Maria Mitchell Women of Science Symposium Scheduled for September 23-25, 2021

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • July 8, 2021

The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association will host its second Maria Mitchell Women of Science Symposium (MMWSS) at the Babson Executive Conference Center in Babson Park, MA from Thursday, September 23 to Saturday, September 25, 2021.

 

The MMWSS is meant to promote and support women and girls in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields while also providing hands-on, intimate spaces for attendees to come together to create real-world solutions that can be taken back to their place of work or education.

 

Distinguished women scientists will speak at the event along with panelists who are women well-known and respected in the STEM fields. Speakers include:             

Nicole Cabrera Salazar, Ph.D. a Latina astrophysicist who is transforming the culture of STEM through her company Movement Consulting;

 

Nancy Gray, Ph.D. the President and CEO of Gordon Research Conferences;

 

Jen Heemstra, Ph.D. professor of Chemistry at Emory University.

 

Panelists at the MMWSS include:

 

Dionne Hoskins-Brown, Ph.D. a Fishery Biologist through the Galveston Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries and an Associate Graduate Professor in the Marine Science program at Savannah State University;

 

Tara Spann Chief People and Strategy Officer for MENTOR National;

 

Sandra Begay a research and development engineer at Sandia National Laboratories;

 

Amy Bower Ph.D. a Senior Scientist in the Dept. of Physical Oceanography at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution;

 

Shawna Young Executive Director of the SCRATCH Foundation;

 

Amanda Hough Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year 2019.

 

Women continue to be under-represented in the sciences. According to the 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators report by the National Science Foundation, “Women comprised just 28% of workers in science and engineering occupations in 2010. This under-representation shortchanges the students, the field of science, and the public that benefits from scientific advancement.”

 

The Symposium is named after Maria Mitchell, America’s first woman astronomer. Mitchell, who went on to teach Astronomy at Vassar College, promoted hands-on learning and encouraged women to study science. Jascin Leonardo Finger, MMA Deputy Director and Symposium Coordinator states, “This Symposium is designed to serve as a source of inspiration and support and to be a hands-on experience in which all attendees are actively participating and problem solving much in the spirit of Maria Mitchell. We had an incredibly successful Symposium in 2018 with fantastic feedback and now we look to 2021.”

 

The themes that the Maria Mitchell Women of Science Symposium will address are persisting issues that hindered women in science in Maria Mitchell’s time and still affect them today. The Symposium will also address where women are today; how to recruit women and girls into STEM; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives; how to address the challenges that women still face in STEM; and how to broaden participation and leadership including through mentoring and mental health support. Maria Mitchell believed in learning by doing and the Symposium will continue this philosophy by encouraging all attendees, female and male of all backgrounds and educations, to actively participate, problem-solve, and learn through a hands-on experience.

 

The MMWSS is made possible thanks to the generous support of the American Philosophical Society, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio), Vassar College, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, D. E. Shaw Company, Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, American Astronomical Society, Schwartz Hannum PC, Tupancy-Harris Foundation, Axcelis Technologies, Inc., Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Novartis, the Simons Foundation, and Stinson LLP.

 

Tickets to the MMWSS are available at mmwss.org and there are some scholarships available for students and teachers. Please visit the website for more information and registration at www.mmwss.org .

 

The event is organized by the Maria Mitchell Association, a private non-profit organization. Founded in 1902, the MMA works to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.

For Immediate Release

July 8 2021

Contact: Jascin Finger, MMA Deputy Director & Curator of the Mitchell House, Archives and Special Collections

jfinger@mariamitchell.org

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Raise The Roof!

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 6, 2026
Well, actually replace the roof! With funding from the Community Preservation Act and the work of Lydon and Sons, Inc. the Mitchell House is getting a new roof. The current one had come to the end of its useful life. A cedar roof can last a long time – longer than asphalt – and is more historically accurate. The roof we are removing was installed in about 1992 – replacing a roof from the 1930s that was not cedar but a combination of materials that actually yes, did last sixty years. The unfortunate issue has arisen that the roofwalk (walk) has to be replaced. This is NOT the original walk – nor that old of a walk. It’s likely from the 1970s or so and has been cobbled at over time. It’s not a functioning walk – no one is allowed on it – but the Mitchell House needs it none the less. Maria Mitchell and her father, William, likely used the walk for astronomical observations – in addition to the yard – but the walk is also protected as part of the preservation easement on the House. Walks – NOT and NEVER called widow’s walks – were used for preventing and putting out chimney fire and roof fires. In a place where wood was expensive and had to be brought from “the main” these were purely utilitarian. What good Quaker (or non-Quaker) would build a platform for his wife to stare out to the harbor to see if her husband was on his way home? The other issue is that the walk was completely resting on the ridge board – and actually was notched to accept the pitch and tip of the ridge board so they couldn’t work around it. I suspect this may have been the ways walks were once built – and also a crafty and smart thinking carpenter who came up with the idea. It makes the walk lower. But between that issue and the age of the walk and then the blizzard of February 2026 that packed gusts over 83 MPH (that’s Category 1 hurricane winds) the walk gave in. Balusters had been knocked out and the railings were loose and pulling away from the posts. So, we will also be working with Barber and Sons to create a new roofwalk – and they agreed to do this for us quickly which is also no small feat given how busy everyone is these days. So from the bottom of the Mitchell House’s heart (and mine) a big thank you to Chris Lydon and Lydon and Sons and crew, Barber and Sons / Beau and Nate Barber, the Community Preservation Committee, and Nantucket Preservation Trust (our easement holder)! JNLF

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NANTUCKET, MA—The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) invites the community to “Dark and Quiet: Astronomy in the Age of Satellite Constellation” presented by Dr. Joshua Reding for its April Science Speaker Series. This free presentation will take place Wednesday, April 15 from 7 – 8pm on Zoom. In the past decade, the number of active satellites in Earth’s orbit has grown by a factor of 10. This breakneck growth in the commercial space industry has turned entrepreneur, investor, and policymaker eyes to the skies, but in the process has boxed out the historic stewards of the space domain: scientists. Explorers and pioneers across human history learned that uncharted territory hides unprecedented challenges, but the consequences of decisions made towards occupying the “final frontier” do not abide by international borders. Space operators therefore ignore the warnings and concerns of scientists not only at their own risk, but at the risk of everyone living under increasingly crowded skies. In this conversation, Dr. Josh Reding will explain how astronomers are trying to inform and guide policymaking for the rapidly changing space environment, both informally through volunteer action and advocacy and formally in domestic and international policy forums. Dr. Reding is an optical astronomer by training and now a radio spectrum manager by profession. He completed his B.A. with a double major in Astronomy-Physics and Philosophy at Colgate University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research investigated unusual white dwarf stars that likely formed in stellar mergers as “failed” supernovae and he has also designed astronomical instrument components and installed them at world-class observatories. Concurrent with the completion of his Ph.D., Reding began his professional science policy career as a North Carolina STEM Policy Fellow in the NC Department of Commerce’s Office of Science, Technology & Innovation. He was then selected for the American Association for the Advancement of Science Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, which places scientists in federal offices as expert contributors to ongoing agency missions. This event will be held via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. To register for the free, virtual event, use the registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5MoAybp5QHCasQ0QE5xmgQ#/registration The Science Speaker Series is generously sponsored by the Maria Mitchell Association’s lead sponsor, Bank of America. The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages. ###
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