Newsmakers
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Leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Women are considered better coders until they identify that they are women
Researchers find software repository GitHub approved code written by women at a higher rate than male coders, but only if they hid their gender. A group of computer science students based in San Francisco decided to study the way gender bias affects software communities. The study’s author wrote, “Our results suggest that although women on GitHub may be more competent overall, bias against the exists nonetheless.” The study found that while women’s work was accepted at a higher rate than that of their male colleague’s, it was only when they identifies as women that their work was then looked at with gender bias.
Source: Julia Carrie Wong, The Guardian, February 2016.
Sexism in the STEM fields highlighted in an EWU student’s viral letter
Eastern Washington University senior in mechanical engineering, Jared Mauldin felt he needed to say something about the sexism he was witnessing in his field of work. In a letter to the editor published in The Easterner, Mauldin addresses the females in his engineering classes as being “unequal” to him. However, he uses this as a way to highlight the difficulties women face everyday working in the STEM fields. He concludes the letter with, “You have already conquered far more to be in this field than I will ever face.” Mauldin’s letter soon when viral and has received an outpouring of support as it was shared thousands of times over the internet. Mauldin says he wants to continue this conversation and encourage men to look at the subtle ways they can effect others.
Source: KHQ News, October 2015
WSU and Alaska Airlines partner to inspire STEM education
Alaska Airlines and Washington State University are partnering to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for high school youth. The Alaska Airlines Imagine Tomorrow Competition was created by WSU in 2008 and is now housed in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. The competition challenges 9th-12th grade students to develop enterprising solutions for renewable energy. Student teams from around the Pacific Northwest compete in one of four topics of their choosing (food, energy and water; the built environment; biofuels; and aerospace) and provide research and innovative solutions.
Source: WSU News, August 2015
Associate professor Jennifer Adam among top 100 inspiring women in STEM
Associate professor of Voiland College’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and associate director for the State of Washington Water Research Center, Jennifer Adam received a “100 Inspiring Women in STEM” Award for excellence in mentoring and motivating students from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine. Dr. Adam conducts research in hydrolic modeling, the hydrologic impacts of global change, Earth systems modeling, and land and atmosphere interactions. Dr. Adam has won several departmental and college teaching awards as well.
Source: WSU News, July 2015
Professor traces the history of Hawaiian garments on TV program
Washington State University professor in the Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design, and Textiles, Linda Arthur Bailey’s work in exploring the roots of aloha apparel earned her an appearance on Hawaii’s Olelo 53 public TV. She was featured on Hawaii Fashion Now, where she discusses her work in tracing Hawaiian garments from the missionary era to the multicultural, postwar explosion of aloha attire.
Source: WSU News, April 2015
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