This post was contributed by Chloe Rodgers and is an extract from her Highland Women in STEM project. 

Nicola Chisholm

Nicola Chisholm began her scientific career as a sample administrator at Scottish Water. She then became a Laboratories Team Leader and eventually worked as a scientist there. Her work involved carrying out analytical methods within the cryptosporidium and microbiology departments, determining the qualitative and quantitative taste and odour in raw and potable waters.

She thinks it is important that people realise analytical scientists are required within the water industry, as the majority are unaware of the daily quality control testing to ensure water is safe to drink. Chisholm now works as a scientist at Merck Group.

When asked what could be changed to encourage more girls into STEM, she said:

“Growing up your stereotypical scientist was often a ‘geeky’ man working alone. It’s important that we break this stereotype. It’s necessary that from a young age schools focus on bringing science into the classroom and that society makes a conscious effort to portray female scientists in textbooks, online, on television, wherever! Motivate young girls with female scientists who have accomplished great things so they then gain the curiosity and passion to pursue a career in science. We also need to give girls the knowledge on what’s available work wise in the scientific field and how broad and diverse science can be. There’s industries I continue to learn about that require scientists! So never limit a young girl’s freedom and knowledge and never underestimate them.”

You can follow her work on LinkedIn.

What do you love about your job/course?
I love that my job is a service to public health. When I tell people about my work they are often amazed as they never realised analytical scientists are required and exist in the water industry. Most people don’t know about the essential quality control testing that is ongoing every day to enable safe drinking water. It’s a rewarding feeling knowing you’re doing something to support society.

What do you think could be changed to better encourage more girls into your line of work/a STEM career?
Growing up your stereotypical scientist was often a ‘geeky’ man working alone. It’s important that we break this stereotype. It’s necessary that from a young age schools focus on bringing science into the classroom and that society makes a conscious effort to portray female scientists in textbooks, online, on television, wherever! Motivate young girls with female scientists who have accomplished great things so they then gain the curiosity and passion to pursue a career in science. We also need to give girls the knowledge on what’s available work wise in the scientific field and how broad and diverse science can be. There’s industries I continue to learn about that require scientists! So never limit a young girl’s freedom and knowledge and never underestimate them.

What do you like about the location of your job/course?
Inverness is a fast growing city. New opportunities continue to come here and I hope more scientific industries consider Inverness as the ideal location to base themselves.

Since interviewing, Chisholm has become a senior scientist in a lab in Glasgow.

Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, Katherine Johnson

As a young girl, Katherine Johnson showed an exceptional aptitude for math. In school she quickly skipped ahead several grades and was soon studying complex equations with the support of a professor who saw great promise in her. But ability and opportunity did not always go hand in hand. As an African American and a girl growing up in an era of brutal racism and sexism, Johnson faced daily challenges. Still, she lived her life with her father’s words in mind: “You are no better than anyone else, and nobody else is better than you.”

In the early 1950s, Johnson was thrilled to join the organisation that would become NASA. She worked on many of NASA’s biggest projects including the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon. Johnson’s story was made famous in the bestselling book and Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. In Reaching for the Moon she tells her own story for the first time, in a lively autobiography that will inspire young readers everywhere.

Order the book on Bookshop.org.uk here and your purchase will support a local independent bookshop of your choice!

About the Author

Mathematician and computer scientist Katherine Johnson was born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a farmer and janitor. From a young age, Johnson counted everything and could easily solve mathematical equations. She attended West Virginia State High School and graduated from high school at age fourteen. Johnson received her BS degree in French and Mathematics in 1937 from West Virginia State University. Johnson was one of the first African Americans to enrol in the mathematics program at West Virginia University.

After college, Johnson began teaching in elementary and high schools in Virginia and West Virginia. In 1953, she joined Langley Research Center as a research mathematician for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), where she put her mathematics skills to work. She calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Even after NASA began using electronic computers, John Glenn requested that she personally recheck the calculations made by the new electronic computers before his flight aboard Friendship 7 – the mission on which he became the first American to orbit the Earth. She continued to work at NASA until 1986, combining her mathematic talent with electronic computer skills. Her calculations proved critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landing program and the start of the Space Shuttle program.

