UA Little Rock Celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science
In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Feb. 11, UA Little Rock is highlighting some of the women in science at UA Little Rock, their amazing research, and their journeys to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
Dr. Raffaela Lesch, Assistant Professor of Biology
Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in the east of Austria close to the Slovakian border in a town called “Hainburg an der Donau.” Hainburg is a small town, but to little me it felt as big as an entire planet! When I attended the local elementary school, every kid had a “friendship” booklet. We would hand these booklets to every kid in class and have them fill in a page of questions. One question always stood out to me: What are your hobbies?
Other kids would answer swimming, riding bikes, or playing instruments. I would always get frustrated thinking that the only things I was consistently interested in were my guinea pigs, fish, or animals in general. And “animals” didn’t seem to qualify as an answer. Animals though turned out to be the recurrent theme connecting all my major life decisions.
After school I went to university and studied biology with a focus on zoology. That was also the time I fulfilled my lifelong dream of owning a dog. I went to the local shelter and picked out Balu. What a journey that was! He had problems with everything and everyone. I set out to “fix” these problems and heavily focused on animal behavior, communication, and training.
This focus on animal behavior and communication led me to do my Ph.D. in bioacoustics, the study of acoustic communication in animals. Within this field, I focused on domesticated animals. This research focus accompanies me to this day.
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
I’m an assistant professor in the Department of Biology. I just arrived, and I’m currently setting up my lab and creating a lot of new teaching material. I will continue my research and will do my best to create lots of opportunities for students to join me in my research ventures. I’m also going to teach an animal behavior course and an animal training lab this summer. Both are classes that are very dear to my heart, and I’m looking forward to teaching them.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
I think among many things it was both my dad and my grandma. One memory stands out: When I was a little kid, a circus would visit once a year. I remember standing in front of a chained-up elephant with my dad. It kept shifting its weight from one side to the other. I looked at my dad, asking if the elephant was dancing. He looked back and told me that no, the elephant was definitely not dancing. It was showing a behavior called weaving because it was unhappy. For little me, it was an eye-opening moment. How could I have misinterpreted the animal so badly? This is the first memory I have of feeling determined to learn all I could about animal behavior to help both animals and humans.
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
STEM thrives on different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds. A core aspect of scientific work is asking questions and trying to find and test potential explanations to observations we make. Diversity is what helps us expand the view from which we approach topics and fosters creativity in finding answers. We, as a society and scientific community, all benefit from diversity and we all have to help foster it.
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
You don’t have to behave/look/speak a certain way in order to pursue a career in STEM. If you feel societal pressure to stop exploring and asking questions, try to shrug it off. Stay curious!
Dr. Mariofanna Milanova, Professor of Computer Science
Tell us about yourself.
I have been a professor in the Department of Computer Science at UA Little Rock since 2001. I earned my Master of Science in Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence and Ph.D. in Engineering and Computer Science from the Technical University, Sofia, Bulgaria. I conducted post-doctoral research in visual perception at the University of Paderborn, Germany.
I have a strong academic and career background in computer science, mathematics, and machine learning, having worked in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry for 20 years prior to joining academia. Because of my industry experience, I enjoy contributing to international scientific and research societies such as IEEE, IAPR, and ACM. I am also very active in the Fulbright Scholar Program and enjoy working as an industry-academia liaison.
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
By following in the footsteps of the great women in science throughout history that have become my role models, I am determined to make a difference in my field and inspire other women to pursue careers in STEM. In my role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock, I believe that by working together, we can help create a more diverse and inclusive scientific community that will drive innovation and progress for generations to come.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
Throughout history, there have been female figures in STEM who have inspired me such as Mary Jackson and Marie Curie. There is a recent movie that came out about Mary Jackson, an African American mathematician and aerospace engineer, who became NASA’s first black female engineer and earned the most senior engineering title available. Marie Curie was a famous physicist and chemist who, despite her struggle for recognition in the male-dominated science community in France, became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
Diversity in STEM fields is crucial for several reasons, particularly for promoting opportunities for all, including women, in a field that has been historically male dominated. I believe diversity also brings together a range of perspectives, experiences, and skills. Different perspectives can lead to more creative and innovative solutions for better decision making.
