Project aims to increase number of women in geophysics

October 9, 2015

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will begin a study designed to encourage high school-age girls to consider geophysics and technology science careers through summer academies.

The National Science Foundation is funding the three-year, $1.1 million project, called BRIGHT Girls — short for Budding Research Investigators in Geosciences, Habitat and Technology.

“Women are really underrepresented in fields like geophysics,” said project leader Laura Conner, a research assistant professor in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics. “We know that women in biology fields are at parity. We want to leverage female interest in biology by offering a program that combines biology with geosciences.”

The project, managed by UAF’s Geophysical Institute, will hold a 10-day free summer academy in Fairbanks next summer as a pilot program. Girls in grades 9-12 will study salmon life history, ecology and habitat through direct observation and remote sensing techniques, including unmanned aircraft. The following two years, the program will also be offered in Juneau, where it will focus on harbor seals. Conner is hoping to reach about 140 girls.

The project is meant to help the girls see themselves as capable of careers in science, technology, engineering or math. Female mentors will team with the girls for one-on-one collaboration. The program will have follow-up meetings to explore career paths associated with each of the summer activities.

“Girls often fail to identify with science, in part due to commonly held negative views about science and scientists,” Conner wrote about the project. “Science role models have the potential to help counteract these views.”

The encouragement techniques will be evaluated for effectiveness. The evaluations will not only test the girls' knowledge but also gauge the impact of the role models and learning environments on their success and future plans.

“We think BRIGHT Girls will bring more females into STEM careers, but the lessons learned and successes we have will be broadly useful to science educators,” Conner said.

Other project leaders include Anupma Prakash, a geology and geophysics professor at the GI; Andrew Seitz, a UAF fisheries professor; and Jamie Womble, a National Park Service scientist who studies marine mammals.

An online application will be available in the spring. Those interested may contact Conner to be put on a notification list.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Laura Conner, 907-474-6950 or ldconner@alaska.edu