Johnson, who co-authored twenty-six scientific papers, was the recipient of NASA’s Lunar Spacecraft and Operation’s Group Achievement Award and NASA’s Apollo Group Achievement Award. On 24 November 2015, she received the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack H. Obama. She died in 2020, aged 101.

Dr Claudia J Alexander

Dr Claudia J Alexander was a Canadian-American geophysicist and planetary scientist who worked for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

After getting her PhD in atmospheric, oceanic and space sciences, Alexander began working at the USGS studying plate tectonics, then at the Ames Research Center studying Jupiter’s moons. In 1986, she began working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory working first as a science coordinator for the plasma instrument on the Galileo spacecraft, before becoming its last mission project manager and overseeing its final plunge into Jupiter’s atmosphere in 2003.

It was during her tenure that Galileo discovered Ganymede’s ionosphere, forcing Alexander to completely rethink her models that showed Ganymede was “frozen solid”. She said of the discovery, “It was an exciting moment to experience something that changed my whole way of thinking. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong before!”

From 2000 until her death, Alexander was in charge of the USA’s contribution to the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission to study and land on comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. She was responsible for the instrumentation that collected data such as temperature, as well as overseeing the spacecraft’s tracking and navigation support, which was provided by NASA’s Deep Space Network.

Alexander had a wide variety of interests, studying comet formations, magnetosphere, solar wind, and the planet Venus. She was also a science fiction writer and published children’s books about science under the name EL Celeste.

In 1993, Alexander was named woman of the year by the Association for Women Geoscientists, and in 2003 she received the Emerald Honor for Women of Color in Research & Engineering from Career Communications Group.

In 2015, the Rosetta mission’s team named a gate-like feature on comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko after Alexander, calling it the C Alexander Gate. In 2020, The Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society named a prize for mid-career planetary scientists after her.

Further Reading

• Claudia Alexander, Wikipedia
• Claudia Alexander (1959-2015), NASA: Solar System Exploration,
• Claudia Alexander, American Physical Society
• Claudia J. Alexander Prize Will Honor Achievements By Mid-Career Planetary Scientists, Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society
• Claudia Alexander, Beloved NASA Project Scientist, Dies at 56, Sarah Lewin, Space, 21 July 2015
• Interview with NASA Rosetta scientist Claudia Alexander, Euronews Next, 22 July 2015
• Comet feature named after late NASA scientist Claudia Alexander, Phys.org, 30 September 2015
• Claudia Alexander, African American Literature Book Club
• Dr. Claudia Alexander – Planetary Scientist, Davitia James, POC Squared, 12 April 2021

People Behind The Science, Dr Marie McNeely

People Behind the Science’s mission is to inspire current and future scientists, share the different paths to a successful career in science, educate the general population on what scientists do, and show the human side of science. In each episode, a different scientist will guide us through their journey by sharing their successes, failures, and passions. We are excited to introduce you to these inspiring academic and industry experts from all fields of science to give you a variety of perspectives on the life and path of a scientist.

Recent episodes: 

• Dr Joshua Pate: Exploring pain science education and pain management in children.
• Dr Naomi Tague: Scientific simulations in stream and ecosystem synergies.
• Dr Susan Krumdieck: Dedicating her energy to engineering solutions to fuel our future.
• Dr Lee Cronin: Chemistry is key: Studying self assembly and the origins of life.
• Dr Emily Darling: Conducting research to conserve coral reefs.

You can:

Visit their website: peoplebehindthescience.com/podcasts
Follow on Twitter: @PBtScience @PhDMarie

This post was contributed by Chloe Rodgers and is an extract from her Highland Women in STEM project. 

