AAAS Lecture Series on Women in Science and Engineering

The goal of the AAAS Lecture Series on Women in Science is to showcase the achievements of distinguished U.S. women scientists to wide audiences of scientists, educators, students, and policymakers in Latin America.

The project selects U.S. women scientists with compelling personal stories about overcoming the challenges of pursuing scientific careers who are interested in sharing their experiences with Latin American colleagues. Applicants are selected on the basis of their outstanding careers working in scientific fields traditionally dominated by male scientists. These fields will include (but are not restricted to) the biological and physical sciences, mathematics and engineering. The scientists' careers may span the academic, research, and industry sectors.

Since 2002, the following scientists have been selected to participate in various scientific events in Latin America:

Costa Rica Event

For Costa Rica (30th Anniversary Celebrations of Costa Rica's National Council for Scientific and Technological Research in San Jose, August 20-25 2002):

• Josefina Coloma, 37, PhD, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. Originally from Ecuador, she is currently a Research Associate at the Infectious Diseases Division, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley. [essay] [presentation]
• Araceli Espinosa, 46, PhD, Life Sciences (Neurochemistry). Originally from Mexico, she is currently a Research Associate at UCLA's Neuropsychiatry Institute. [essay] [presentation]
• Nora Sabelli, 66, PhD, Theoretical Chemistry. Originally from Argentina, and after a long career that includes NSF and the University of Illinois, she is now at SRI's Center for Technology in Learning. [essay]
• Read the Costa Rica event findings.

Pictures from the Costa Rica Event

For Panama (Annual Meeting of the Panamanian Association for the Advancement of Science in Panama City, November 20-24 2002):

• Gabriela Chavarria, 37, PhD, Evolutionary Biology. Originally from Mexico, currently at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. [essay] [presentation]
• Lourdes Maurice, 41, PhD, Mechanical Engineering. Originally from Cuba, currently at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. [essay] [presentation]
• Haydee Salmun, 53, PhD, Oceanography. Originally from Argentina, she is currently a professor in the Geography Department of Hunter College in New York. [essay] [presentation]
• Read the Panama event findings.

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Mexico Event

For Mexico (National Forum on Science, Technology and Gender in Mexico City, April 22-24 2003):

• Magaly Spector, 50, PhD, Physics. Originally from Cuba, she is currently a Technical Supervisor of System Engineering/ Hardware Optical Communication Technology at Lucent Technologies. [essay] [presentation]
• Read the Mexico City event findings.
• Read the Mexico City event news article.
  

Brazil Event

For Brazil [Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) in Recife, July 7-12 2003]:

• Maribel Vazquez, 31, Doctor of Science Mechanical Engineering. She comes from a Dominican immigrant family in New York City and is currently an Assistant Professor of biomedical engineering at the City College of New York (CCNY). [essay]
• Elba E. Serrano, PhD, Neuroscience/Biophysics. Born in Puerto Rico, raised all over the world and currently living in the US-Mexico border area, she is a tenured Associate Professor at New Mexico State University. [essay]
• Shannon Joy Manuelito, undergraduate student at Dr. Serrano's lab
  

At their respective events, the selected scientists and engineers speak about their fields of work, as well as their personal experiences as women scientists, opportunities and obstacles in career advancement, strategies used to prevail over such challenges, and the role of women in science and technology. The events also provide the opportunity for interaction with the audience and the local women scientists, and the identification and discussion of the major factors that influence pursuing a scientific career and overcoming barriers to professional advancement.

AAAS covers all travel and subsistence expenses of the selected scientists related to their participation in the events in Latin America. AAAS also publishes the papers and other visual materials presented by the selected scientists and publicizes the panelists' achievements and their experiences working with national and international media. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation.