As part of my BSB 485 Special Topics course on biomechanics this semester, I arranged for the class to Skype with scientists from the US and the UK doing research relevant to the class. I very intentionally reached out to a set of female scientists to invite to speak with us. I felt that it was important for a couple reasons. I wanted to give the students the opportunity to see that not all scientists are old, white men and I wanted to highlight some of the really cool research that is happening right now by female researchers. So far this experiment as been a really great success! And I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to chat with us so far and everyone who will in the next few weeks!
So far we’ve Skyped with:
- Grad student Nikki Cavalieri from Michigan State University about her research on the scaling of carnivore’s skulls during growth
- Postdoc Dr. Kris Crandall from Bangor University and her research on bird flight
- Associate Professor Dr. Sheila Patek at Duke University and her research on mantis shrimp and some of the challenges of being a scientist
- Postdoc Dr. Kathleen Foster at University of Ottawa and her research on fish terrestrial locomotion
and have upcoming scheduled Skype meetings with
- Postdoc Dr. Katie Shine at Hartpury University regarding her research with bear locomotion
- Postdoc Dr. Kristin Winchell at Washington University and her research on urban adaptations in lizards
During our chat with Dr. Patek, some of the students asked about any names given to the shrimp kept in the lab and earned themselves some honorary namesakes!