Dr Evelyn Gray

Dr Evelyn Gray is STEM Projects Coordinator & Inverness Science Festival Coordinator at the University of the Highlands and Islands. She studied her BSc in Human Biology at Aberdeen University, and her PhD in Orthopaedic Surgery at Edinburgh University.

Gray was impressed by many of the good female role models at her university, who she felt displayed strength and tenacity. They supported her development, urged her to consider different opportunities and provided a ready ear when she needed it. She was taken under the wing of a female professor in anatomy, and inspired by the confidence of Dr Euphemia McGoogan, the head of cytology. She also found that other PhD students were supportive (such as Dame Sue Black).

After her studies, Gray took a lectureship in Dubai, where she had the opportunity to develop a general biological/science course for all students to take, no matter their area of study. The work was demanding, but gave her much needed experience in lecturing, science engagement and coaching. It opened her eyes to the cross curricular nature of science education, and made her consider new methods to relate the coursework to students’ own experiences. However, taking this lectureship meant that she missed out on research opportunities, and found it hard to reestablish herself in this area.

When asked what words of encouragement she could give to other women in STEM, Gray said:

“The one thing living in the Middle East and, to some extent, the Highlands, is that there are lots of opportunities for women. In these areas the job market is very open to anyone who has the skills set, or is willing to persevere, learn and develop the appropriate skills. Be open to a perpetual learning pathway. It may seem daunting, the idea of getting a degree or even studying for a PhD to be told you must keep learning. That is what life is about: a continuous learning experience, implementing that in your work life opens you up to so many future opportunities and you never know, you might find a new passion.”

You can follow her work on Twitter: @UHISTEM

Was there any particular individual who inspired you to do what you do?
I was fortunate at university to have many good role models, without any conscious bias I now realise many were strong willed women. The female professor of anatomy who took me under her wing, the PhD students (Dame Sue Black) that shared her office with me and encouraged my interest in bones, the head of cytology (Dr Euphemia McGoogan) whose confidence demonstrated inspired me to expand my horizons. All supported me in my development as a young student and as an early researcher, urging me to consider different opportunities and providing a ready ear when I needed it. Sometimes it is not about the answers but your own questions.

What advice do you have for other women to be successful in a STEM career?
My advice applies to anyone with a desire to be successful in a STEM career. Be open to the opportunities around you, do not assume become blinkered and only see one path to achieve your desire. In this modern age there are numerous routes to any career. Think about what interests you on the journey, choose your passion and follow it. A successful career should be in one you love, working in a subject you are enthusiastic about is not toil but a set of enjoyable experiences. There may be some negatives, but the positives will outweigh these. My advice is to stick with the heart’s desire, paying some attention to what the head says. Life is more enjoyable that way.

What’s the best career decision you’ve ever made?
Best career choice – a lectureship in Dubai. This offered an opportunity to develop a general biological/science course that all students, no matter their area of study, had to study for one semester. This was demanding but developed my lecturing, science engagement and coaching skills. Designing a course aimed at students from across the faculties was challenging but opened my eyes to the cross curricular nature of science education, covering the subject matter whilst attempting to relate a proportion of the course work to the students own interests and experiences.

What’s the worst career decision you’ve ever made?
Moving to Dubai! Whilst I loved the challenge of the lectureship this took me out of the research world. After a break of 8 years I found it impossible to move back into this field. I remained in science engagement but feel that a career break for whatever reason in research makes it very difficult to re-establish oneself. I did enjoy my career in the Middle East but on reflection would have preferred to combine a research career with an opportunity to lecture, moving into lecturing and course development and out academic research was the worst career decision I have made.

What words of encouragement could you give to other women in STEM?
The one thing living in the Middle East and to some extent the Highlands is that there are lots of opportunities for women. In these areas the job market is very open to anyone who has the skills set, or are willing to persevere, learn and develop the appropriate skills. Be open to a perpetual learning pathway, it may seem daunting, the idea of getting a degree or even studying for a PhD to be told you must keep learning. That is what life is about, a continuous learning experience, implementing that in your work life opens you up to so many future opportunities and you never know you might find a new passion.