NoHo Library’s Women in Science Panel Discussion
According to the National Girls Collaborative Project:
“Female scientists and engineers are concentrated in different occupations than are men, with relatively high shares of women in the social sciences (58%) and biological and medical sciences (48%) and relatively low shares in engineering (13%) and computer and mathematical sciences (25%) (NSF, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2014).
Women make up 47% of the total U.S. workforce, but are much less represented in particular science and engineering occupations (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook, 2014). For example:
▪ 39% of chemists and material scientists are women;
▪ 27.9% of environmental scientists and geoscientists are women;
▪ 15.6% of chemical engineers are women;
▪ 12.1% of civil engineers are women;
▪ 8.3% of electrical and electronics engineers are women;
▪ 17.2% of industrial engineers are women; and
▪ 7.2% of mechanical engineers are women.”
The numbers look a bit dismal. But this is changing and we can do better. According to Girls, Inc., “For girls to truly succeed in STEM, they need a support system: adults who believe in their abilities; women who are in these fields to act as role models; and other girls who share their interests.” Here’s the Girls, Inc. Tip Sheet for encouraging young girls in their interest in STEM.
No, women in science isn’t an opening line of a joke. In honor of Women’s History Month, the NoHo Arts District dot com team would like to highlight the NoHo Library’s panel discussion on Women in Science, women working in the fields of robotics, research, medicine and computer programming.
Meet the women panelists, ask questions and learn more about STEM studies – “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.”
WHEN: Saturday, March 12 at 3:30PM
WHERE: NoHo Library
5211 Tujunga
North Hollywood, 91601
You’re going to want to follow them. They’re easy to remember: @NoHoLibrary
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Deborah Anisman-Posner, the manager of the Virology Core Lab at the UCLA AIDS Institute, began her career as a technician studying cytotoxicity (how the immune system responds to the presence of tumors). As a researcher for the UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, she studied growth factors produced by human leukemia cells. With the identification of AIDS in the early 1980s, her lab switched over to studying the effect of HIV on the developing (pediatric) immune system. Presently she manages a laboratory that provides services and special technologies to UCLA and outside researchers, assisting them with their research mostly in HIV but also other cancer research.
Robin D’Arvin Frasier, M.D., is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist who graduated from the USC School of Medicine and completed her residency in Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. She has specialized in eating disorders and has worked at the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, and has been on the faculty at the UCLA Department of Psychotherapy and the New Center for Psychoanalysis.
Sherry Hutson, Software Quality Assurance Analyst, tests mobile apps for the ground transportation industry at United Dispatch in Pasadena. As a Computer Science major, until she came across an advertisement for a “QA analyst” at the Career Center at UCLA, she thought her only career option was programming. Among the institutions where she has worked in software quality assurance are Citicorp, The Pacific Stock Exchange, and WeddingChannel.com.
Bonnie Kampmeyer, a computer programmer, began her career at the Lockheed Corporation in Burbank, where she was taught computer-aided design and manufacturing for the aerospace industry. After working for other southern California aerospace companies, she moved into the computer software side of the business. For several software companies she did testing to develop software, and then did training and technical writing.
Janice Batzdorff, Adult Librarian at the North Hollywood Regional Library, has worked as a substitute librarian for Los Angeles Public Library in most departments of the Central Library downtown, and at numerous branches in the Hollywood area. She contributes book lists and book reviews for the LAPL Reads database, and facilitates the monthly meetings of the NoHo Library Book Club. In addition to her library work, Janice sings in opera choruses with local independent opera companies.
Marissa Thompson, Young Adult Librarian at the North Hollywood Regional Library, joined the Los Angeles Public Library system in Fall 2015. She is also a member of the faculty at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, as an Adjunct Librarian. Growing up, Marissa had a strong interest in STEAM topics, from archeology to marine biology to astronomy. Her desire to learn more about these sciences is what drew her to libraries as a child and encouraged a lifelong appreciation for the services that libraries provide. In addition to her library work, Marissa is an avid tea drinker and a lover of graphic novels.
Samantha Sim is currently one of the three captains of the North Hollywood Robotics Team, also known as NohoRobo or Team 3328. She was selected as a captain at the end of her senior year and took on the responsibility of managing the business side of the team. She took part not only in building a functional robot, but also in managing thousands of dollars worth of funds and properly budgeting the team’s finances to ensure the team’s success. She has had the opportunity of working with many professionals from Comcast NBCUniversal and Walt Disney Imagineering, which showed her many aspects of a career in S.T.E.M.
Janice Batzdorff, Adult Librarian, and Marissa Thompson, Young Adult Librarian, both joined the staff of the North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Library in November 2015. For their first Women’s Heritage Month celebration, inspired by the library’s namesake, they decided to focus on Women in Science. Panelists include a high school senior who is the captain of the North Hollywood High School Robotics Team, as well as professional women in the fields of psychiatry, AIDS research, computer programming and software quality assurance.
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Janice Batzdorff, need your help.