| At the 2000 Women in Science and Technology (WIST) Conference, nearly 200 high school and college women pursued the theme "Imagine the Future . . . Y2K and Beyond." Through dynamic keynote speakers, roundtable discussions, scientific presentations, and visits to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the participants explored their potential for successful careers in science and technology. |
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| Keynote Speaker Explores Professionalism and Ethics in Science In day-to-day life, everyone is faced with one or more ethical decisions. The world of science is no exception, according to University of Tennessee chemistry professor Dr. Jeffrey Kovac.
"Ethics is integral to science," he stated. "If you don't do it daily, you're not serving the best interest of science. It is important to understand ethics in relation to science." Kovac tried to help the participants gain this understanding through a philosophical talk from a scientist's perspective. "Science is filled with daily ethical decisions," Kovac explained. Whether deciding to discard a data point or determining if a conflict of interest exists, scientists battle a variety of ethical dilemmas. The importance of recognizing this is paramount. "Our knowledge depends on other people's trustworthiness and moral character," Kovac said. In the world of professional ethics, there are special rules of conduct that go beyond the day-to-day moral decisions. Groups engaged in the common pursuit of a discipline have self-identified rules and standards that are followed. Kovac called it a social contract between those sharing a common profession. "Ethics confront many scientists," Kovac concluded. "The consequences of not doing the right thing are fatal to science at best, resulting in bad science. At worse, not doing the right thing creates a breakdown of trust." . |
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| Imagine the
Possibilities; Make Them Realities, Speaker Encourages North Carolina A&T's Dr. Carolyn Meyers has broken through many of the traditional barriers to not only women, but African American women. She is the only African American woman engineering dean in the United States, and she was the first African American and first woman to earn her Ph.D. in engineering from Georgia Tech.
Meyers spoke directly to the WIST conference theme, telling the participants that they must "transfer the possibilities into the realities." She speculated on the future, observing that "there are no models to follow. What got us here won't get us beyond Y2K." But the future is bright for women in science and technology, suggests Meyers. "We will live in a living color, gender-inclusive world for science, technology, and engineering," she said. "As the baby boomers retire, holes will be left. " Imagine yourself filling those holes," she encouraged the participants. "Imagine yourself creating the equivalent of the printing press in the 1600s, or devising new models of trade and commerce, or living on a planet where environmental awareness drives product development." Why? "Because you are women," Meyers explained. "Throughout history, women have proven there is more than one way to do things. We are the ones who understand the significance of making life better." To be successful leaders, Meyers told the participants they must have the courage to be the first, they must be prepared and be masters of their profession through lifelong learning, and they must be curious, optimistic, and confident. Finally, they must have imagination. "Imagine the possibilities and accept the responsibility for creating the realities," she concluded. "What it becomes is up to you."
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| Success:
You've Gotta EARN It Leah Dever, manager of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations, gave an uplifting and inspiring talk during the conference's Friday lunch. Weaving together her personal experiences along with advice, she offered the WIST participants the ingredients for success, defining what E-A-R-N means to her.
The letter "E" stands for Education. "This is one of the most critical elements to future success," she said. Dever, whose parents did not have a college education, was encouraged to go away to college by an 11th grade teacher. "So I applied to the only college I knew of outside of my hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania [Thiel College in Greenville, Pa.], and was accepted. I had applied to be an English major, even though I had taken four science classes my senior year in high school. But my first week at college, I switched to biology." And she's never looked back. Dever went on to graduate school at Penn State and was even pursuing her Ph.D., when she realized she wasn't having fun anymore. "I had a meeting with myself in the mirror and asked 'What do I want to do?'" She decided to just take the master's degree in biology/ecology and go find a job. From there Dever found herself the third woman in a large group of engineers. With this and every job since, her learning and professional development has continued. For 22 years, Dever has worked and grown in the field of environmental planning and engineering for both the private and federal government sectors. Returning the meaning of EARN, the letter "A" stands for Attitude. "I'll take someone with a good attitude over education anytime," Dever said. "It needs to be positive. Negative/cynical attitudes don't get us far in the world." "A" also stands for Appearance, she continued. She acknowledged that this is a touchy subject; however, the way you look and dress counts. "Think about what you're projecting," she encouraged. The letter "R" stands for Resume. "Resumes are hard for that first job," she said. "You're stretching to get a full page." Dever advised taking the first job offered and then moving on. "You may have to put up with some junk, but you get that experience and you'll see the difference when you look for your next job." She also suggested that you always keep your resume updated and be sure that it doesn't have any typos, misspellings, or grammatical errors. The letter "N" stands for Networking. "Just like you're doing today, get to know each other," she advised. "It's a small world. You're going to run into each other again." Dever encouraged the participants to look for mentors, both positive and negative, formal and informal. You can learn a lot from other's mistakes as well as their successes. "And never burn a bridge," Dever said. "If you do, burn it with your eyes wide open. The world is smaller than you realize." The final ingredient to success, Dever said, is to have a little fun along the way. "When I look back, I see all the fun I've had. And the major changes I've made were because I wasn't having fun."
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| Speaker
Makes Impassioned Plea: Get Involved in Women's Health Issues Lauri Sammartano's talk on women's health issues fascinated the participants and kept them gathered around the speaker long after the talk was over. She opened the participants' eyes to the fact that women's health issues are only just now beginning to get the research and attention that they need.
Sammartano, an assistant professor at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, is on sabbatical leave at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Her impassioned plea to the participants was two-fold: personally, take care of yourself--advocate and educate yourself and others; professionally, choose a career in biomedical research or medicine, sociology, psychology, education, or politics where you can influence policies related to women's health. "We still have a long way to go in women's health," Sammartano said, "I think the catalyst for raising awareness and increasing the focus women's health issues will come from women doing the research and working in the medical field. For example, the key discoveries related to brain chemistry were discovered by women." The situation is improving now because researchers are realizing that women are where the money is. Women spend two-thirds of the medical dollars and make most of the household medical decisions, she said. Also, women are demanding change. Sammartano spent some time talking about the major health issues facing women today, noting that researchers and medical practitioners need to recognize that women ARE different than men. For example, 44% of women who have a heart attack die in one year (as compared to 27% for men), yet women are treated less aggressively and later than men. Another example: although the female death rate from lung cancer will exceed that of men by 2010, doctors are more apt to tell men to stop smoking, Sammartano said. Plus women have weight control issues that relate to smoking. She cited a recent study that observed that under the same smoking conditions, women were 70% more likely to get lung cancer. Sammartano touched on statistics related to other health issues facing women:
Sammartano said that women haven't been included in enough research studies because it's been assumed that they are biologically the same as men. But they're not. She encouraged the WIST participants to realize the difference they can make to themselves and all women by pursuing careers that can influence women's health issues. |
