Beauty and Brains–Women in the Sciences

Tara Landy

FSEM 100F8

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Ocampo. Adriana. Phobos: Close Encounter Imaging from the Viking Orbiters, NASA, 1984. Print.

Secondary Sources

AMWA: American Medical Women’s Association: The Vision and Voice of Women in Medicine since                    1915. N.p. American Medical Women’s Association, 2011. Web. 13 August 2011.

Alvarez, Walter. T.rex and the Crater of Doom. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. Print

Bailey. Martha J., American Women in Science: 1950 to the Present, A Biographical Dictionary.  

Kerr, Richard A. Impact craters all in a row?  Science 272.5258 (1996): 33. MasterFILE   Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Sept. 2011.  

“Luis Walter Alvarez.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2011): 1. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011

Martinez, Debbie. Latina Women of NASA: Adriana C. Ocampo Uria. N.p. 28 February 2001. (Web) 12 September 2011. 

Narins, Brigham. Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present. 4^th ed. Farmington Hills: The Gale Group, 2001. Print

The National Academies. “Adriana Ocampo: The Space Geologist.” I was wondering… National Academy of Science, 2011. Web. 26 September 2011.

Telgen, Diane and Kamp, Jim, eds. Notable Hispanic American Women. Detriot: Gale Research, 1993. Print.

 Weintraub, Pamela. “THE DISCOVER INTERVIEW: WALTER ALVAREZ.” Discover 30.9 (2009): 67-75. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

Tara Landy

FSEM Beauty and Brains

My name is Tara Landy and I am a freshmen at the University of Mary Washington. My freshmen seminar is called “Beauty and Brains”-Women in the Science Field. Throughout the semester, our class has been researching different female scientists, comparing our female scientists to their contemporary male scientists, and organizations relating to the advancememt of women in the science field. My scientist is Adriana Ocampo, a planetary geologist. This blog is dedicated to the hard work and commitment of women scientists around the world!

Adriana Ocampo grew up in Buenos Ares, Argentina dreaming about exploring planets. She never doubted that all her dreams would come true someday. How did Adriana land a job with NASA while still in her teens? How did a robot parked on Mars make her fall in love with rocks and instantly decide to become a planetary geologist? Adriana’s imagination and pure drive have led her to a life of science adventures. Adriana helped find the missing Crater of Doom, a hole blasted out of Earth by a killer space rock 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs died out. Now she is searching the world for the stuff that came from that crater. Between rock digs she explores other planets through NASA’s space exploration.

Major Recognitions/ Awards

Woman of the Year Award in Science, Comision Femenil, Los Angeles, 1992; Advisory Council for Women Award, JPL, 1996; Science and Technology Award, Chicano Federation, 1997; CSUN’s Distinguished Alumni Award, 2008.

Adriana Ocampo sparked my interest because I felt that we shared the same loves in the science field. As a young girl, I loved collecting rocks and studying the detailed divots and shiny sparkles on every rock that I discovered. While other girls were playing with dolls, I was stuffing my shorts pockets with dozens of rocks. I am also captivated by the stunning stars on a clear night and always take the time to notice the universe’s wonders. Adriana’s passion for geology and positive attitude demonstrate what it takes to become a remarkable female scientist.  

I consider Adriana Ocampo a remarkable role model for an aspiring future scientist because she believes that any young person, from any country or background can reach for the stars. She followed her dreams and stopped at nothing to achieve them. With effort, time, and persistance, one can do anything; it doesn’t matter if you are a girl.

 See Adriana in action as she digs up some answers about our planet’s past: http://www.iwaswondering.org/adriana_video.html

Comparison of Scientists (Adriana Ocampo and Walter Alvarez)

ADRIANA OCAMPO

Background

• Jan. 5, 1955 in Columbia.
• Grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Married Kevin O. Pope, now divorced

Education and Training

• Worked since high school for NASA.
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Viking Space Mission
  • Hermes Mission
• Studied Aerospace Engineering at Pasadena City College
• Geology California State University in Los Angeles (bachelors degree)

Major Accomplishments

• Involved in NASA mission to
  • Jupiter
  • Project Galileo
  • Mars Observer
• Crater of Doom

Annual Salary

• Approximately $156,000

WALTER ALVAREZ

Background

• Born October 3, 1940 in Berkeley, California
• Son of Luis W. Alvarez, famous Nobel Prize winning physicist
• Married to Millie, no children.

Scientific Expertise

• Earth and Planetary Science

Education

• B.A. in geology in 1962 from Carleton College in Minnesota
• Ph.D. in geology from Princeton University in 1967

Professional Positions

• American Overseas Petroleum Limited in Holland and in Libya
• Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University
• 1994 to 1997 Alvarez was Chairman of the Department of Geology and Geophysics
• Professor in the Earth and Planetary Science department at the University of California, Berkeley

Discoveries/Contributions

• Tectonic Paleomagnetism
• Impact Theory

 Crater of Doom!

