Julie Des Jardins, author of “Madame Curie Complex: The Hidden History of Women in Science,” and Museum of Science and Industry Education Coordinator Sophie Shrand, host of the web series “Science With Sophie,” will serve as keynote speakers as Northeastern Illinois University and the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (ChicagoCHEC) co-host the inaugural Women in Science Conference on Sept. 18 and 19 on the University’s Main Campus, 3701 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Chicago.
Conference events include renowned international speakers from various fields of study, seminars, roundtable discussions, laboratory activities and a screening of the 2017 film “Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge.”
In conjunction with Northeastern’s sesquicentennial celebration, the two-day conference will honor the 150th anniversary of the birth of Marie Skłodowska Curie, the physicist and chemist who conducted early research on radioactivity and who was the first woman to win the Nobel prize and the only person to receive two Nobel prizes in two different disciplines.
Des Jardins is a cultural analyst and historian of American women and gender. She has been professor of History at Baruch College, CUNY, and taught in the History and Literature Program at Harvard University. Her talk, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18, will focus on Curie’s American legacy, focusing on her visits to America and their significance in American science and culture.
Shrand is the creator and host of “Science With Sophie,” a science comedy series. “SWS” is a fast-paced show that invites viewers to explore science all around them and remember that they are brave, curious, funny, smart scientists every day. The show is Sophie’s lighthearted solution to the serious problem of inequity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields and underrepresentation of women in mainstream science media. Her talk, scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 19, will focus on how and why she created “Science With Sophie” and is intended to leave the audience inspired, energized, and ready to create change.
The other speakers at the conference will be:
- John Albazi, Chemistry, Northeastern
- Breckie Church, Psychology, Northeastern (with students Hannah Cohn and Theodora Koumoutsakis)
- Aleksandra Jarczewska, International Relations, Warsaw University, Poland
- Nabil Kahouadji, Mathematics, Northeastern
- Ewa Kuligowska, Radiology, Boston University
- Stella Nowicki, Microbiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.
- Katherine Peterson, Music, Northeastern
- Cheri Shakiban, Mathematics, St. Thomas University, Minn.
- Melissa Simon, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Sudha Srinivas, Physics, Northeastern
- Jing Su, Chemistry, Northeastern
- Witold Zatonski, Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology in Warsaw, Poland
The conference is free and open to the public, but attendees may RSVP to reserve a seat. Parking permits are required to park on campus. For more information, contact Michalina Maliszewska at m-maliszewska@neiu.edu.
Top photo: Sophie Shrand conducts an experiment with a soda can on “Science With Sophie 0.1: Observations.”
