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.

Maryam’s Magic: The Story of Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, Megan Reid and Aaliya Jaleel

As a little girl, Maryam Mirzakhani was spellbound by stories. She loved reading in Tehran’s crowded bookstores, and at home she’d spend hours crafting her own tales on giant rolls of paper.

Maryam loved school, especially her classes in reading and writing. But she did not like maths. Numbers were nowhere near as interesting as the bold, adventurous characters she found in books. Until Maryam unexpectedly discovered a new genre of storytelling: In geometry, numbers became shapes, each with its own fascinating personality – making every equation a brilliant story waiting to be told.

As an adult, Maryam became a professor, inventing new formulas to solve some of math’s most complicated puzzles. And she made history by becoming the first woman – and the first Iranian – to win the Fields Medal, mathematics’ highest award.

Maryam’s Magic is the true story of a girl whose creativity and love of stories helped her – and the world – to see math in a new and inspiring way.

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

About the Author

After receiving her MA in English Literature, Megan acquired and edited several bestselling and award-winning books as an editor at Simon and Schuster’s Touchstone and Emily Bestler Books imprints before joining FX Networks as a development and literary executive.

A graduate of Northern Arizona University and The Ohio State University, her writing has been featured on Elle, Refinery29, BuzzFeed, LitHub, and FastCompany. She published her first picture book biography, Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis’ Fleet-of-Foot Girl in 2020, and has followed it with $9 Therapy: Semi-Capitalist Solutions to Your Emotional Problems and Who Did It First? 50 Icons, Luminaries and Legends Who Revolutionized the World.

You can follow her work here:

Twitter: @meg_r
Instagram: @meg_er/
Website: meganreid.co

About the Illustrator

Aaliya Jaleel is a Sri-Lankan American illustrator, designer and visual development artist.

Some of her past works include the books Amazing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All, Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise. She has also worked on projects with Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Penguin Random House. In addition to being an illustrator, Aaliya works as a storyboard artist at Wild Canary, including the Disney Junior show Mira, Royal Detective.

You can follow her work here:

Twitter: @aaliyamj
Instagram: @aaliyamj
Website: aaliyamj.com

Bertha Parker Pallan

Bertha Yeawas “Birdie” Parker Pallan was the first female Native American archaeologist.

Parker Pallan was born in 1907 to Beulah Tahamont, an Abenaki actress, and Arthur C Parker, an archaeologist and anthropologist who belonged to the Seneca tribe. It is said that she was born in a tent at one of her father’s digs. Although she accompanied her father to excavations, her early introduction to archaeology ended when her parents divorced in 1914.

After being rescued from an abusive marriage by her uncle, Mark Raymond Harrington, she joined him at an archaeological dig that he was directing at Mesa House in Nevada. He hired her as a cook and expedition secretary, and she rapidly learnt excavation techniques. In 1929, she discovered the pueblo site of Scorpion Hill, which she excavated and documented on her own. Her finds were displayed at the Southwest Museum, now the Autry Museum of the American West.

The following year, she worked at the Gypsum Cave excavation, located in the desert outside Las Vegas, although she became ill after exposure to large amounts of cave guano. Parker Pallan’s work involved cleaning, repairing and cataloguing finds, but in her spare time she explored the caves. Because of her petite stature, she was able to squeeze through small gaps into caves that were inaccessible to the rest of the team.

In one of these caves, she discovered 10,000 year old human tools alongside the skull of an extinct giant ground sloth, Nothrotherium shastense. This was the earliest record of human habitation in North America at the time, and was described as “the most outstanding anthropological find ever made in the United States.” It was also a find that attracted further institutional support for the expedition.

From 1931 to 1941, Parker Pallan worked for the Southwest Museum as an assistant in archaeology and ethnology, publishing a number of papers based on her research. She was also able to document the culture, traditions, history, and folklore of a number of Indigenous peoples, including the Maidu, Paiute, Pomo, and the Yurok tribes.

Her third marriage, to actor Iron Eyes Cody, led her to co-host a TV program on Native American history and folklore, as well as act and work as a consultant on Indigenous representation in Hollywood, advocating for and supporting Indigenous actors.

In 2020, the Society for American Archaeology created a scholarship in her name. The Bertha Parker Cody Award for Native American Women is awarded to Native American, Native Alaskans, and Hawaiian women who are undergraduate or graduate students in the fields of archaeology or museum studies.