• Roman geology and archeology
• Big History at UC Berkeley in 2006

Annual Salary

• Approximately $115,000

I selected Walter Alvarez to compare to Adriana Ocampo because they are both planetary geologists. They also wrote a book together called “T-Rex and the Crater of Doom.” The book inclides their theory about how the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago! They believe that a giant asteroid hit the earth and caused the dinosaurs mass extinction. They came up with the theory after discovering the “Crater of Doom” in Mexico. Walter and Adriana love being  geologists and encourage students to learn about our universe’s history.

I do not believe that gender influenced the careers of Adriana and Walter. Their salaries, promotions, and awards given were very similar and both were successful in their research. In fact, the women to men ratio in Geology is on the rise! In 2006, only 30% of Geologists were women. Now, statistsics show that 40% of Geologists are women. I have confidence that women are equally treated in the field of Geology.

American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)

When was this organization formed?

• The organization was founded by Dr. Bertha VanHoosen in 1915 in Chicago, at a time when women physicians were an under-represented minority.

How large is this organization?

• 3000 members, as of 2007

Is this organization still in existence?

• Yes!

What is its primary mission?

• The American Medical Women’s Association is an organization which functions at the local, national, and international level to advance women in medicine and improve women’s health.  AMWA achieves this by providing and developing leadership, advocacy, education, expertise, mentoring, and through building strategic alliances.

Would Adriana Ocampo likely belong to this organization?

• Most likely, Adriana Ocampo would not be a member of AMWA because her career is not in medicine. However, Adriana would almost certainly encourage the advancement of women in the medical field. She was raised to believe “you could do anything you wanted with time, effort, and persistence. It didn’t matter if you were a girl.”

Tara Landy

Beauty and Brains: FSEM

Bibliography

Alvarez, Walter. T.rex and the Crater of Doom. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. Print

Bailey. Martha J., American Women in Science: 1950 to the Present, A Biographical Dictionary.  

Kerr, Richard A. Impact craters all in a row?  Science 272.5258 (1996): 33. MasterFILE   Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Sept. 2011.  

“Luis Walter Alvarez.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2011): 1. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011

Martinez, Debbie. Latina Women of NASA: Adriana C. Ocampo Uria. N.p. 28 February 2001. (Web) 12 September 2011. 

Narins, Brigham. Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present. 4^th ed. Farmington Hills: The Gale Group, 2001. Print

Telgen, Diane and Kamp, Jim, eds. Notable Hispanic American Women. Detriot: Gale Research, 1993. Print.

 Weintraub, Pamela. “THE DISCOVER INTERVIEW: WALTER ALVAREZ.” Discover 30.9 (2009): 67-75. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

ADRIANA OCAMPO

Background

• Jan. 5, 1955 in Columbia.
• Grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Married Kevin O. Pope, now divorced

Education and Training

• Worked since high school for NASA.
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory

• Viking Space Mission
• Hermes Mission
• Studied Aerospace Engineering at Pasadena City College
• Geology California State University in Los Angeles (bachelors degree)

Major Accomplishments

• Involved in NASA mission to
• Jupiter
• Project Galileo
• Mars Observer

• Crater of Doom

Annual Salary

• Approximately $156,000

WALTER ALVAREZ

Background

• Born October 3, 1940 in Berkeley, California
• Son of Luis W. Alvarez, famous Nobel Prize winning physicist
• Married to Millie, no children.

Scientific Expertise

• Earth and Planetary Science

Education

• B.A. in geology in 1962 from Carleton College in Minnesota
• Ph.D. in geology from Princeton University in 1967

Professional Positions

• American Overseas Petroleum Limited in Holland and in Libya
• Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University
• 1994 to 1997 Alvarez was Chairman of the Department of Geology and Geophysics
• Professor in the Earth and Planetary Science department at the University of California, Berkeley

Discoveries/Contributions

• Tectonic Paleomagnetism
• Impact Theory

 Crater of Doom!

• Roman geology and archeology
• Big History at UC Berkeley in 2006

Annual Salary

• Approximately $115,000

I selected Walter Alvarez to compare to Adriana Ocampo because they are both planetary geologists. They also wrote a book together called “T-Rex and the Crater of Doom.” The book inclides their theory about how the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago! They believe that a giant asteroid hit the earth and caused the dinosaurs mass extinction. They came up with the theory after discovering the “Crater of Doom” in Mexico. Walter and Adriana love being  geologists and encourage students to learn about our universe’s history.