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
My advice to young females wanting to pursue a career in STEM is to not be afraid to be different and to thrive despite the challenges. Society needs to learn and realize that it is okay to be different and to accept that both men and women can excel in the STEM fields.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
My fascination with math, physics, and science from a young age and my early successes in math championships and science fairs have all inspired me to pursue a STEM career. I am passionate about science and technology, and I believe that my work will contribute to the advancement of our understanding of the world and improve the quality of life for people everywhere.
Obianuju Okeke, Graduate Student in Business Information Systems and Analytics and COSMOS Researcher
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Obianuju Ivory Okeke, and I am currently studying for my master’s degree in Business Information Systems and Analytics. I am an international student from Nigeria and the first child of three children. We’re all girls and we often call ourselves “The Powerpuff Girls.” I guess that makes me “Blossom.”
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
Besides my degree, I am a graduate research assistant with the Collaboratorium of Social Media and Behavioral Studies (COSMOS). With my team at COSMOS, I have worked on a lot of exciting research projects, but the most interesting so far involves the study of the biases present in the YouTube algorithm. In this project, we developed a framework to study how YouTube’s recommendation algorithm responds to different narratives.
This is a milestone project for us because recommendation algorithms are notorious for being closed off and mysterious. Through this research, we hope to understand YouTube’s recommendation algorithms better by tracking how it evolves through the videos it recommends. This project is very dear to me as we will get to share our findings at the HUSO conference in Spain this year. Other notable projects I have worked on include community detection research and managing the backend of a video tracker application developed by COSMOS.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
I have always been interested in science and technology. I studied biochemistry as my first degree, but I wanted a more hands-on experience in the STEM field. I chose a career path in analytics because it allowed me to solve complex problems using data, programming languages and creativity. I was also amazed by the many opportunities available in the technology arm of STEM. With the world embracing technology across different industries, the prospects for a career in STEM promises to only get better.
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
STEM is a field with many questions yet unanswered, these questions are often tackled by exploring new ideas and perspectives. When people from different backgrounds, genders and experiences interact in an industry, there is a greater opportunity for growth. This has been my experience as a research assistant at COSMOS, an organization of people from various walks of life. We thrive because we are able to provide unique solutions from our diverse personal experiences. Encouraging diversity in a dynamic field such as STEM will help steer the industry in the path of growth.
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
My goal of becoming a software engineer would never have happened if I hadn’t taken a bold first step. My advice to you is to surround yourself with people who encourage and challenge you to become better, you must also take a bold step daily towards your dream. You will surprise yourself at what you’re able to achieve.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Avoid voices that claim your gender is an obstacle to your goals. You are a girl with a dream, looking to become a woman with a plan, and your end goal is to be a giant in your industry. The genders of giants are never considered.
Vanessa Okeke, Graduate Student in Business Information Systems and Analytics and COSMOS Researcher
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Okeke Nneka Vanessa, from Nigeria, and I’m currently pursuing my master’s degree in Business Information Systems and Analytics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and working as a research assistant at COSMOS (Collaboratorium for Social Media and Online Behavioral Studies) research lab.
Some of my hobbies include reading, learning new things, and meeting new people. Something new I taught myself recently was knitting. I love the idea of being able to create something out of raw materials. It’s one of the reasons I was drawn to building my career in STEM.
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
I would say I have had the most amazing opportunity to work at the COSMOS lab as a research assistant, mostly because there is no dearth of research projects with new and exciting ways to answer questions. My primary role is as a frontend engineer on the BlogTrackers project, a tool we at COSMOS have designed over time to compute complex analytics using blog data. Some of these computations include topic modeling, keyword analytics, clustering, and so much more. Working with the BlogTrackers project has exposed me to interesting technologies and has also given me a number of tools I can use to answer even more complex questions in the future, using analytical thinking and research.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
When I was younger, I read a book, “The Blue Nowhere” by Jeffery Deaver, and it inspired me to want to be able to make computers act. Being more of an adult now, I have been able to put more content to that dream. I want to be able to build systems that can make an impact. That was and is my inspiration. In retrospect, that small moment in time has defined my education and career goals for the last 10 years.
