Dr. Lauri Sammartano closed the 2001 WIST Conference by reminding participants, in this centennial year of the awarding of the Nobel Prize, that Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1903 in physics, shared with her husband and another scientist.  In 1911, Marie won her second Nobel Prize in chemistry.  Only ten other women have received Nobel Prizes.

Dr. Sammartano, an assistant professor in the Biology Department and Women’s Studies Program at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, with 10 years of teaching experience at liberal arts colleges, fully understands the difficulties women face in an academic environment while studying science and engineering.  She is currently on sabbatical leave, working in the Life Sciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which provides knowledge of the challenges faced by women scientists in a laboratory setting as well.  Dr. Sammartano is deeply committed to science education for women and minority students and feels compelled to work towards a "DNA literate" society.

Dr. Sammartano created the title of her presentation from the famous quotation from novelist Virginia Wolf.  Sammartano implored the audience to consider the social and cultural context for women to have a room, or lab, or their own.  It is important for women to recognize that even in the field of science, gender matters.

Sammartano asserted that science has been a difficult area for women to pursue, with access to science education often denied.  During the turn of the century, those who succeeded had family and financial support and often had science education in their homes.  In 1996, women earned 31.8 percent of the PhDs in science and engineering but women are more than twice as likely as men to leave science and engineering careers after completing a PhD degree ("the leaky pipeline").  Some assert this is due to discrimination, sexual harassment, or a glass ceiling, particularly in academia.  Women also face social and cultural pressure to conform to the idealized women.  Women are perhaps discouraged at very young ages, as evidenced by the fact that fourth graders, when asked to draw a picture of a scientist, almost all draw a white male. 

Women also face unique challenges during the college years, including the prevalence of eating disorders and violence against women on college campuses.  These obstacles take energy away from academic studies and perhaps make disciplines that are predominately male less appealing.

For the future, society must promote access to science education to women at all levels.  Women scientists must be recruited, retained and advance in their careers.  Awareness of women’s accomplishments and contributions must be increased.  As was Marie Curie, women in science and engineering must be good role models and be forward thinking.  As Marie Curie said "one never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done."