Reflections on the journey: six short stories

Haynie et al. Chemistry Central Journal 2011, 5:69 http://journal.chemistrycentral.com/content/5/1/69 COMMENTARY Open Access Reflections on the journey: six short stories Sharon L Haynie1*, Amber S Hinkle2, Nancy L Jones3, Cheryl A Martin4, Paula J Olsiewski5 and Mary F Roberts6 Abstract One of the goals of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry is to celebrate the contributions of women to science. A question that has been frequently asked in this regard is... Why is it necessary to highlight women in the “age of equality"? The reasons are varied but the facts are that many women scientists worked in obscurity throughout the 19th and even well into the 20th century, sometimes publishing anonymously to be heard. This celebration of Women in Science is one way to recognize both the resiliency and passion of these women. As part of this celebration, Chemistry Central Journal’s Thematic Series of “Women in Chemistry” includes this article describing the path several women took as they pursued chemistry careers spanning the latter part of the 20th century and into the early 21st century. Sharon Haynie, Nancy Jones, Cheryl Martin, Paula Olsiewski, Mary Roberts and Amber Hinkle each have unique story of their personal journey from childhood to adulthood. As you read these stories, listen generously, and feel free to share your own stories, comments and thoughts. Introduction In science, we tend to focus on ideas not people and events. We revel in and revere technical triumphs. The personal journey to claim the privilege to participate in the science enterprise can also offer a starting point for inspiration, so six women chemists were invited to reflect on their journeys. The starting point varies from early childhood, high school, graduate school to the first professional appointment. A common theme emerges: curiosity meets challenges. As the saying goes “... all stories are true”. What it is to be a woman scientist Nancy L. Jones (Figure 1) How have things changed for me since I began my journey? I was curious about how things worked as I was growing up. Not the ‘let-me-take-it-apart’ kind of curious, more like ‘What does it do?’ How were those kittens born? Why is there math? I read volumes of our encyclopedias. Math classes were fun. I don’t remember much about science classes which makes me think they weren’t very memorable. I do remember academic competition, boy vs. girl. In 7th grade my math teacher told us it irritated him to have to give me the award for highest average rather than a boy. At the time I thought * Correspondence: 1 Central Research Department, DuPont, Wilmington, Delaware, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © 2011 Haynie et al it was a joke. I moved to a girls’ high school where the science curriculum was very weak and there were no role models in science. Math on the other hand was challenging and fun (Is that redundant?). My teachers encouraged me to work at my own (speed of light) pace and spent time with me one-on-one fleshing out the intricacies of geometry and trigonometry. Math in my senior year should have been Calculus but it wasn’t offered at my school and no one felt we were ‘prepared’ for it so a few of us walked across the street to the boys’ school every morning for a pre-calculus class. That was an eye-opener. It was palpable that those young men most certainly did not want to be shown up by any girls. But we couldn’t help ourselves. Then to college. I’m not sure whatever possessed me to declare a major in Chemistry. It wasn’t because I had had such a mind-blowing experience in high school. Maybe it was the challenge. Maybe Chemistry felt to me like the core of everything. There weren’t too many women in the major; I was one of only two women to graduate with a BS degree and no women on the faculty. I felt aimless though, liked what I was doing but not sure at all where I was headed. When it came time to find a senior research project, it was a professor who invited me to join his group rather than me asking him to join. That was the moment of all things good. He and his graduate students mentored me. We talked about research, careers, teaching, living the graduate student life. They encouraged me to pursue graduate school and I did. Haynie et al. Chemistry Central Journal 2011, 5:69 http://journal.chemistrycentral.com/content/5/1/69 Page 2 of 12 Figure 1 Photo of Nancy receiving the Distinguished Lasallian Educator Award in 2010. In graduate school, I still had not seen a single woman chemistry faculty. But there were so many woman grad students and post-docs I don’t think I noticed. With many of the professors, research or teaching, I never noticed any gender differentiation at all. But with some, oh yes I did. While on a site visit and job interview, I was shocked when my host asked me about my fiancé. Funny though, because I didn’t have one. A faculty member had ‘shared’ that with the campus recruiter. In my own research group, our advisor was sensitive, fair, and even, just about perfect. (I’m sure I didn’t express it like that back then.) In my first postdoctoral position I overheard a faculty say, “Her husband has a job and he makes plenty of money.” In my second, my husband, a chemist, was the one showered with attention by my professor. But it was there that for the first time I was treated as a role model, that my behavior, my words, my successes were held up as an example. I never thought I would ever teach. I landed in a oneyear teaching position at a women’s college. Talk about being a role model. The students were eager to learn ‘how to do it.’ What did they need to know in order to go out into the world and find their successes? It was very rewarding to see so many go on to Chemistry Ph. D. programs, professional schools, and industry positions. And I was smitten by teaching. I wanted to do more. Now I am a member of the faculty at La Salle University. I started as the only woman in the Chemistry Department and I think one reason I was offered the position was to serve as a role model for all the students, women are chemists too. My colleagues were and are still all fantastic. We all have the same mission, teaching our students to think critically, to solve problems, and to be good citizens in our global society. It is uplifting for me to work with a group who believes in what I believe in. We can support each other, challenge one another, and collaborate on ways to teach our students. For me, teaching happens in the classroom, in the lab, with research students, and especially outside the classroom, with new students and with those ready to graduate, and even with those who come back or stay in touch. I am amazed at how lasting these relationships are. In my first class there, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, there was a young woman who wanted to pursue a Ph.D., agonized over which school to choose, was shocked when I wouldn’t choose for her, and was very, very succe (...truncated)