Fortune reporter Jeremy Quittner writes about a new study by MIT researchers that examines why women are less likely to get VC funding than men. The researchers found that “women-owned companies do a certain amount of self-sorting into industries that are probably less risky, and so also lack high-growth potential that VCs find most attractive.”
Prof. Nergis Mavalvala speaks with Scientific American about black holes, gravitational waves, and attracting more women and minorities to STEM fields. She explains that studying the building blocks of the universe is important for understanding the “big questions: What are we made of? Where do we come from?”
A new study co-authored by MIT Prof. Susan Silbey examines why female students leave the field of engineering. When the researchers analyzed "more than 40 engineering students’ twice-monthly diaries, they found that female students often felt marginalized during group activities,” Inside Higher Ed reports.
Washington Post reporter Matt Schudel writes about the impact Prof. Emerita Suzanne Corkin’s work had on our understanding of memory and cognitive disorders. Schudel writes that Corkin, who died on June 4, “made significant contributions to the study of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and helped identify regions of the brain affected by degenerative disorders.”
Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research, speaks with Science’s Jeffrey Mervis about her new role as chair of the National Science Board. “U.S. research and education are really what has kept this country at the forefront,” says Zuber. “I think that even in this environment… research spending ought to still be up.”
STAT reporter Damian Garde spotlights alumna Lita Nelson, who led MIT’s TLO for 23 years. Garde notes that Nelsen, “shattered the glass ceiling for women in tech transfer,” and Katharine Ku, head of Stanford’s Office of Technology Licensing, adds that she has been “a beacon for the tech transfer community.”
Alumna Michelle Lee, director of the USPTO, speaks with Radio Boston’s Anthony Brooks during a trip to Boston to speak at MIT about patents and innovation. Lee noted her commitment to encouraging more females to pursue STEM fields because “you never know who’s going to start that next company that’s going to revolutionize the world.”
Financial Times reporter Sarah Murray speaks with Prof. Fiona Murray, associate dean for innovation, about how to encourage and support female entrepreneurs. “It sounds trivial, but when women enter the classroom it’s very important that they see people like them,” explains Murray.
Alumna Michelle K. Lee, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, writes for USA Today about the need for women to pursue STEM careers. “The lack of gender parity is not just a social issue, it is an economic imperative,” Lee writes. “We need to get more girls into STEM education, and we need to empower more women in STEM professions.”
Prof. Sara Seager speaks with Robin Wilson of The Chronicle of Higher Education for a piece about what it’s like to be a female astronomer. Seager explains that MIT is one of few places where she isn’t treated differently because she’s female. "I don’t think about my gender while I’m here,” she says.
David Rosen writes for Teen Urban News about Girls Day at the MIT Museum, an event that celebrates women in STEM. “Science involves everything,” said graduate student Olivia Hentz, the event’s opening speaker. “You get to learn something no one has ever known. We hope you will be inspired to go back to your schools and study science.”
In an interview with NPR, alumna Noramay Cadena and her daughter, Chassitty Saldana, discuss how Cadena completed her MIT degrees while raising Saldana. Cadena tells Saldana that graduating from MIT “gave me this huge sense of hope for what you would do."
President L. Rafael Reif speaks with Fortune’s Erika Fry about Lubna Olayan, CEO and deputy chairperson of Olayan Financing Co., who was named to Fortune’s list of Most Powerful Women. Reif says that Olayan’s mental nimbleness is “an asset and a gift that few people have."
Prof. Thomas Levenson writes for The Boston Globe about sexism in science. “Sadly and infuriatingly, the habits of mind that once almost entirely barred women from the lab remain, less potent, perhaps, but still at work,” writes Levenson.
Stephanie McFeeters writes for The Boston Globe about the social media campaign #ILookLikeAnEngineer, highlighting the MIT students, faculty and alumni who participated in the trend by posting their photos. The campaign stemmed from the negative response one female engineer received after appearing in an ad campaign for her IT company.