Best of the WWEST

Dr. Ben Britton joins host and producer Vanessa just in time for LGBT STEM Day. The conversation about 2SLGBTQ+ people's participation in STEM is ramping up more and more, and we're talking about what employers and those in academia can do to create a more welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for 2SLGBTQ+ folks. We also cover what kinds of unique circumstances this community experiences, with some harrowing statistics that show how much work needs to be done to be inclusive to 2SLGBTQ+ people working in and studying STEM.

(Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Ben Britton is an Associate Professor in Materials Engineering at UBC, teaches on the Manufacturing Engineering programme and holds a visiting Readership at Imperial College London. Ben leads a research group looking at characterising the performance and manufacturing of materials used in high risk high value applications, as well as materials used to support us achieving a low carbon future. In addition to his technical work, Ben works to agitate for improved equity in STEM, including a focus on LGBTQ+ issues.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/BuhvRT

Relevant Links:

• Cech, E.A. and Waidzunas, T.J., "Systemic inequalities for LGBTQ professionals in STEM"
• Dr. Britton on Wikipedia
• Experimental Micromechanical Characterisation Research Group
• Institute of Physics, "Exploring the workplace for LGBT+ physical scientists" report
• LGBT STEM Day
• "No Sexuality, Please, We're Scientists" (talk, Imperial College London)
• Responses from members of 21 STEM professional societies - a Twitter thread
• Safer Spaces

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Deyanira Mendoza Dominguez, a self-described non-boring engineer, has been to 16 countries, which she visited with her husband on their motorcycles to conduct research! You'll hear all about it in this episode. She also lets us in on what kind of challenges are presented to someone immigrating to Canada who is also a woman in STEM, and how those challenges helped her stand on her own two feet and build an empire around her. 

Deyanira was made in Mexico, but she is purely Canadian. Deyanira Mendoza Dominguez is an experienced Professional Engineer, Certified Project Manager, and Woman of Action. Her motto is “making the impossible possible”. She is a non-boring Engineer and the first published Mexican woman to complete a continuous two-year return motorcycle journey through the Americas, doing research in 16 countries. She is motivated to support underprivileged girls and to be an equity advocate for women and immigrants.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/tzOITn

Relevant Links:

• Deep Space Food Challenge
• Deyanira on LinkedIn - find all of her projects here
• Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference
• The MDMOTO Group
• Stumbler
• Woman of Action

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

In this episode, Major Jessica Ross gives us a glimpse into the Canadian Armed Forces and her life therein - how she joined, how it was to train to get to where she is today, and where she's going. She tells us all about her experience at the Royal Military College of Canada, how the work she did during her master's studies in applied science is bettering the world and Canada, and how Dungeons & Dragons can be applied to team dynamics. Plus, you'll hear just how important hockey is in the military.

Major Jessica Ross was born in Vancouver and graduated from Vancouver Technical Secondary School. She joined the Canadian Army and graduated from the Royal Military College with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 2007. After being posted to Maintenance Company of 2 Service Battalion in Petawawa, Ontario, employed as the Maintenance Officer of the 1^st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, and deployed to Kuwait on Operation IMPACT, Major Ross earned a Masters in Applied Science (Chemical Engineering) with a specialization in Science, Society, and Policy. She deployed to Latvia on Operation REASSURANCE in 2020 as the Officer Commanding Technical Services Company, and will be a student on the Joint Command and Staff Program for the upcoming academic year.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/dIEykT

Relevant Links:

• Dungeons and Dragons
• How to Join the Forces
• Major Ross on LinkedIn
• Maria Sibylla Merian
• Operation REASSURANCE
• Royal Military College of Canada
• Think Again (book by Adam Grant)

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Dr. Britt Drögemöller moved halfway across the world to pursue a new life in Canada as the Canada Research Chair of Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine - during a pandemic. If that doesn't say "strong, independent woman in STEM," we don't know what does! In this interview with Best of the WWEST producer and host Vanessa, you'll hear about that journey, as well as many other things, including (but not limited to) learning to pivot when opening a lab during a pandemic and really cool research that can avoid horrific medication side effects. 

Dr. Britt Drögemöller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba and holds a Canada Research Chair in Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine. Dr. Drögemöller’s research uses genomic and computational analyses to guide the development of novel treatment strategies that offer maximum benefit and minimal harm.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/uAsETZ

Relevant Links:

• Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety
• Drögemöller Lab
• H3Africa
• Publications by Dr. Drögemöller
• Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• University of British Columbia
• University of Manitoba

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

This week, the conversation is a candid one about breaking out of the mould shaped by a professional program into an interdisciplinary community. Aadita Chaudhury, doctoral student, tells her story of her journey to realizing that technology can be a tool for liberation, and how she's using the tools and skills she learned in industry to break down prescriptive ways of knowing and critically examine STEM-exceptionalist narratives. Plus, she gives practical advice on how new STEM professionals can begin to change the world for the better.

