On 6th Dec 2019, six Materials Chemistry Frontiers board members participated in a panel discussion of “Being Bold in STEM” at the Northwestern University. The panel was organized and moderated by Northwestern students. Three female scientists were featured and the other male scientists actively participated.
| Panelist | Participants | |||
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Yu Huang
University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
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Jiaxing Huang
Northwestern University, USA |
|
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Emilie Ringe
University of Cambridge, UK |
 |
Kazuo Tanaka
Kyoto University, Japan |
|
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Marina A. Petrukhina
University at Albany, New York, USA |
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Guillaume Wantz
University of Bordeaux, France |
|
Topics and Questions:
- We often receive the message that it’s in our career interests to not “rock the boat” and speak out against the norms or status quo of our community. Do you agree with this, and to what extent?
- Please share some examples in which you have used your voice to speak out against something that you disagreed with. Could be challenging a scientific concept or shutting down discrimination, etc.
- Was there ever a time when “being bold” backfired for you? What did you learn from the situation?
- How have you navigated pivots or new directions in your career?
- How have you remained bold in the face of rejection?
Attendees:
Students and postdocs of Northwestern University
In the panel, the scientists addressed questions and shared how they had learned to be bold scientists, educators, and working professionals. Some suggested for students were, finding out what they were good at and building on that, being bold to talk to their professors, talking to the top players in the field when there was a chance and reaching out to more people. They also shared their own stories about being bold and confident. This Panel offered a great opportunity for students to interact with scientists and seek for advice on future development.
