Have science will travel

Hello World!

I hope you are well, I am on part two of my travels. I am very excited by the many things I've learned and the neat fashions I've seen. Science is truly a global language that reaches all cultures and facilitates positive social change. I have seen STEM applied to bridge differences and bring about community, locate missing persons, I have met women who are leading international movements for positive social change, I have also learned that scarves are always in fashion from Bosnia to Switzerland but one scarf is not enough! :) I can't wait to share more with you and look forward to getting back on a daily blog rhythm, for now, have a wonderful day and Please! Share Your STEM stories on this forum, would love to hear it!

STEM to find missing persons

Hello World,

I met this woman yesterday, she heads an NGO that utilizes STEM (DNA tech more) to locate missing persons. She has located 7 of 8 thousand missing persons from one particular conflict, which is very impressive & positively impactful. I will share more on her and the science used 

later, but I am excited for the power of positive social change through STEM!

Color the world beautiful

Hello world!

The world is a flower blooming, a palette for painting, yours for the shaping. 

I hope you will join me in expanding knowledge, understanding, diversity, and attempts to touch another corner of the world with positivity :) 

I will do my best to touch base share women power and science during my travels. The airline mag had plenty of inspiration, off to a good start.With love :)

Packages

Hello World,

I am going on a trip (a STEM perk) so I've had to pack my bags. That leads me to the fun field of package science and packaging engineering! Packing is fun I think, like a giant 3D puzzle! Except you can do a lot more. I know someone who packaged the electronics for space.

They had to fit in a tiny space withstand extreme heat & cold, and still perform. Pretty neat! Packages relate to food too, do you think about the last thing you ate- where it came from & how it got there? Package engineers consider a wide range of factors for travel, storage, and more- from art to food to the every day to the far out- package engineers make it happen!

I hope you will think about the fun field of packaging :) Despite the many advances made- I don't think my cat will fit in my bag...

Fashionable Friday! Tech fashion afoot

Hello World!
I have declared it fashionable Friday. Today's stylish STEM topic involves technology and fashion. Have you ever wanted to add a little extra pizzazz to your wardrobe?  Shoes that glow perhaps? 

Image from fashioningtech.com

You are in luck! At http://www.fashioningtech.com/you can learn about basic electronics, materials, sewing, soft circuits, and more! You can make your own flowery glowing shoes, GPS jackets, high tech jewelry  or learn how others have fashioned items that are pretty, functional, and challenge social convention such as this prosthetic. The site is filled with interviews of sustainable designers and other fun stuff too. 

Image from fashioningtech.com

Science, fashion, and making the world a better place- that is my vision of Stylish STEM!

gender differences in STEM?

Hello World,
One of my trusted scientist friends and a noteworthy STEM and diversity advocate in Australia recommends this book, so I am sharing this with you to follow up on the most recent post on math anxiety. We our often told that women "can't do math" but the truth is- we can! We may have to work at overcoming anxiety or the lack of exposure to skills, such as spatial reasoning, that guys automatically get (see AAUW "why so few" report)- but we can do it! So if you want to read more, check out this book! I know I will.

 http://cordeliafine.com/delusions_of_gender.html

No Fear! (of math)

Hello World!
I am going to be honest. I have fears. Many fears. I sometimes forget to just take a deep breath and relax. What I do not fear however, is math. Math is fun! And sometimes Funny!!! 

I ate some pie ;) Image from internet

Is math challenging? Absolutely, but that is no reason to fear it. But even if you do, fear can be constructive when we channel it to recognize and address our concerns. So many people, women in particular, have a fear of math and it gets in the way of our potential. The thing is, it isn't so much the skills as it is the psychology of fear that keeps us from performing our best at math. Here is a neat study that shows how our thinking changes our brain and behavior and how reducing anxiety can increase math performance http://www.edweek.org/media/math-anxiety.pdf One of my friends from West Africa noted that American society tells girls they must fear math or be bad at it, both of which build on each other negatively. In her village, there are no such notions and the girls are in charge of numbers! So math anxiety, while socially constructed and physiologically real, can be reduced! Do you want to work on your math anxiety? There are many resources available such as:
Math Anxiety Management Lesson http://www.mayland.edu/aca111/ManagingMath.pdf for students and reducing math anxiety teaching tips http://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession89-10MIT/Hellum-Alexander_AMIT2010.pdf for teachers. 

