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The hidden women of STEM - Alexis Scott

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TED Talk

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Did you know some extraordinary women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math feel invisible in their fields? In this TEDxMountainViewCollege Talk, Alexis Scott explores what it means to be a female hidden figure in STEM and what one can do to change it.

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How much do you know about the women who shaped modern physics?
Theoretical physicist (and TED Fellow) Shohini Ghose has two great passions: physics, and advocating for gender equity in the sciences. “There are still relatively few women in physics — and the higher up the ladder in academia or industry you go, the fewer women you find,” says Ghose. “Yet the laws of physics themselves are gender neutral, and the beauty of the universe is equally accessible to everyone. So why so few women, and how can we change that?”

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Rosalind Franklin: DNA’s unsung hero
The discovery of the structure of DNA was one of the most important scientific achievements in human history. The now-famous double helix is almost synonymous with Watson and Crick, two of the scientists who won the Nobel prize for figuring it out. But there’s another name you may not know: Rosalind Franklin. Cláudio L. Guerra shares the true story of the woman behind the helix.

How one scientist averted a national health crisis
In 1960, Frances Kelsey was one of the Food and Drug Administration’s newest recruits. Before the year was out, she would begin a fight that would save thousands of lives — though no one knew it at the time. Andrea Tone explains how Kelsey was able to prevent a massive national public health tragedy by privileging facts over opinions, and patience over shortcuts.

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