Meet the Brilliant Ladies of STEAM Showing Off Unique Vintage’s Geek Chic Collection
Let’s celebrate women in STEAM! Unique Vintage’s Geek Chic collection is here and it’s all about celebrating women who love science. Unique Vintage sells vintage-inspired women’s fashion and their latest Geek Chic collection features all sorts of designs which are perfect for any science-loving lady.
Smart Girls spoke with Dr. Moogega Cooper, Dr. Jessica Creamer and Roxanne Mayoral about their work, influences, and advice for women in STEAM.
Meet Dr. Moogega Cooper
Introduce yourself! Tell us your name and what you do.
My name is Moogega (무지개 if you know how to read Hangeul) and I am the Planetary Protection Lead for the Mars 2020 Mission. This means that it is my job to make sure we do not contaminate Mars with microorganisms as we explore and search for evidence of past life.
How did you get started in your field? Who/what were your major role models/influences?
I got started all the way back in Middle School. We visited the local library and I rented a VHS of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. It changed my life and ever since that moment, I wanted to be an Astrophysicist. Well, I am not an astrophysicist but still pretty spot on for a middle-schooler. I have a bachelor’s degree in Physics and a master’s and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering where my research was focused on spacecraft sterilization using plasma!
What work are you proudest of?
One thing that I realized quickly is that it takes many disciplines to solve the big problems in the research world. My proudest work involves the successful merger of Engineering & Physics with microbiology to develop sterilization technologies that I hope to use for future space missions.
What do you hope people take away from your work?
I hope people will learn what Planetary Protection is and why it is needed as a discipline. When you’re exploring the universe, it is just the right thing to do to make sure you’re not the invasive species to completely destroy or alter the existing ecosystem.
Do you feel like you’re starting to see more girls enter STEAM fields?
I definitely see more and more interest, but primarily because I heavily involve myself in outreach activities. I take it as my duty to usher the next generation of minds to STEAM, and it is just as important to make sure the environment they are entering is supportive to maintain that spark. The more awareness and understanding STEAM professionals have, the more they can continue to foster and cultivate these minds!
What advice do you have for young women who want to enter your field?
A major lesson I learned earlier in my career is goal creation. Set your mind on your goal and let yourself be free to achieve it. At first, I was a bit shy, and learned that if I don’t try or don’t ask, the answer is automatically no. So I had to try. I had to push. If I failed, I would get back up and keep going. Know what you want and make sure you have someone (a friend, family, community) to help keep you grounded and supported through the journey.
Meet Dr. Jessica Creamer
Introduce yourself! Tell us your name and what you do.
My name is Dr. Jessica Creamer and I am an analytical chemist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). I am part of a small team of scientists that is building an instrument to search for life on other planets. We are particularly interested in places in our solar system that have liquid water because here on Earth water is so important for living things. My job is to design and develop chemical tests that take water and look for specific organic molecules. With this information, we can look for patterns in the data that indicate the presence or absence of life.
How did you get started in your field? Who/what were your major role models/influences?
Doing research with a direct application to real life has always been my goal as a scientist. I’ve worked in several fields over the years, getting my Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry and now working in aerospace, but I was initially drawn to research by a love of the environment. I went to a small university in Northern Arizona for undergrad with every intention of majoring in anthropology. I’d gotten a C in AP chemistry in high school and was content in letting that be the end of the story. However, through a series of coincidences, I found myself enrolled in general chemistry my freshman year. Something clicked the second time around and not only was I getting A’s but I was enjoying it! My teacher noticed my newfound enthusiasm and suggested I join a research lab for the summer.
After looking into the different research opportunities it was an easy decision. Dr. Jani Ingram’s lab had several projects trying to understand how contaminates make their way through the ecosystems of Northern Arizona. As an Arizona native, I grew up hiking and camping all over the state. I was excited to have a job that involved getting outside to collect samples while I was learning the ropes in the lab. Over the next three years, I ended up working with Dr. Ingram to design several research projects focused on hormone and heavy metal contamination in water. There was a lot of growth and frustration in those first years, but having the strong link to my home state and spending time in the nature we were trying to protect helped me to remain motivated.
While I admire and am inspired by public figures such as Sally Ride, Carl Sagan, and Bill Nye, my real role models are the amazing mentors I’ve been lucky enough to have in my short career. After my freshman year of undergrad, Dr. Jani Ingram was instrumental in getting me into chemistry and teaching me how to conduct a research project. She is a strong and straightforward woman that has found the perfect alignment between her research and personal life. As a Navajo tribal member, she has focused much of her work understanding the connection between uranium exposure on the reservation and the risk of cancer to the Navajo.
Then in graduate school, I joined Dr. Susan Lunte’s lab. Dr. Lunte is a driven and brilliant scientist, she is constantly moving and doing and collaborating with people. She is a strong advocate for her science and her students, pushing both to be better at every turn. Her energy and enthusiasm for what she does is continuous and makes you want to rise to meet her expectations.