Until next time, have a gr8 day! ;)

A week of science accomplishments

Hello World,
Check out this awesome week of accomplishments in science! I love all the different areas one can be in science- stars, medicine, the brain, animals, applications- it is all STEM! And it is Cool. 

My work day might involve culture, eyeballs, or lasers. I get to make a difference in all of them, which is why it is so fun. How about you? What area do you study or would like to study?

Women's Perspective and STEM- success story

Hello World!
I love the power of women in STEM and using STEM all around the world, they boldly go where no women has gone before, take for example Asmaa Mahfouz who sparked a revolution with Youtube or the women of Harrassmap who harness SMS (Short Message Service, or texting) messaging to enable "high performance mapping to identify and mitigate social, economic, and environmental problems now so they don’t become humanitarian disasters later, and helps communities advocate for better living conditions".

image from Harrasmap website

To check out more abut Asmaa http://womenintheworld.org/solutions/track/science-and-technology to learn how SMS works check out http://computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/sms.htm and to see Harrasmap check out http://blog.harassmap.org/

Why Diversity matters to STEM

Hello World!

So you know that diversity is awesome, but what does it have to with STEM? Women make up half the population of the world; they use social media at greater rates than men, yet are underrepresented in STEM. The good news is that women are in a moment of opportunity. According to Women in Government, the current STEM workforce is 75% male, and is nearing retirement “creating policy space to make changes in the demographics of the STEM workforce”. While there are many inclusive men and allies of all varieties in the STEM workforce, it is easy to fall into the same pattern and “not know what you don’t know”. Consider the cost of ignoring half the population and their unique perspectives. There is lost business, lost opportunities, and the cost of creating solutions that may cause more problems because they were one sided, not to mention the human cost of exclusion. Conversely, creativity is increased, solutions are more innovative, and profits are higher when diversity is embraced (Stevens, Plaut, Sanchez-Burks, 2008). Simply put, diversity makes STEM stronger. Journalist Jonathon Mealer believes that “the next Einstein will come from the African continent”, I think the next Einstein will also be a woman :) For more resources check out http://www.begellhouse.com/journals/journal-of-women-and-minorities-in-science-and-engineering.html

What is Diversity? Why do I love it? Why is it important to STEM?

Hello World!

I want to talk about diversity! Diversity is the attributes we have, both inside and out, inherited and learned, often incorrectly assumed. Diversity is our gender, ethnicity, faith, culture, how we grew up, where we grew up, and more. Diversity is perspectives, experiences, and different ways of seeing the world that is unique to each one of us and our lives. Why do I love diversity? It is like music! Can you imagine the same tune played over and over and over. Boring right? 

Add in other keys, other sounds, other instruments and music is made! Diversity is a melody, we are each an instrument, a tune. We keep our individual characteristics, but when added together, something even more beautiful is made. Inclusion is essential to this melody- to harmony and synthesizing sound. It isn't enough to have other instruments; we must be allowed to sing loud and clear, to resonate our unique voices. If we are hampered, the music doesn't sound as good. I love music, I love all music and diversity is no different, it is a joy! To hear, to see, to experience, to be. 

So now you know what diversity is and why I love it, what does it have to do with STEM? Check back tomorrow for part two to find out! ;)

Women are Awesome

Hello World!
Women are awesome and we are in charge of our destinies! Actress, Chief Executive Officer, entrepreneur, chef, scientist, mother and more- These women show that you truly can achieve your dreams! And they are coming together to make the world a better place. These women get paid to do what they love and to do it fashionably and with friends. How cool is that!?!?

http://www.forbes.com/conferences/2013/forbeswomen-2013.html

I also love that this summit has a spot just for STEM and that it is for women and by women, with many women represented, all ages, all ethnicities, so many perspectives. There are no limits to the places you can go in life! Maybe you want to be at this table, maybe you want to make your own table, maybe you don't want a table at all! No matter which path you are thinking, I am certain STEM will be part of it in some form and that you can do it! I hope we can enjoy the journey together :)
 

Screenshot of  participants from Forbes conference website,

many more participants listed.

