The STEM Super Stars
When you think of the future, it is the amazing people of STEM that are building this future. These dedicated, hard-working people commit countless hours to developing the latest, greatest technology for our benefit. But if you were to close your eyes and imagine who exactly these people are, chances are, regardless of who you're imagining, it's a man. That's okay, but it's based on a stereotype that is past due for retirement.
Allow me to paint a different picture. The year is 2020, and the global pandemic COVID-19 has just swept the world off its feet. Restaurants and stores are closing, a mask mandate is issued, and a lockdown is quickly on its way. While the rest of us sat back nervously waiting to see what would come next, Katalin Kariko took action. Dr. Kariko spent hours in the lab, researching, testing, and developing a technology that would come to our rescue. With a PhD in biochemistry, her research was life-altering. She managed to perfect the mRNA technology that would lead to the COVID-19 vaccines that were distributed by Moderna and Pfizer. The development of the COVID-19 vaccine broke records with how quickly it was developed, tested, and approved for use by the public. Dr. Kariko is an intellectual superstar recognized by the STEM community. Hopefully, you can now recognize her for her amazing achievement, and the next time you find yourself imagining the future, you see Dr. Kariko in her lab.
Women play an instrumental role in STEM’s pursuit of the future, but they have since the beginning. Allow me to paint a picture once more. The year is 1957, Sputnik, a Soviet satellite, has just been launched into space. At this point, there is no telling what is to come next. Katherine Johnson, however, knew exactly what was soon to come. Soon America was going to send Apollo 11 into space. Katherine Johnson was the mathematician calculating the trajectory and ensuring the precise calculations that would guide the mission to success. While Apollo 11 is likely the most well-known mission, Johnson performed calculations for nearly all of NASA’s space endeavors throughout her career. Space travel and exploration would not be where it is today without the help of Katherine Johnson. So, as you can see, women have not entered STEM in recent years, they have been quietly transforming it for decades.While I may not have transformed the mental images you associate with STEM and the future, I hope that I have opened your eyes to the reality that there are many more people behind these innovations than the man the news pastes on the front page.
Hi Haley! I truly loved your post! I think it is so incredible how women in STEM accomplish some of the most groundbreaking things, such as Dr. Katalin Kariko with the vaccines and Katherine Johnson with her heavy contribution to NASA’s missions. Yet, they don’t seem to get much recognition or attention as their male counterparts do. The same goes with the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure. We see James Watson and Francis Crick receive an unending amount of appreciation and applause, but Rosalind Franklin, the woman who actually discovered the double helix structure of DNA using her technique with x-ray diffraction. Franklin is always never mentioned or if she is, it’s a sentence or two. I hope people like you and I can continue to speak up and out for women in STEM so that our future generations look a little different, for the better!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting blog! I assume you are very into STEM! That is super cool! It was interesting to learn about the different STEM superstars! I have never heard of these people. It is awesome how these are women too in Stem! I feel like STEM is usually a man-dominant area. It is super cool to learn about the woman who had a huge contribution to the COVID-19 vaccine. Katalin Kariko is the super hero of the pandemic. She helped save hundreds of Americans and people around the world. She also created a new type of vaccine using mRNA that is now being applied to other vaccines.
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