Women in STEAM (science, tech, engineering, arts, math and medicine) are rocking it in the world today, doing amazing but often under-promoted work. We wanted to feature more of these women and their work, to inspire others and encourage more girls and women of all sorts into STEAM fields.
That’s why we’ve launched a new “living” Lifeology card deck (or “course”) featuring illustrated biographies of the women who inspire you and us! Each month, we will feature at least two new women in this card deck, based on women nominated here. But all women nominated will also be featured in a monthly Women in STEAM blog post here at Lifeology.io.
We’ve also partnered with 500 Women Scientists to feature women from their Request a Woman in STEMM platform in a unique Lifeology card series, launching soon!
Want to create your own Lifeology course featuring your work or the work of other scientists? Get in touch – Lifeology@lifeomic.com.
For the month of May, we’ve launched our series with five amazing women in STEAM. Learn more about these women in our new Women in STEAM Lifeology course, and nominate a woman who inspires you today!
Signe Elizabeth Aasberg, a researcher in Norway who studies how your body uses an army of proteins and cells to fight disease!
Jessamyn Fairfield, a physicist (and a science comedian!) who is working on what seems like science fiction – creating electronics that can learn like a brain, and heal themselves!
Bethann Garramon Merkle, who mentors other scientists to help them better communicate their science.
Meenakshi “Meena” Das, who finds inclusive ways to help teach computer science to people with disabilities.
Amanda Obidike, founder of STEMi Makers Africa and a data scientist who mentors and empowers girls!
From the Illustrator, Anna Doherty
Illustrating the Women in STEAM project has been amazing. Every single one of the women we’ve featured so far have been inspiring, interesting and unique. We’ve had women from all over the world – North America, Europe, Africa and Asia – and from so many different areas within STEAM, from data scientists, to physicists, to molecular biologists, to science communication.
I think what makes the project so exciting to me is that all of these women are helping and inspiring people around them in such varied ways. For example Jessamyn is combining science and comedy. Amanda is empowering young women and girls. Meenkshi is researching how to teach coding to Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students.
My favorite part of each nomination form is reading the answer to “What is something that you have learned from this person?”, and hearing the passion and excitement the nominator has for the woman they have put forward.
Illustrating Women in STEAM
For each woman, I start by reading over the nomination form, and noting down all the key parts about them and their jobs; and also the fun, quirky unique parts that will make their illustration interesting and eye-catching (for example Jessamyn’s banjo). Working from photos of each woman that either themselves or the nominator has provided, I begin each illustration by drawing the woman. Then, I do a rough sketch of everything I have noted down, and write text for the key words too complex to be understood in a small drawing (or too complex for me to fathom!).
Each picture is greyscale with one colour, so next I choose that. Sometimes this is just a colour I think will suit the illustration, or sometimes it’s based on what their topic is – Bethann illustrates a lot of nature so I selected green for her. As I illustrate digitally (drawing on a graphics tablet), I can then move around all my little illustrations and words to create the best layout behind each woman’s face. And then I’m done!
I hope that everyone viewing this project is as inspired as I have been by all our nominees; I can’t wait to find out about more women in STEAM!”