Further Reading

• Bertha Parker Pallan, Wikipedia
• Bertha “Birdie” Parker, Suzie Birch, Trowelblazers, 8 May 2014
• Bertha Parker, the trailblazing first Indigenous North American archaeologist, taught herself how to excavate a site, Ashley Marranzino, Massive Science, 6 June 2019
• New Award Honors Bertha Parker Cody, First U.S. Native American Woman Archaeologist, Society for American Archaeology, 16 November 2020
• Bertha “Birdie” Yewas Parker, Lauren Rosenbaum, Museum of Native American History, 1 March 2021

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

Shraveena Venkatesh

Shraveena Venkatesh is a PhD student at The Rivers and Lochs Institute University of the Highlands and Islands, currently researching the impacts of fisheries and aquaculture on aquatic environments and their inhabitants. She is also exploring potential applications for environmental DNA (eDNA) – nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that an organism sheds into the environment. She obtained her MSc in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Ghent University in Belgium, and took her original BSc in Zoology, Botany and Chemistry at Christ University in Bangalore.

She first became interested in marine animals aged 12 years old, spending much of her time at the beach. Venkatesh collected shells and examined crabs, pondering about other species in the ocean. Documentaries and books about marine animals strengthened this interest, and led to her pursuing her BSc. During this time, she developed an interest in conservation and exploring the effect of humans on marine environments and organisms.

Venkatesh’s PhD journey has allowed her to collaborate with many other PhD students and researchers, several of whom are also women like herself. She has found this a very rewarding and inspiring environment to be part of. When asked how she thought girls could be encouraged into STEM careers, she said:

“I think young girls should be inspired to read more and to be curious and critical. They should also be encouraged to play with more active toys at a young age, rather than passive ones that are traditionally considered more suitable for girls. As a society we need to resist stereotyping genders and assuming the characteristics or abilities of people based on their gender. Other women, successful in STEM, could be inspiring role models to young girls. Encouraging girls at school when they are interested in STEM subjects could give them the motivation and confidence to learn more and to persevere at succeeding in these fields.”

You can follow her work via her website, Twitter or LinkedIn.

When did you first become interested in your subject area?
I developed an interest in marine animals when I was about 12 years old. I spent time at beaches collecting shells, following crabs and wondering what other animals lived in the vast oceans. I watched a lot of documentaries about marine life and read a lot about the most charismatic marine animals too. While doing my bachelor’s and master’s degree this passion of mine strengthened. I also formed an interest in conservation and in the impacts of human activities on marine environments and organisms.

What do you love about your job/course?
My favourite thing about doing a PhD is that I learn something new and interesting every single day. It’s been a very exciting and rewarding journey so far. In the office and lab, there are other PhD students and researchers working on various subjects, each bringing a different perspective to our daily discussions and conversations and teaching me something new. Several of them are intelligent, capable, young women, successful in their fields, which makes it a very inspiring environment to be in.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned recently? (STEM related!)
Orcas’ brains have limbic systems, like humans do. This means they can feel and process complicated emotions which affects their behaviour.

What do you think could be changed to better encourage more girls into your line of work/a STEM career?
I think young girls should be inspired to read more and to be curious and critical. They should also be encouraged to play with more active toys at a young age, rather than passive ones that are traditionally considered more suitable for girls. As a society we need to resist stereotyping genders and assuming the characteristics or abilities of people based on their gender. Other women, successful in STEM, could be inspiring role models to young girls. Encouraging girls at school when they are interested in STEM subjects could give them the motivation and confidence to learn more and to persevere at succeeding in these fields.

Beyond Coding: How Children Learn Human Values through Programming, Prof Marina Umaschi Bers

Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In Beyond Coding, Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children discover new ways of thinking, relating, and behaving through creative coding activities. Today’s children will undoubtedly have the technical knowledge to change the world. But cultivating strength of character, socioeconomic maturity, and a moral compass alongside that knowledge, says Bers, is crucial.

Bers, a leading proponent of teaching computational thinking and coding as early as preschool and kindergarten, presents examples of children and teachers using the Scratch Jr. and Kibo robotics platforms to make explicit some of the positive values implicit in the process of learning computer science. If we are to do right by our children, our approach to coding must incorporate the elements of a moral education: the use of narrative to explore identity and values, the development of logical thinking to think critically and solve technical and ethical problems, and experiences in the community to enable personal relationships. Through learning the language of programming, says Bers, it is possible for diverse cultural and religious groups to find points of connection, put assumptions and stereotypes behind them, and work together toward a common goal.

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

About the Author

Marina Umaschi Bers is professor at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development with a secondary appointment in the Computer Science Department at Tufts University. She heads the interdisciplinary Developmental Technologies research group. Her research involves the design and study of innovative learning technologies to promote children’s positive development, and has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, CNBC, CBS News, Wall Street Journal and The Economist.

She is passionate about using the power of technology to promote positive development and learning for young children, and spoke at a 2014 TEDx talk on the topic Young programmers – think playgrounds, not playpens.  She has also written several books, including Teaching Computational Thinking and Coding to Young Children (2021), Coding as Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom (2018), The Official ScratchJr Book (2015), Designing Digital Experiences for Positive Youth Development: From Playpen to Playground (2012), and Blocks to Robots: Learning with Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom (2008).

You can follow her work here:

Twitter: @marinabers
Website: marinabers.com