in ada lovelace day administrivia ask stemming
Ada Lovelace Day is coming up next month — for those who don’t know, it’s a worldwide event where hundreds of bloggers each post about a woman in technology they admire.
I posted about a number of women last year on my personal blog; but this year, I’d like to feature some of the women of Stemming!
If you want to be one of them (and I know you do), just let me know; leave a comment here, or email me at clara@stemming.org answering a few of these questions:
On March 24, I’ll post them all here!
Of course, we hope you’ll also make your own Ada Lovelace Day posts about women you admire here on Stemming!
You can also view featured posts chosen by the admins or search to find a particular post.
See an offensive or inappropriate ad? Email clara@stemming.org to get it removed.
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at 2:33AM 03/13/10 Lola said:
1. I’m a mathematics PhD student. My research is in number theory, which essentially involves finding patterns in the integers.
2. When I was a kid, I begged my parents to send me to math programs every summer. I was fascinated with the Fibonacci sequence, fractals, logic puzzles… Unfortunately, by the time that I got to high school, I decided that math was boring and formulaic. I especially hated calculus. It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized that mathematicians don’t spend all of their time solving really hard calculus problems. There’s a whole theoretical side to math that is much more like solving puzzles than plugging numbers into scary-looking equations. Once I got a taste of this so-called “pure math,” I knew that I had to be a mathematician.
3. I love the creativity that is involved with making conjectures and proving new theorems. I also love the flexibility that being a mathematician affords me. Except for a few hours each week when I’m teaching, my schedule is completely open. If I want, I can sleep until noon every day! I also love the fact that I can do mathematics anywhere – all I need is a pen and paper. One aspect that I dislike about being a mathematician is the fact that there aren’t very many women in the field. It can be a little lonely at times, plus it makes me feel self-conscious about the way that I dress (I love to wear skirts and high-heels).
4. When I’m not working on mathematics, I enjoy dancing and cooking. I also love to travel – every year, I buy a roundtrip plane ticket to the most interesting-sounding place that I can visit for under $500. Last year, it was Iceland. This year, I’m going to Peru!
5. My website is math.dartmouth.edu/~thompson
at 6:05PM 03/15/10 Emma said:
1. What makes you a technical or scientific woman?I want to be a doctor specializing in public health. So many of the world’s health problems are easily preventable! I like to know how things work, from toasters, to physics, to people’s bodies. 2. How did you first get interested or involved in tech/science? When I was little, instead of a tree house, I had a lab in the basement, and a fossil collection. And science fair was my favorite time of year! 3. What do you like/dislike about it? All of the basic courses require you to accept things before you learn the more complex reasons why. I like to KNOW why something is so before I accept it. Also, there is a sad lack of costumes in science, as opposed to theater. 4. What do you do with your life when you’re not engaged in technical/scientific pursuits? Right now, that’s about 90% of my life. I work in an office, and I do all the usual stuff, like hang out with friends, watch too many movies, and dream of my future. 5. Do you have a website or blog we can link our users to? I’m working on a blog. Clara & this website inspired me! I’ll post here just as soon as it’s ready.
at 6:31PM 03/18/10 mamealoney said:
1. Right now, my primary STEM cred is that I do programming and data analysis for a living at an economic consulting firm. It’s rigorous and quantitative, but I’ll leave it up to you whether you consider for-profit work “science.”
2. Egotistical reasons! I always liked succeeding at math and science subjects, which the other students found difficult.
3. I like the day-to-day mental rhythm of a quantitative/technical job. I also like my colleagues, but I don’t know if that’s a consequence of being in a STEM field, or if I’m just lucky! I dislike not being able to explore my artistic/sensory side as much. I used to play the piano, paint, draw, etc. Now, not only do I no longer have enough free time, but I’m pressured to focus my personal development on technical things.
4. Read books, ride bikes, drink beer, go shopping, and protest for animal welfare.
5. hydrobromic.com (google’s #1 hit for “the lamest strong acid”)