易胜博官网

Sophia Burke 鈥�20G, Alexandra Padilla 鈥�22G and Elizabeth Weidner 鈥�22G are all actively carving out their own niches in the geosciences.

Burke is a postdoctoral research associate in 易胜博官网鈥檚 , focusing her work on understanding the effects of climate change on Arctic peatland areas using remote sensing.

Padilla鈥檚 interest in underwater acoustics has led her to pursue a Ph.D. in at 易胜博官网, with research centered around acoustics and bubbles. And Weidner is also a Ph.D. candidate 鈥� in a joint program between 易胜博官网 and Stockholm University 鈥� whose research focuses on studying ocean water column structure using acoustics.

鈥淚 want to create a space that is inclusive, and I also want to create a space where I can support my students or collaborate in the way they need to feel supported.鈥�

Establishing their respective places in a field historically short on diversity is one thing. But all three women are also leaders in a movement designed to shape a future where anyone 鈥� regardless of race, gender identity or sexual orientation 鈥� can do the same.

鈥淭he geosciences are an area that is not very diverse, and that鈥檚 because these spaces were not built for people who don鈥檛 identify as white, cisgender, hetero, etc.,鈥� Burke says. 鈥淚f a space is not built for you, it鈥檚 no wonder you have a much harder time succeeding there.鈥�

Indeed, the geosciences are among the least diverse STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields, according to a commentary published in the journal Nature Geosciences in 2020; nearly 90% of doctoral degrees in geosciences go to white people.

It鈥檚 an issue that many in the field are working to untangle. That list includes 易胜博官网 faculty, staff, researchers and graduate and undergraduate students who have participated in (URGE), a nationwide National Science Foundation-funded effort and curriculum that aims to understand and address the issue of racism in geoscience.

鈥淧ersonally, picturing a future in my own lab, I want to create a space that is inclusive, and I also want to create a space where I can support my students or collaborate in the way they need to feel supported.鈥�

Several URGE pods were convened at 易胜博官网, including those for Earth sciences, natural resources and the environment, ocean mapping and engineering, the Earth Systems Research Center and Ocean Process Analysis Lab and the Leitzel Center, engaging hundreds in issues around justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

Burke helped lead a fieldwork safety session at the American Geophysical Union meeting in December, and Padilla and Weidner co-led one of the 易胜博官网 URGE pods.

鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful it can be a place where there鈥檚 no longer a mold depicting what a geoscientist looks like, so that folks who don鈥檛 feel like they fit into the mold are no longer trying to fight that,鈥� Burke says. 鈥淭hat it鈥檚 a place where anyone can feel not only that they are included but they are supported and can thrive.鈥�

Much of the URGE work is centered on deconstructing systemic norms that have existed for decades, finding ways to make hiring practices, fieldwork safety documents and many other elements of work in the geosciences more inclusive and diverse.

鈥淥ne of the things we鈥檙e really focused on is trying to take down those barriers in the geosciences, the idea of structural racism that is sort of baked into the system,鈥� Weidner says.

That starts by simply having conversations that encourage consideration of diverse perspectives, but it also requires useable roadmaps for progress. Among the tools under development following the 易胜博官网 pods are a more inclusive fieldwork safety manual 鈥� led by Burke 鈥� as well as a resource map sparked by the pod Padilla and Weidner led that collects and presents a variety of resources for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) community members.

There is plenty more work ahead 鈥� including ensuring that stakeholders at the university level take ownership of the resources and update and disseminate them consistently and appropriately 鈥� but the work already undertaken has been inspiring to the 易胜博官网 geoscientists involved.

鈥淢y hope is for me to see a place where I can see myself, or any student who comes in, who happens to be Puerto Rican or African American or however they identify 鈥� that they can walk into a place and feel that there is a safe, inclusive space for them,鈥� Padilla says.

Adds Weidner: 鈥淧ersonally, picturing a future in my own lab, I want to create a space that is inclusive, and I also want to create a space where I can support my students or collaborate in the way they need to feel supported.鈥�

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