Women in Marine Science (WIMS)

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9907682SmithThe project will develop a Web site that will engage the public and school children in the day to day science of women marine scientists. The primary goal is twofold: to encourage young women to pursue careers in science and to remove the mystery that surrounds being a scientist. Over the course of a year the site will highlight 12 woman scientists in a monthly magazine format. While the Web site would have impact on all the sciences, we will focus on women marine scientists since this is one of the fields within which women remain inadequately represented. In addition it will underscore the diversity of career paths in science and the diversity of the women who choose science as career. The science of the women on the Web site will cover many of the subdisciplines within marine science. The women will have backgrounds in chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, mathematics, geology, or geophysics. The women will be at different career paths directed toward research, teaching, administration, or perhaps a combination of these and at various universities and research institutions across the country. Other of the women will have gone directly into marine science from a bachelor's degree working, for example, as programmers, laboratory technicians, and data analysts. The project will use the unique capabilities of the World Wide Web to profile each of the 12 women marine scientists. The science of each of the women will be presented in a way that shows how their interests fit into understanding the Earth. What are they trying to understand? What do they do to understand it? What have they learned to date? What are their future goals? The site will make several types of information available. The basic principals of the science of each woman will be explained clearly in a mini science lesson. It will also provide views of the scientist's offices and laboratories and the daily activities therein, a recently published paper, and a short scientific talk. By placing all of this information on the Web, users will be able to pick and choose what interests them most and they will be able to follow paths to areas that they want to learn more about. In addition, there will be a forum for the public to ask their own questions. In order to reach students in an effective way, the site will identify one or two schools in the local area of each of the women scientists and make them aware of the Web site and its goals and provide the teachers with a guide to using the Web site. A separate but important part of the Web site will offer an historical perspective on women in marine science. The objective in this section is to tell the stories of pioneering women in marine science and to convey to the public the way in which women's roles in marine science have changed in the last half-century. As the new millennium approaches it is appropriate to step back and assess what women scientists have accomplished, how they are no longer considered 'unique' but instead are an accepted and integral part of the scientific community. Finally, the WIMS Web site will be a first step towards Web-based women in science seminar series. The World Wide Web provides opportunities for students, teachers, and the public to draw on the knowledge of myriad, geographically dispersed educators and experts without the necessity of travel. This type of resource is critically needed to enhance the learning experience for under-represented groups.