STEMinism

Hi everyone! A little late for national Indigenous day in the USA, but today we are talking about Dr. Gladys Iola Tantaquidgeon, who was a Mohegan medicine woman, anthropologist, author, tribal council member, and elder. She was devoted to help minoritized women as well, so we think she was one of the first Steministas! Shoutout to the Smithsonian Instagram, who inspired this podcast episode. Also check out the Google website today, which is in honor of an Indigenous person, We:wa, a Zuni Native American who didn't identify with traditional gender definitions. So many more amazing people to research!

References

https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/explore/heritage/memoriam/medicine-woman-gladys-tantaquidgeon-memorial

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys_Tantaquidgeon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidelia_Fielding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Dance

https://connecticuthistory.org/gladys-tantaquidgeon-preserves-the-states-native-past/

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/us/gladys-tantaquidgeon-106-mohegans-medicine-woman.html

https://womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/object/gladys-tantaquidgeon

https://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/gladys-tantaquidgeon/

Little is known about Trota of Salerno - and some of what is may be false! What is true: she was a medical practitioner in the 11th and 12th centuries and wrote Practica Secundum Trotam (Book of Practical Medicine). What is false: she did not write the Trotula! Listen in to this episode to learn more facts and misinformation about Trota.

References

Benton, John F. “Trotula, Women’s Problems, and the Professionalization of Medicine in the Middle Ages.” Humanities Working Paper 98 (November 1984).

Green, Monica. “Women’s Medical Practice and Health Care in Medieval Europe.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 14, no. 2 (Winter 1989): 434-473.

Green, Monica H. “The Development of the Trotula.” Revue d'histoire des textes 26 (1996): 119-203.

Green, Monica H. “Who/What is ‘Trotula’?” Academia.edu. 2015.

Hi everyone, it's been a while again. Oh boy we've been busy. I bet you were too! We're back though with a new episode, this time a German/Swiss naturalist, entomologist (one of the first) and botanical illustrator. Because of her we now know that insects don't just spontaneously emerge from poop. She also...you won't believe it, is responsible for coining the name (we think) Vogelspinne, which means tarantula in German! She was a world traveler and appeared to be good hearted, always acknowledging the people she talked to and who helped her out with her discoveries, no matter their rank.

References

https://www.botanicalartandartists.com/about-maria-sibylla-merian.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/science/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-insectorum-surinamensium.html

https://nmwa.org/art/artists/maria-sibylla-merian/

https://nmwa.org/art/collection/plate-47-dissertation-insect-generations-and-metamorphosis-surinam/

https://nybooks.com/articles/2014/03/06/darwin-einstein-case-for-blunders/

https://www.sierracollege.edu/ejournals/jscnhm/v6n1/merian.html

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-art-and-science.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/01/the-woman-who-made-science-beautiful/424620/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sibylla_Merian

Hi everybody, we're back with a new episode on one of my favorite woman we've covered so far, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkins. Dorothy discovered the 3D structure of penicillin and many essential biomolecules. Penicillin is an antibiotic that was discovered in fungi, which saved many lives, especially during the war. Dorothy's whole family is fascinating, we hope you enjoy her story as much as we did. Also check out the Netflix mushroom documentary Fantastic Fungi!!!

References
https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/leading-figures/dorothy-hodgkin-the-woman-who-saw-penicillin/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-lactam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Hodgkin

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1964/hodgkin/biographical/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dorothy-Hodgkin

https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/dorothy-hodgkin-fellowship/

Henriette Avrum was a computer programmer who revolutionized libraries with her creation of Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) for the Library of Congress. Listen to Ellen gush to Susi about how important MARC is to librarians on this episode of STEMinism!

Hi friends! You probably missed us last week :) Ellen and I decided we will take one week out each month to take a well deserved break. It may not seem as much, but each episode takes a bunch of work for research, recording and cutting :) But we're so glad to be back. This week with Rosalind Franklin, the mother of DNA. Rosalind and her PhD student took the first picture of DNA, which was then swooped up by 3 men, who went and received a Nobel Prize for their discovery of the structure of DNA. We believe Rosalind would have deserved to share that prize as well. Unfortunately her life was cut short by cancer, similar to many women we've been covering here. We hope you enjoy listening!