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
Looking back at historic pictures of great strides in technological advancement, one thing that always stood out to me is that I don’t see many women like me being celebrated for building things like these. While we have seen more efforts, in terms of diversity in recent years, there is still a need for there to be more women who can inspire even more generations of women to build amazing things and have an impact in STEM. I think it is important to encourage diversity in STEM because it shapes the world, and women deserve an opportunity to build and be celebrated in this field
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
Nothing worth having is without challenges. There will be some challenges along the way, and you will feel like you want to quit sometimes, but always remember you deserve to be here. There is a whole community of women cheering you on until you reach your goal, so don’t stop until you get it!
Dawn Johnson, Senior Research Assistant in Biology and Chemistry and Adjunct Lecturer in Geology and Physical Sciences
Tell us about yourself.
I attended Hendrix College in the mid-nineties, studying theater arts. After many years in the service industry, I needed to go back to school. I am an alumna of UA Little Rock where I earned my BS in Geology, Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Technology, and a Master of Integrated Science and Mathematics, focusing on Biogeology. I have over a decade of teaching experience at UA Little Rock, Hendrix College, and Parkview High School.
I am the mother of a 19-year-old daughter, Amelia, and I am married to another UA Little Rock alumna, Jena Smith, who I met while we were both working toward our geology degrees. Jena and I live in Little Rock with my mom and our dogs: Foster, Mica, and Lola and Darwin the cat. I enjoy hiking in Arkansas’s geologically inspiring state and national parks, tutoring high school students in math, and zombies.
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
One of my roles at UA Little Rock is the Senior Research Assistant for Biology and Chemistry. I am responsible for the freshman and sophomore teaching labs in these two departments. I set up labs, order materials, prepare solutions and media, work closely with Environmental Health and Safety, assist faculty as needed, and support our graduate students in their teaching positions.
I also work as adjunct faculty in the Geology program, teaching Earth and the Environment and Physical Geology classes both on campus and online. I am currently working with Dr. Michael Moore and Dr. Stefanie Leacock on an application called Evolving the Culture of Biology to help our graduate students improve their teaching professional development.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
Initially I was inspired to study STEM in order to protect our environment, study the effects of urbanization and anthropogenic forces on the natural world, and reinforce hazard readiness and mitigation. While working on my master’s degree, I discovered my interest and talent in teaching. Whether I am the Senior Research Assistant or teaching, the organization, structure, problem solving with creative solutions, and multidisciplinary nature of science is incredibly appealing to me.
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
Diversity in STEM is important to me because I feel that it honors the uncredited members of minority groups like women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+. Our presence in these fields helps bring to light the wrongs done to women like the Black American chemist, Alice Ball, who discovered a more effective treatment for leprosy whose work was continued and initially uncredited by her white male colleague.
Minorities in STEM also honors the work of mathematician and computer scientist, Alan Turing, who was a code breaker during WWII. Despite his service to the war effort, he was convicted of gross indecency for being gay. In today’s more forward-thinking world, diversity brings different viewpoints and experiences in STEM fields. We must also remember that representation matters for future scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
I would advise girls and women to study multiple disciplines in STEM. Due to the interrelated nature of the sciences, it will give them confidence as they move forward in research and careers. I would urge them to admit when they do not know the answer and spend time finding others who can help you find it. Most importantly, girls must be free to be assertive, intelligent, and collaborative.
Dr. Katie King, Professor of Anthropology
Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in Charleston, West Virginia. I got my B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Kentucky and my M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee, where I studied forensic anthropology, skeletal biology, and bioarchaeology. I have been at UA Little Rock since 2009. I live with my husband Jeffrey and our son Julian (age 8), daughter Alexandra (age 6), and our beagle mix Max.
