PICTURE A SCIENTIST film screening and discussion
Western Michigan University – in collaboration with Iowa State University, Michigan Technological University and North Dakota State University – is hosting a virtual film and panel discussion to enhance awareness of gender bias and continued lack of diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This virtual event will take place on Thursday, March 25 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. A screening of the film, “Picture a Scientist,” will be followed by a panel discussion.
PICTURE A SCIENTIST is a feature-length documentary film chronicling the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, overcoming brutal harassment, institutional discrimination, and years of subtle slights to revolutionize the culture of science. From cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we also encounter scientific luminaries who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all. The film challenges audiences of all backgrounds and genders to question their own implicit biases and move forward with change strategies.
This event is part of a year-long, Cross-Institutional Caucus Series, hosted by the four institutions engaged in the ADVANCE Midwest Partnership – Joining Forces grant. The series, taking place in 2020-21, will highlight gender inequities in STEM workplaces, and suggest institutional strategies to counter these inequities.
Virtual film screening and panel discussion
Thursday, March 25
7 p.m. EDT – Welcome
7:10 p.m. EDT – Screening of the film (97 minutes)
9 p.m. EDT – Panel discussion with members of the NSF ADVANCE partnership
Meet the scientists
Associate Professor of Geology
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego
View profile
Willenbring shares her experiences with gender bias and sexual harassment as a geologist.
Agmen Professor of Biology Emerita
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
View profile
Hopkins discusses her movement for change for women within academia.
Associate Professor of Chemistry
American University
View profile
Burks addresses gender bias and racial discrimination as a analytical chemist.
ADVANCE Midwest Partnership – Joining Forces
The ADVANCE Midwest Partnership - Joining Forces is a cross-institutional effort of these four research-intensive, doctoral-granting public universities funded by the NSF ADVANCE program to promote increased equity, diversity, and faculty retention and career advancement of faculty in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
Picture A Scientist sponsors