Most importantly, both of these women took the time to work with me on designing projects that were useful for their labs, but also interesting and meaningful to me. I am inspired by all they’ve been able to do with their research and the impact they have had on the scientific community.
What work are you proudest of?
During my postdoc at JPL, I developed a chemical method to test water for amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are necessary for all life on Earth. The test is a powerful technique that can detect many different amino acids in a single analysis and allows us to search for life at a chemical level. In the past year, the most exciting development was that my method was used in proposal for a mission concept to a moon of Saturn.
What do you hope people take away from your work?
That we are closer than ever to being capable of detecting life beyond Earth! How incredible would be it to make that discovery in our lifetime?! I hope that people are inspired by the grandest possibilities of science and are motivated to educate themselves about all the ways that science is making our world better.
Do you feel like you’re starting to see more girls enter STEAM fields?
I do! Of course, the older the room is the more skewed it is towards men, but I am definitely seeing a lot of women at JPL in college internships and new hire positions. It feels like the women of my generation are benefiting from the momentum that programs aimed at getting girls into STEM have accomplished, and those of us here now will help create a more welcoming environment for future generations of women in this historically male-dominated field.
What advice do you have for young women who want to enter your field?
Find something that engages you. If it’s not what you are learning in the classroom, find a club or a research lab that you can join to get hands-on experience. Connecting the dots between what you are studying and how that relates to the real world can bring the subject to life and motivate you to push through the frustration of trying something new. In high school, I did really badly in chemistry, but in college, I found a chemistry research project that allowed me to work outside part of the time. I was able to see how the work we were doing in the lab had a positive impact on the environment and I was hooked. So, don’t give up if you don’t “get it” the first time, dig deeper and find what works for you.
Meet Roxanne Mayoral
Introduce yourself! Tell us your name and what you do
My name is Roxanne Mayoral. I am a first-year graduate student at California State University Los Angeles in the Forensic Anthropology Master’s program. Last year I graduated from CSULA with my Bachelors in Anthropology and a minor in psychology and then went straight into the Forensic anthropology graduate program. I am currently teaching a Biological Anthropology lab at CSULA along with taking classes for my graduate studies. I also work part-time at the La Brea Tar Pits Museum helping with the ongoing excavations of Project 23, which is a project to excavate ice age fossils from 16 fossil deposits that were discovered during the construction of a parking lot for LACMA, our neighbor museum.
How did you get started in your field? Who/what were your major role models/influences?
I already had a successful career working in corporate retail for years, was a model, and worked in music, but I always had a deep interest in forensic science, specifically in anthropology. I decided I wanted a career change and that I wanted to do something that I was truly passionate about. I quit my full-time job and went back to school and have never looked back. It has been a long, and at times difficult journey, but also an extremely rewarding one. A few of my mentors along the way have been a true inspiration to me, and still are.
My first anthropology professor when I started my journey, Dr. Lauren Arenson was a huge inspiration to me and helped me become the anthropologist I am today. Lauren encouraged me as a writer and a researcher when I first started college, which was something that I had no previous experience in. Another really important role model to me was a fellow student Amaretta Azevedo, who was in the graduate program while I was an undergraduate at CSULA. Amaretta helped me so much along the way and has been successful and in turn inspirational to me in my career path. Also, my advisor, Dr. Elizabeth Miller who is the Forensic Anthropologist for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office. Early on in my studies I always looked up to Dr. Miller and made it my goal to not only attend CSULA but also be able to work with her. I feel extremely lucky to be a part of her Forensic Anthropology program and to learn from her and work alongside her. I am very grateful to have these brilliant women in my life inspiring me daily.
What work are you proudest of?
Honestly, all of it. Everything thing I’ve been a part of thus far. Every research paper, conference that I’ve been part of, the work I did at field school in Spain at the Sanisera Institute excavating ancient Romans, and the work I do on a weekly basis at the La Brea Tar Pits. Everything I have been involved in academically and in the field has been a contribution to asking and answering questions about our past and future. This is what I love so much about being an anthropologist.
What do you hope people take away from your work?
I hope that people get answers to important questions about life and death and the role that forensic science plays in answering these questions. In forensic science specifically, we try and piece together a story that can’t be told by someone that has died. I think the work of forensic anthropology is important to telling a story that helps gives family members and loved one’s closure in situations where someone has passed away under suspicious circumstances.
Do you feel like you’re starting to see more girls enter STEAM fields?
Well, specifically in Forensic Anthropology, the women greatly outnumber the men. Many subfields within anthropology usually tend to have more women than men. However, I would love to see more women overall in the STEAM workforce. I would definitely like to see more gender diversity in the hard sciences overall.
What advice do you have for young women who want to enter your field?
Anything is possible and if you’re passionate about it, go for it! There are so many amazing women that work in the sciences and that in itself is an inspiration and proof that these careers are definitely attainable to us!
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