Category: Women in STEM

Nanotechnology

Big Things from Small Particles Nanotechnology is a branch of science and technology focused on the study and application of tiny particles and structures. This interdisciplinary field combines many areas of study, such as physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, engineering, and computer science. One example of nanotechnology at work is Tethys, the device developed by… Continue reading Nanotechnology

How She Did It

Anika Chebrolu’s Research Process Almost 7 million people around the world have died from the coronavirus since the beginning of this pandemic and just over 1 million in the United States as of this posting. You can see updates on the CNN link above. Anika Chebrolu, a Texas high school student, stands out among scientists… Continue reading How She Did It

Anika Chebrolu and Her COVID Research

Wondering Why do so many people die of viruses each year? wondered then-fourteen-year-old Anika Chebrulo. While recovering in bed from her own severe case of flu in 2019, the 8th grader from Frisco, Texas decided to learn more. Her question led to the discovery of a possible therapy for COVID-19. Learning and Entry Once recovered,… Continue reading Anika Chebrolu and Her COVID Research

Inside the Box

Gitanjali Rao’s Epione Gitanjali Rao, an award-winning inventor, was 13 years old when a family friend became addicted to her prescription opioid drugs. She learned that over 20 million Americans over the age of 12 suffer from some form of addiction to prescription drugs. Also, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, over 130… Continue reading Inside the Box

Fighting Opioid Addiction

Gitanjali Rao Invents a Medical Diagnostic Tool “One of our family friends became addicted to prescription opioids after a car accident,” says Gitanjali Rao, an award-winning inventor. The friend’s doctor had prescribed opioid painkillers to ease her suffering. As happens all too often, Gitanjali discovered, the friend mistakenly took too much of her prescription and… Continue reading Fighting Opioid Addiction

Yvonne Clark

Rediscovering Women and People of Color in Science Yvonne Clark’s path to working on the Saturn Five rockets that took astronauts to the moon started with burned toast and her desire to fly planes. Y.Y., as she like to be called, had a longer road to that rocket project than most of her NASA colleagues.… Continue reading Yvonne Clark

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

Geobiologist Dr. Hope Jahren wrote Lab Girl as a story of her life in science. The core of her book chronicles her life as a young woman growing up to be a scientist. “In my memory of those dark winter nights [in rural Minnesota] … as my father [who taught physics and earth sciences at… Continue reading Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

Book Review: A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM

How do some people accomplish so much? TIME magazine’s first-ever Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao, gives us a glimpse of her techniques in A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM: 5 Steps to Problem Solving for Students, Educators, and Parents. As with everything she does, Gitanjali Rao delivers a great guide to the innovation process. … Continue reading Book Review: A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM

Dasia Taylor and Her Color Changing Sutures

Why did Dasia Taylor spend hours after school in the chemistry lab juicing beets? The high school junior was inventing a way to reduce the infections that often result from surgery in developing countries. In low- and middle-income countries, about 11% of surgical wounds develop an infection, according to the World Health Organization. This infection… Continue reading Dasia Taylor and Her Color Changing Sutures