Stories from the Field

Marinda Wu chose her particular graduate program because she wanted to work for a famous professor. But when she arrived, she was told the professor didn’t accept female students.

Women chemists who are also trying to raise a family can get a lot of heat, even from other women, says Bevin Parks. It helps, she says, to get to know and understand those women who are pushing back—ideally over dinner and drinks.

In the face of harassment, Isabel Escobar learned the hard-earned lesson of standing up for herself. From men assuming she had a temper and could “blow at any minute” to being called “little lady,” she talks about the challenges of being a Latina woman in a male-dominated field.

When Kathryn Lysko began her undergraduate work, there were 15,000 men and 100 women in her entire college. She talks about the camaraderie that emerged among the women students, her proudest career moments, and the tough choices facing women who want both a family and an academic career.  

Without mentors, says Judith Iriarte-Gross, she would have never become a chemist. She talks about the importance of encouragement, the necessity of taking science classes early on in school, and how the periodic table is like a candy store.

In a small town in South Carolina, chemistry students at a high school were doing accomplished, innovative work—yet no one was paying attention. Denise Creech talks about one of her proudest moments: fighting to get them recognition.

The obstacles facing women today have not disappeared—they’ve just become more subtle, says Bonnie Charpentier. In this week’s episode, she discusses the importance of humor in facing adversity and achieving success.

Joan Brennecke talks about how spending Saturdays with her dad pulling apart cars and old calculators led to a lifetime of curiosity.

In her role with the Chemical Security Engagement program of the U.S. Department of State, Nancy Jackson travels throughout Asia and the Middle East, and she is seeing a big change happening: women chemists are thriving. In most parts of the Middle East, she says, there are more women studying chemistry than men. She talks about the increasing role women are playing in science internationally.

Chemists can be narrowly focused, says Rebecca Guenard. In a field that encourages scientists to follow a predefined path, she encourages young women to take a wider view and realize it’s okay to take a nontraditional route.