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
I teach a class in the science core (Physical Anthropology) and other classes in Biological Anthropology, such as Forensic Anthropology and the Anthropology of Death. One of my current research topics involves developing a new, inclusive method for estimating the height of someone from an isolated arm or leg bone without knowing their sex or ancestral background, which the older methods relied on knowing. Another project I’m involved with is working to better identify students who are struggling in introductory STEM courses early in the semester and how to better support them. Outside of the university, I consult on cases involving skeletal remains for the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
Since I was young, I have always been interested in how things work and have been drawn to science and math. I had originally planned to be a medical doctor, but after taking an anthropology course in college, I realized that I was more interested in learning how people worked than I was in pursuing medicine.
One of my favorite things about my work is the ever-changing knowledge base of STEM fields is both challenging to master and immensely rewarding to pursue. When you do research, if you’re lucky, sometimes you discover something new that no one else has ever found before. For a short moment of time – until you decide to share your results – you are the only person on the planet who knows that one new thing. There is something amazing and inspiring about that.
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
If you want to learn something new or design something well, having scientists and researchers who bring with them a diverse set of perspectives is crucial. Much of the world is designed with the typical male form being the “default”. For example, seat belts in cars were designed with the typical male form in mind; they often don’t fit women as well, especially during pregnancy. Addressing problems and asking questions from a different point of view can lead to more inclusive results.
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
If you have the talent and the interest, go for it. It’s your life and your career, so don’t let anyone tell you what you can or should do.
Dr. Ann Childers, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Graduate Coordinator
Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in Little Rock and graduated from Central High School in 2005. I then graduated from UA Little Rock with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 2009 and a Master of Science in Mathematics in 2011. From there I knew I wanted to be a college professor, so I headed to Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, where I finished my Ph.D. in Mathematics in 2014.
Upon graduation, I came back to UA Little Rock and joined the Math Department in 2014 where currently I am tenured as an Associate Professor. I am married with five kids ranging in ages from 1 to 17 years old. My hobbies involve everything to do with them, especially sports. I love being a math professor and look forward to many more years serving the students of UA Little Rock.
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
Currently, I am an associate professor of mathematics. I am also the department’s graduate coordinator. I am involved in research that analyzes data for underprepared and underrepresented students in mathematics with the hopes that by making suggested changes based on the data, we can increase student success for this population of students.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
My love for mathematics. I LOVE numbers, and I LOVE solving problems!
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
We need more women in STEM. Far too many women drop from STEM fields following Calculus I. The more diversity we can have in the classroom, the better learning environment and engagement.
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
Even when you do not see anyone that looks like you, do not give up! Keep going full force into the world to make change for the better!
Mujeebat Bashiru, Graduate Student in Chemistry
Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in my home country, Nigeria, and moved to the U.S. to pursue my doctorate degree in applied science: chemistry. Having obtained my bachelor’s degree from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. I felt motivated to study more in a foreign environment, in a more diversified community, with people from different racial and cultural backgrounds.
Transitioning was not an easy task for me, especially during the first year! I am ever grateful for the support I receive from immediate family and friends. Aside from work, I really enjoy spending time with my family! And I also love to explore new places. Even though I have not been able to fulfill my trip-related bucket list for a while now, I am hopeful that I will be able to do so soon (by God’s Grace).
What is your role as a woman in science at UA Little Rock?
As a woman in the STEM field, I currently work on lots of interesting projects, mostly centered on health, energy, and the environment, with the aim of providing solutions to current challenges in the above-listed areas. I also participate in voluntary activities (mentoring and judging undergraduate and high school students), collaborate with others in a related field, publish in journals, and attend conferences to inform people about our research work, among many others.
What inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
My desire to solve problems and make a difference is my driving force behind pursuing a STEM career.
Why do you think diversity is important, especially in STEM fields?
Since no one is an island of knowledge, diversity is important in STEM fields because it promotes innovation, fosters inclusiveness, improves decision-making, represents all members of the society, and addresses systemic barriers.
What advice would you give to young girls who want to pursue a career in STEM?
I would like to encourage young girls interested in pursuing a career in STEM to follow their interest, stay motivated, and not be discouraged.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Yes, I would like to say that sometimes the road might be muddy and rough! Please do not be discouraged, because there is light at the end of the tunnel.
