Let’s honour female scientists on International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Posted On: 2023-02-10 16:09:01

11th February is recognized all over the world as the ‘International Day of Women and Girls in Science.’ Announced on 22nd December 2015 at the United Nations General Assembly, this day aims to promote and encourage women to take up science. It is extremely important to inculcate girls in science, as a diverse pool of scientists brings in fresh perspectives, talent and creativity. Even though the statistics show that girls and boys are on an equal playing field when it comes to science, harmful gender stereotypes prevent women from pursuing science. Women only make up 35% of students in STEM-related fields.

 

While the name Marie Curie is synonymous with ‘girls in science’. There are many other women hiding, who are waiting to be discovered by the masses. So, here are a few female scientists who deserve to be cherished on this day:

 

1. Dr Aditi Pant

 

 

 

Rising to fame as ‘the first Indian woman to step foot in Antarctica’, an honour she shares with Sudipta Sengupta. Dr Aditi Pant is a renowned oceanographer, who was inculcated in Indira Gandhi’s mission of the ‘Indian Antarctic Program.’ She was crucial to the whole operation and collected useful information regarding the food chain physics, chemistry, and biology in the Antarctic Ocean. For over the course of four months, she braved the harsh climate of Antarctica to fulfil her mission. Finally, her efforts proved to be fruitful, as her team was successful in building Dakshin Agnihotri, the first Indian Scientific Research Base in Antarctica. 

 

 2. Mary Anning

 

 

 

Turning back our clocks to 1811, when twelve-year-old Mary Anning discovered a complete skeleton of Ichthyosaur, an extinct marine species of the Early Jurassic Period. She would go on to make a name for herself in the fossil business by discovering the first complete skeleton of Plesiosaurus in 1823 and then discovered the first British example of a flying reptile by the name of pterosaurs in 1828. She followed it by discovering the first complete skeleton of Squaloraja fish. After her demise, Henry De la Beche, the president of the Geological Society, drafted a eulogy for her, which was the first such eulogy for a woman. She was also the basis for the popular tongue twister ‘She sells Seashells.’

 

3. Dr Rana Dajani

 

 

 

Hailing from Jordan, Dr Rana Dajani is half-Palestinian and half-Syrian, and she is a pioneer for Muslim women around the world. Her work related to stem cells was crucial to the establishment of the Stem Cell Research Ethics Law and all regulations in Jordan. She is also an expert on the genetics of Circassian and Chechen populations and found out the root cause for the high rate of cancer in the population. Dr Rana also serves as a champion of bravery, as she advocates for biological evolution in a conservative country.

 

4. Patricia Bath 

 

 

 

Patricia Bath is an inspiration to numerous African-American girls as she became the first black woman to receive a medical patent. She invented the laserphaco probe, a device which painlessly dissolves the cataract from the eyes, irrigates and cleans the eye and permits the easy insertion of a new lens. She also established a new discipline in medicine called ‘Community Opthalmology’.  This discipline focuses on promoting eye health and preventing blindness by using methods of public health, community medicine and ophthalmology. 

 

5 .Sabrina Gonzalez Paterski

 

 

 

The nickname ‘prodigy’ would be apt to describe Sabrina Gonzalez Paterski. Building an aircraft at the mere age of fifteen, Sabrina would go on to blow the minds of millions in the scientific community in her later years. While studying at Harvard, her work was helpful in discovering the spin memory effect, which can be used to detect or verify the net effects of gravitational waves. Her paper on the Pasterski–Strominger–Zhiboedov Triangle for electromagnetic memory was even cited by the late Stephen Hawking when she was only 22 years old.  With her age only 29, the sky is the limit for Sabrina. 

 

So, here are some of the scientists we chose to celebrate on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.  Please share more such figures to inspire girls around you to take up science. 

 

AUTHOR: ADIL SAYYAD