Symposium BI02-Women in Materials Science—Pioneers and a Vision for a More Inclusive Future

This symposium will cover recent advances and innovations in materials science and engineering contributed by women researchers spanning academia, national labs and industry. Speakers will present their research addressing a range of topics from the future of energy and catalysis to soft matter and biomaterials, nanoscience and technologies, and beyond. In addition, speakers are encouraged to share their personal experiences to unveil the historical and current challenges faced by women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, as well as the positive changes leading to expanding opportunities and improved work-life balance. Though focused on women, we anticipate the topics addressed here will resonate with all genders and ultimately impact all who pursue demanding careers in STEM. This symposium aims to bring together researchers at all career stages and from different backgrounds whose work exemplifies cutting-edge science and engineering and whose personal paths show the way for future generations to continue to break remaining biases and foster a scientific environment with better gender diversity, equity, and inclusive engagement. The multi-disciplinary topics covered in this symposium will prompt cross-talks and collaborations between researchers with different backgrounds and expertise. Individual stories shared by the speakers will also inspire researchers at different critical stages of career development. In addition to topic-focused technical sessions, the symposium will feature a panel discussion that will include technical leaders, as well as contributors from the social sciences who have studied gender issues from a broader context and can provide insight in terms of historical trends, unconscious gender bias, the unexpected benefits of gender (and other) diversity in the workplace, etc.

Topics will include:

Scientific research led by female researchers related to materials science and beyond (50-70%)
Challenges and strategies to achieve work-life balance.
Career and professional development for scientists and engineers at different career stages.
Policies and approaches to break the biases and close the gender gap in STEM.

Invited Speakers:

Kathy Ayers (Nel Hydrogen, USA)
Zhenan Bao (Stanford University, USA)
Mei Cai (General Motors, USA)
Jennifer Dionne (Stanford University, USA)
Judith Driscoll (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Julia R. Greer (California Institute of Technology, USA)
Clare Grey (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Sossina Haile (Northwestern University, USA)
Kelsey Hatzell (Princeton University, USA)
Sohee Jeong (Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea)
Cherie Kagan (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Y. Shirley Meng (University of California, San Diego, USA)
Delia Milliron (The University of Texas at Austin, USA)
Mihri Ozkan (University of California, Riverside, USA)
Nicola Spaldin (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland)
Molly Stevens (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
Vanessa Wood (ETH Zürich, Switzerland)
Haimei Zheng (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA)