International Women's Day 2013

March 8 was declared International Women’s Day in 1911 (see International Women’s  Day 1911-2011) and has evolved in the US  into a month-long celebration honoring the contributions of women to the human story. This year, the National Women’s History Project (NWHP) theme for Women’s History Month is Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (see this blog’s posts:  Science Technology Engineering Math– Stem , Sally Ride 1951-2011,  and Developing Literacy page for STEM links).

About 20 years ago, I participated in the Bay Area Science Project (BASP) through Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science.  It was a fabulous six-week teacher workshop conducted at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley.  We covered lots of STEM topics, and, explored the FOSS and GEMS programs.  A focus of the workshop was to bring hands-on science into the schools. One of the lead instructors brought in a lovely science themed calendar demonstrating one small way to include science on a daily basis in the classroom.  Marie  Curie was the only woman celebrated in the calendar.  I commented about the lack of gender equity in the calendar and was surprised to hear the instructor declare, “Well, there really aren’t any of note.”  This was Berkeley! I was motivated to find and share the legions of women scientists who had not received public acclamation for their work. Fast forward 20 years, and I was delighted to read about the STEM theme of Women’s History Month.

NWHP honors 18 STEM women.

The 2013 Honorees represent a remarkable range of accomplishments and a wide diversity of specialties including medicine, robotics, computer programming, atmospheric chemistry, architecture and primatology. These women’s lives and work span the centuries of American history and come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We are proud to honor them and all women seeking to advance these important fields.

Drum roll please:

• Hattie Elizabeth Alexander (1901–1968)  Pediatrician and  Microbiologist
• Marlyn Barrett (1954) K-12 STEM Educator
• Patricia Era Bath (1942) Ophthalmologist and Inventor
• Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910) Physician
• Katharine Burr Blodgett (1898–1979) Physicist and Inventor
• Edith Clarke (1883–1959) Electrical Engineer
• Rita R. Colwell (1934) Molecular Microbial Ecologist and Scientific Administrator
• Dian Fossey (1932–1985) Primatologist and Naturalist
• Susan A. Gerbi (1944) Molecular Cell Biologist
• Helen Greiner (1967) Mechanical Engineer and Roboticist
• Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992) Computer Scientist
• Olga Frances Linares (1936) Anthropologist and Archaeologist
• Julia Morgan (1872–1957) Architect
• Louise Pearce (1885–1959) Physician and Pathologist
• Jill Pipher (1955) Mathematician
• Mary G. Ross  (1908–2008) Mechanical Engineer
• Susan Solomon (1956) Atmospheric Chemist
• Flossie Wong-Staal (1946) Virologist and Molecular Biologist

Graphic Rosie Tech from Claremont Port Side.