Aadita Chaudhury is a doctoral student in the Science and Technology Studies at York University. Her doctoral dissertation project explores the multifaceted cultural, material and environmental meaning-making, building on her ethnographic research on fire ecology and wildfire management in California. Her research further investigates the practices surrounding both ecosystem and built environment fires around the world to situate how themes of coloniality, valuation and race emerge in the context of fire management.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/LFJUzu

Relevant Links:

• Aadita's website
• Aadita on LinkedIn
• Aadita's publications
• Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
• Sonic Street Technologies: Culture, Diaspora and Knowledge

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

In this episode, Captain(N) Seana Routledge is telling us all about her work in the Canadian Armed Forces! How does diversity and inclusion play a role in the organization? What was it like going to the Royal Canadian Military College to study engineering, compared to other post-secondary education? And just what does the Forces do to support the citizens of Canada? You’ll learn all about that and more!

Captain (Navy) Seana Routledge enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in Fredericton, NB in 1996 in the Regular Officer Training Program. She graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston with a baccalaureate in Computer Engineering in 2000. She is currently Deputy Project Manager – Transition in the Canadian Surface Combatant Project Management Office.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/wcuaAj

Relevant Links:

• HMCS St. John's
• How to join the Forces
• "Navy commander found enriching career in military," The Star, 2016
• "Naval Technical Officer sees bright future for women in STEM roles," 2020
• NCSM Ville de Québec
• Royal Military College of Canada

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Have you ever held an exploded star in your hand? How about a 3D printed one? Doing precisely that launched Dr. Kimberly Arcand down her windy “Candyland” path to where she is today as a data visualizer and science communicator at NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory. In this episode, you’ll also hear about her passion for creating materials that are accessible for all, how important coding is for students and professionals in STEM, and how failing a class can teach you a ton about yourself.

Dr. Kimberly Arcand is a leading expert in astronomy visualization and has been a pioneer in 3D imaging, printing, and extended reality applications with astrophysics data. Kim began her career in molecular biology and public health before moving to NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1998. Her current projects include sonification of spatial data, screen-based holograms and other intersections of emerging technology and astrophysics. She has co-written seven non-fiction science books including her first two science-related children’s books that came out last year.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/eKlXft

Relevant Links:

• Brown University
• Cassiopeia A
• Chandra's Sonification Projects
• Chandra Visual Description Podcasts
• Chandra X-Ray Observatory
• Harvard University
• Kim's website
• University of Otago
• University of Rhode Island
  

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Maggie MacPhee is passionate about math - not just learning and teaching it, but also examining it through a social justice lens and changing the narrative around its history. She joins Best of the WWEST producer Vanessa to get nerdy about math and board games, but also to talk about how she as a busy math teacher early in her career deals with stress, what books she’s reading, and what her favourite part of teaching math is, punctuated with lots of laughter.

Maggie MacPhee is a grade 7-12 mathematics teacher in Nova Scotia. Maggie studied Mathematics at Mount Allison University before completing her Education degree at St Francis Xavier. Maggie’s favourite math topics are graph theory, board games, and social justice through mathematics. 

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/OcXpdQ

Relevant Links:

• Building Thinking Classrooms
• The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics (book)
• High School Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand, and Respond to Social Injustice (book)
• Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe (book)
• Maggie on Twitter
• Minister's Island
• Mount Allison University
• Mount Saint Vincent University
• Saint Francis Xavier University
• Settlers of Catan (board game)
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Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Cassy Weber and MindFuel, the organization she runs as CEO, are very busy - from studying when girls are losing interest in STEM in their schooling journey, to figuring out how to deliver quality programming to communities with limited technology, to consulting on curriculum development initiatives and more. Cassy tells us all about these projects in this episode, and lets us in on some of her personal and professional life as a busy CEO of a nonprofit organization that is truly making a positive impact.

Cassy Weber is the CEO of MindFuel. Cassy lives and breathes innovation, progress and inclusion. After a successful tenure in the for-profit industry, working with an array of companies over a 20-year period from Fortune 500s to start ups in order to develop strategic and operational plans, Cassy transitioned to the nonprofit industry to lead MindFuel's sustainability initiative in 2012.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/dSnCKM

Relevant Links:

• Codingville
• Jim Gray
• MindFuel
• MindFuel on Facebook
• MindFuel on LinkedIn
• MindFuel on Twitter
• PhysicsFuel
• University of British Columbia
• University of Waterloo

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey

In this time of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, the discussion of Indigenous participation in STEM is extremely important. Desiree Marshall-Peer, a Cree-Ojibway educator at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, joins Best of the WWEST producer Vanessa to explore decolonizing STEM and education. We cover how Indigenous ways of knowing are being incorporated in and changing mainstream school, what the barriers to Indigenous students going into STEM fields are, and what can be done to bring them more into the STEM fields. Plus, we discuss how oral traditions are valid and important within STEM and even are being incorporated into recent STEM research.

For full shownotes, transcription, and land acknowledgement visit http://i.sfu.ca/CDJmQu

Relevant Links:

• A History of the First Nations College Movement in Canada, 1969-2000
• Best of the WWEST Episode 79: Indigenizing STEM Education
• Desiree at University of British Columbia Okanagan
• First Nations Education Steering Committee
• Indigenizing Education
• Truth and Reconciliation

Hosted by: Vanessa Hennessey
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Vanessa Hennessey