References

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02144-4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/23/sexism-in-science-did-watson-and-crick-really-steal-rosalind-franklins-data

https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/rosalind-franklin-a-crucial-contribution-6538012/

https://theconversation.com/sexism-pushed-rosalind-franklin-toward-the-scientific-sidelines-during-her-short-life-but-her-work-still-shines-on-her-100th-birthday-139249

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bofran.html

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/rosalind-franklin-legacy/#sayr

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2018/04/16/rosalind-franklin-died-60-years-ago-today-without-the-nobel-prize-she-deserved/?sh=5da449dc79e7

https://www.nature.com/articles/496270a

Let's talk about sex...chromosomes! Nettie Stevens is known for discovery the Y sex chromosome and the part it plays in genetics, but often is unrecognized for her contributions. Listen to learn more!

References

• Bainbridge, David. The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003.
• Brush, Stephen G. "Nettie M. Stevens and the Discovery of Sex Determination by Chromosomes." Isis 69, no. 2 (June 1978): 163-172.
• Cross, Patricia C. and John P. Steward. "Nettie Maria Stevens." Sandstone & Tile 17, no. 1 (Winter 1993): 3-12.
• Famous Scientists. "Nettie Stevens."
• Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey and Clifford J. Choquette. "Nettie Maria Stevens (1861-1912): Her Life and Contributions to Cytogenetics." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 125, no. 4 (August 21, 1981): 292-311.

Today we are discussing Hypatia of Alexandria, a female philosopher from 370 AD who was a teacher of astronomy, mathematics and philosophy, and who influenced many important people of her time. However, because of her public speeches, her believes and probably because of her intellect, she experienced a violent and totally unnecessary death. She reminds us that sexism is very very very old, coming from a long line of men, like Aristotle, perpetuating the thought that women are of less worth than men. What they didn't realize though was that women persevere and we're slowly but surely worming our ways back into all corners of society, academia and the economy. We hope you enjoy this episode! Happy listening!

Eloise Gerry was the first woman professional staff hired at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, WI. She was a research scientist from 1910 to 1955, and one of the few women allowed to work in the field. Also, her and Susi have similar dissertations!


References
"How a Northern College Girl became Interested in the Naval Stores Industry." Naval Stores Review 31, no. 27 (October 1, 1921): 10, 15, 34.

Graduate Women in Science. "Dr. Eloise Gerry Endowment."

J.M.C. "'Bars of Sanio' in Coniferales." Botanical Gazette 50, no. 1 (July 1910): 78-79.

Lewis, James. "'New Faces, Same Old Values': Revisiting a History of Attitudes Towards Women in the Forest Service." March 9, 2018.

McBeath, Lida W. "Eloise Gerry, a Woman of Forest Science." Journal of Forest History 22, no. 3 (July 1978): 128-135.

Strenge, F.A. "We Present." Journal of Forestry 48, no. 11 (November 1947): 827-828.

Sullivan, Buddy. "Naval Stores Industry." Last edited November 2, 2020.

U.S. Forest Service. "Forest Products."

Hi friends, today we are talking about Ellen Richards, the mother of modern hygiene, if you will. Yes, apparently until 1890, Americans and the world were living in filth, until Ellen and her power women at MIT came along, analyzing food and water for environmental and intentional contaminants. She made some amazing contributions to human society, however she was not perfect. Her world view was tainted by the racism of her time. We think it is still important to talk about her, while pointing out her imperfections. We hope you'll enjoy!

References 

https://nautil.us/issue/46/balance/the-woman-who-gave-us-the-science-of-normal-life

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/women-scientists/ellen-h-swallow-richards.html

https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/ellen-h-swallow-richards

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/first-female-student-mit-started-women-chemistry-lab-food-safety-180971056/