The New Feminism: STEMinism ft. Cool Women Scientists at USC!
By: Lindsey Hamilton ‘22
Challenge: name one woman scientist… other than Marie Curie.
While Ms. Curie certainly earned her title as the quintessential female scientist with her discovery of radioactivity and the elements radium and polonium, she is just one small piece of the larger picture of women in science.
Women have made invaluable contributions to science, despite many obstacles preventing them from succeeding in a field not historically welcoming to females. But times are quickly changing, spurred on by passionate, brave, intelligent women in all fields of research. It is therefore with great pride that I would like to feature some of these incredible women making big strides in the world of science right in our very own USC community.
Sarah Bottjer
Professor of Biological Sciences and Psychology
Professor Bottjer’s research primarily focuses around neural development, early learning, and behaviors in songbirds as taught through sounds and other songbird vocalizations. This research serves as a model for vocal learning in other organisms, including children — specifically, children’s speech acquisition. Completing her postdoctoral training at UCLA (we forgive you, that takes quite a bit of brain power), Prof. Bottjer has an astounding sixteen publications in scientific journals, including a publication in the highly-esteemed Nature Neurobiology journal. An American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) elected fellow and recipient of countless other awards in her field, Prof. Bottjer has truly made her mark in the world of neuroscience.
M. Susan Montgomery
Gabilan Distinguished Professorship in Science and Engineering and Professor of Mathematics
Professor Montgomery studies non-commutative algebras. I had to look up what exactly this was, and found that basically, this is abstract mathematical operations in which the commutative property of algebra and the laws of physics as we currently understand it don’t necessarily apply (this video helps explain it and how this relates to particle physics — I’ve skipped to the part most relevant to Prof. Montgomery’s work for you). And you thought math was boring. Prof. Montgomery has been teaching at USC since 1982, is an AAAS fellow, has traveled to conferences all around the world, and is a prominent figure in the American Mathematical Society, where she was a trustee from 1986 to 1999, a fellow since 2012, and the Vice President from 2014 to 2017.
Andrea Martin Armani
Ray Irani Chair in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering-Electrophysics, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Chemistry
Professor Armani’s research goals include developing novel nonlinear materials (artificially constructed materials that can exhibit properties not found in nature) and integrated optical devices to be used in portable disease diagnostics and telecommunications. She has won the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator award as well as the The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). She was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and is currently the Director of the Northrop Grumman Institute for Optical Nanomaterials and Nanophotonics. In 2009, she graced the list of the MIT Technology Review’s Top 35 Innovators under 35, and in 2013, made the list of Popular Science’s Brilliant 10.
Maja Mataric
Chan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Pediatrics
Professor Mataric is a professor of Computer Science and Neuroscience, founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center, co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab, Vice Dean for Research in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and past president of the USC faculty and the Academic Senate. Graduating from MIT, she has put her education in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence to good use: she is currently researching ways that robots can be used to assist people socially (assistance in the form of recovering from illness, rehabilitation, training, and education). She is featured in the documentary “Me & Isaac Newton,” is an associate editor of three major journals and is published extensively in robotics, and is actively involved in K-12 outreach in order to engage student interest in STEM.
Dr. Wanda M. Austin
Interim President of the University of Southern California
We’ve all heard the legends. Interim President, USC pop-culture icon, and internationally-recognized businesswoman and engineer Dr. Austin is a force to be reckoned with. She is co-founder of MakingSpace Inc., the former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, has served on the Defense Science Board and the NASA Advisory Council, and served as an adviser to President Barack Obama on the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. In addition to her role as the Interim President of USC, she currently sits on the Defense Policy Board and on the Board of Directors of the Chevron Corp. and Amgen Inc. She has received countless honors and awards and continually serves as an inspiration to all.
A quick note as to why STEMinism matters:
Women in science not only serve as an inspiration to other women, but as role models for anyone who has ever second-guessed their own abilities or passions based upon what they think society expects out of them. I believe that anyone of any gender working to make the world a better place is worthy of recognition and praise. However, people who fight against invisible yet sometimes suffocating social barriers have the power to do double the amount of good: they both achieve great scientific successes that better everyone, and open the doors for more people to do the same. And if these doors are walked through, even more many be inspired, and potential for good in the world keeps on compounding.
To me, the progress these women in science have made really highlights what Women’s History Month is about: celebrating the potency of perseverance and power of dreaming…for everyone. Despite the obstacles that are in your way. In science as well as all other fields, the women who make history are the ones who believe in their own abilities. They have faith in themselves and a conviction that their passions are worthy, and chase them relentlessly.
And so I present to you a new challenge, for everyone:
Do the same, and you just might make history too.
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