a particle physicist and the second-ever Black woman to receive her physics Ph.D. from Syracuse University. She works at Fermilab, America’s particle physics and accelerator lab, on something called the Muon g-2 experiment. As part of this project, Esquivel works with the largest detectors in the country to search for new physics. …
Design your own game! What is a game? How is it different from a puzzle, a toy, or any other fun activity? People don’t universally agree on what makes a game, but generally accepted components include: rules, decision making, goals, interaction, and potential for change each time the game is played. People play games all …
Continue reading "Guest Blog Courtesy of SciGirls – The Awesome Game Race"
Ellie Wen is an award-winning filmmaker from Hong Kong and Los Angeles. She began her career in Los Angeles where she produced numerous short films and narrative features. She has worked at CAA, CBS Films, and Super Deluxe in all aspects of Film and TV. Ellie is an alumna of Film Independent's Project Involve fellowship …
Inês Azavedo works to solve complex engineering problems and discover sustainable solutions to climate change. A love for environmental engineering inspired her to get a doctorate in engineering and public policy, and she is currently a professor of Energy Resources Engineering at Stanford University. Professor Azavedo is passionate about solving problems that include environmental, technical, …