No limits to STEM Stardom!

Hello World!
Have you ever dreamed of being both a movie star and a scientist but you can't decide which? No Problem! Sylvia has the answer, she is the 11 year old star of her own science show! Pretty cool I think, pretty cool. Here she is, showing you how to make your own lava lamp!

From Sylviashow website

But she has lots of other cool things she makes too. You can visit her website here http://sylviashow.com/  or read about what others have said here http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2013/05/11-year-old-web-series-star-inspiring-girls-in-the-name-of-science/ She has lots of resources and fun free activities to try, from fashion to rockets! There is no limit to where your imagination and some hard work can take you, no matter your gender, age, situation, or more! :) In the show of life, there is room for all of us to be a leading lady :) And that's a wrap!

Women are Powerful!

Hello World!
Yet another thing I LOVE about STEM is the ability to tell a story with certainty, clarity, and a loud voice. A story I was recently told, was about the power of me, a girl. Did you know that collectively, the more education and equality we have, the more our Nation, (no matter which nation you call home) is more likely to have higher wealth and income, lower inter and intra state conflict, and higher state security. That means We ALL have a difference to make! Whether you do it through STEM or just by using STEM as this organization does, http://www.womanstats.org/index.htm

You can are part of something bigger, something powerful, and something positive!

Image from http://www.womanstats.org/index.htm

Stylish STEM goes Digital

Hello World,

Stylish Stem now has a Facebook page! Feel free to check it out, like it, add ideas, etc :) Hopefully it will be another way to reach people, facilitate resources, and provide a safe space for girls and guy allies to talk about STEM, space, diversity, global community, shoes, shuttles, or whatever we wish :) 

 https://www.facebook.com/StylishStem

What's in a Face? Lots of STEM!

What's in a face? How about this face?  

Press Play

From Youtube

This famous face is just a mask, yet it is a powerful reminder of the power that our knowledge and beliefs have on us. For your life, you have a particular exposure to faces. This visual input shapes your knowledge and expectations over time to the point that, even in the face of contrary physical stimuli, you will see what you expect, you will see what you have grown to understand as normal. In this case, the visual system does not see inverted faces, and in the presence of one, reverts to its knowledge of faces with their noses pushed out. Pretty amazing huh?! What's More amazing is that by understanding the visual system we can predict how people will respond to each other, how to increase teamwork, how to make better movies, and more!

Vision science is so fun!

Check out this link if you want to explore it more (it is one of my favorite sites!) http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bigeye.html

Here's a fun little video parody on being a vision science student in graduate school. 

Video from Youtube

If you have any questions about vision science, let me know! (You can e-mail or put it in the comments).

STEM at the White House

Hello World!
STEM is important. How important? So important that the President of the United States is talking about it! What does he have to say? He says "One of the things that I really strongly believe in is that we need to have more girls interested in math, science, and engineering. We’ve got half the population that is way underrepresented in those fields and that means that we’ve got a whole bunch of talent … not being encouraged the way they need to." (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/03/28/students-speak-power-stem).

Picture from Huffington Post Article

The article also states "the Obama Administration is acting to achieve two ambitious goals: adding one million more STEM graduates in the next decade, and preparing 100 thousand excellent STEM teachers to give students the skills they need to thrive" (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/03/28/students-speak-power-stem). The students all noted how cool STEM was too, you can read about them or watch the video in the link above, or check out what one of the students had to say about her experience there at this link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zainab-oni/stem-project-white-house_b_3157308.html

Image from Huffington Post Article

Maybe next year it will be you!