Dr. Gladys West is a mathematician who helped develop the Global Positioning System (GPS). She grew up in Virginia in the 1930s, and as a young black girl, she had limited options for her future. However, West excelled in school and received a four-year scholarship to Virginia State College where she studied mathematics. After West earned her master’s degree at the same school, she worked as a teacher in segregated Virginia schools. In 1956, West started working at a U.S. weapons laboratory where she helped program the Naval Ordinance Research Calculator (NORC). In 1978, she was promoted to project manager of Seasat, a satellite that collects data on Earth’s oceans. Later, West worked on GEOSAT, a satellite that measures sea surface heights. The data collected by GEOSAT was used to create computer models of Earth’s surface, which her team analyzed to accurately model the shape of Earth’s oceans under the influence of gravity. This model, called the geoid, was one of the foundations of the GPS system. She was not formally credited for her work at the time, but in 2018, the Virginia General Assembly honored her contributions to the GPS system at a ceremony.

For Chelsea Kirkland, leadership is not about driving results, but about using your voice to make spaces more inclusive and supportive. As an AWIS member she is committed to expanding opportunities for others in STEM.

Dr. Mary Brunkow’s pioneering research on the discovery of the FOXP3 gene and its role in regulatory T cells has revolutionized the field of immunology and earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Her scientific legacy is based on a discovery that altered the way researchers think about immune tolerance. Dr. Brunkow graduated from the University of Washington and then earned a PhD in genetics at Princeton University. Her research focused heavily on the regulatory T cells and the FOXP3 gene, which work together to maintain balance in the immune system. T cells are a major type of white blood cells that identify and eliminate harmful pathogens. However, if T cells are not regulated properly, they can mistake the body’s own tissue for foreign tissue and attack it. Regulatory T cells, or Tregs, are the immune system’s control mechanism, preventing incorrect immune responses. The FOXP3 gene enables the regulatory T cells to develop and function properly. Tregs cannot be made without FOXP3. A lack of Tregs results in severe autoimmune diseases where the immune system attacks the body. FOXP3 was identified as the defining gene of Tregs, providing the first real molecular explanation of immune tolerance.

Her entry into STEM was sparked by a life long interest in the relationship between the brain, behavior and our place in the universe. That curiosity became a lot more tangible during her research experience, where she was able to see how neuroscience, engineering, and data science can come together to answer questions with immediate implications for human health and performance. She likes working with eye-tracking and oculomotor data because even something as simple as an eye movement can provide insight into complex neurological processes. These experiences have prompted me to seek a career where she can keep asking interdisciplinary questions and converting research into tools that can ultimately help people.

Tomoko Ohta is the groundbreaking population geneticist who in the 1970s worked out the mathematics for how "nearly neutral" genetic traits propagate through a population over time. We are all mutants, our genes loaded with the steadily acquired variations of three billion years that gradually changed a collection of over-achieving thermophiles into the dazzling collection of bugs, orangutans, orchids, and project managers that make up our world. But how did we get that way? How fast and loose does evolution play with our genetic material in the mad press to create new forms of life? Is selection what drives our genetic diversity, or is that simply the raw weight of blind statistics acting upon our chemical foundations? These were some of the questions that the first generation of population geneticists sought to answer hot on the heels of the discovery of DNA's structure in 1953. Now that the composition and replicating mechanisms of our genetic material was settled, it was time to ask the deep questions about how that structure varied itself to produce the engine of evolution, and in the race to formulate and answer those questions two warring houses emerged, the Selectionists and the Neutralists. Their intellectual clash echoes still, a half century later, but one of its most powerful voices, had she been born but twenty years earlier, likely never would have had a chance at an education at all.

Turning quantum computing into real-world impact takes more than theory. At Dell Technologies, Smriti Bajaj researches how classical computing, machine learning, and high-performance computing can work with quantum technology. Her work includes developing optimization problems for quantum hardware, publishing research, and she’s filed more than 20 patents. Meet Smriti and learn how she found her way into quantum computing and how her research is helping move quantum technology toward real-world use.

How are women building the world we want to see? What would it mean to live in a world more equally authored by women? These are the questions that Emily Pilloton-Lam has spent a lifetime asking herself and the world around her as she recruits the next generation to the trades. Drawing from her experience as the founder and executive director of Girls Garage, a nonprofit design and construction school for girls and gender expansive youth, she will share stories from all-female youth job sites, challenge our thinking around gender equity in the built environment, and invite participants to embrace actionable steps towards a more just and equitable construction industry. Emily will highlight the importance of our minds, our creativity, and our kindness in all of our respective fields, demonstrating the power of humanity when building a better world.

Reapplying after being rejected for a PhD can be daunting. AWIS member Swati Rajwal shares the lessons she learned on her journey.

Science shapes the future long before most people see it - through discoveries that heal, technologies that connect, and ideas that challenge what’s possible. It begins with curiosity, grows through persistence, and becomes powerful when people are bold enough to push boundaries and imagine something greater. This summer, AWIS is spotlighting the women behind that momentum. Follow along each week and meet the scientists helping shape what’s next!

Are you an interdisciplinary PhD with 20+ years of experience interested in being a senior leader of a medical school? Visit the AWIS Career Center, upload your resume, and see if you are a match for this prestigious role or others recently added.