I do not believe that gender influenced the careers of Adriana and Walter. Their salaries, promotions, and awards given were very similar and both were successful in their research. In fact, the women to men ratio in Geology is on the rise! In 2006, only 30% of Geologists were women. Now, statistsics show that 40% of Geologists are women. I have confidence that women are equally treated in the field of Geology.

Sally Ride

“Astronaut Bio: Sally K. Ride.” NASA - Johnson Space Center. July 2006. Web. 13 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ride-sk.html>.

-This source, from the NASA website is very reliable and accurate. This can be assumed
because Sally Ride did indeed work for NASA. This resource will be used as a
reference to Sally Ride’s work life, and her contributions to NASA and the
scientific world. This article focuses on Sally Ride’s career as an astronaut,
and as a scientist. This is good for the further research of Sally Ride because
most studies are done on her career.

Bennett, Kitty. “Where Are They Now? Sally Ride | Sally Ride Science.” Sally Ride
Science | Sally Ride Science. 18 June 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2011
<https://www.sallyridescience.com/node/1388>.

-The accuracy of this resource seems to be reliable, however, it is being used more
so as a reference than a resource. This article is being used just to get
general insight about what happened to Sally Ride after being an astronaut. It
is also being used as a transition from Sally’s major accomplishment of being
the first American in space, to another which is her being a superior woman in
science. This source’s main focus is Sally Ride’s life after the space program
and what she is currently doing today.

“Sally Kristen Ride | First American Woman in Space.” Lucidcafé Interactive Café and
                Information Resource. Web. 13 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96may/ride.html>.

-The reliability of this source is trustable; it is just an article from a magazine
or news journal. This resource will be used for general information about the
scientist. It will also be used as a biography of Sally Ride. The main points
of this article are a biography of Sally Ride. It is a brief, yet analytical
overview of her life and career.

“Sally Ride Interview — Academy of Achievement.” Academy of Achievement Main Menu.
2 June 2006. Web. 13 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/rid0int-1>.

-This resource is a perfect primary resource because it is an interview with Sally
Ride with video! This investigation will benefit from this source because it
contains facts about Sally Ride’s personal as well as business life. This
resource has audio/video, as well as written question and answers from Sally
Ride answering questions about her childhood, her career, and what Sally is
currently doing.

USA Today. “Sally Ride Rode Wave of Curiosity into Outer Space.” UMW Database.
USA Today. Web. 25 July 2011.
<http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umw.edu:2048/ehost/detail?sid=c62256fe-a3b3-4c29-af43bda0a1b49a64%              40sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=J0E105526203611>.

-Considering the source of this resource, it is accepted as reliable and accurate. This
article from an interview with Sally Ride from USA Today will be used in order
to get the reflections from Sally Ride about what it was like being the first
American woman in space. This source mainly is an interview with Sally Ride and
a reporter from USA Today, reflecting on how Sally felt the day that she was
launched into orbit. This primary resource is good for researchers of Sally
Ride because it provides rare insight direct from the scientist herself.

Woodside, Sara. “The My Hero Project -Sally Ride.” The MY HERO Project. 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 September 2011.
<http://myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=sallyride>.

-This source is not as reliable as the other sources being used in this
investigation. However, it is another researcher’s work, so it could be useful
to look at another researcher’s perspective about Sally Ride. This source will
mainly be used to find other resources. It will also be used as a visual for
how a blog entry should look. This blog is a general overview of Sally Ride’s
life.

Tara Landy

FSEM Beauty and Brains

Adriana Ocampo grew up in Buenos Ares, Argentina dreaming about exploring planets. She never doubted that all her dreams would come true someday. How did Adriana land a job with NASA while still in her teens? How did a robot parked on Mars make her fall in love with rocks and instantly decide to become a planetary geologist? Adriana’s imagination and pure drive have led her to a life of science adventures. Adriana helped find the missing Crater of Doom, a hole blasted out of Earth by a killer space rock 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs died out. Now she is searching the world for the stuff that came from that crater. Between rock digs she explores other planets through NASA’s space exploration.

Major Recognitions/ Awards

Woman of the Year Award in Science, Comision Femenil, Los Angeles, 1992; Advisory Council for Women Award, JPL, 1996; Science and Technology Award, Chicano Federation, 1997; CSUN’s Distinguished Alumni Award, 2008.

Adriana Ocampo sparked my interest because I felt that we shared the same loves in the science field. As a young girl, I loved collecting rocks and studying the detailed divots and shiny sparkles on every rock that I discovered. While other girls were playing with dolls, I was stuffing my shorts pockets with dozens of rocks. I am also captivated by the stunning stars on a clear night and always take the time to notice the universe’s wonders. Adriana’s passion for geology and positive attitude demonstrate what it takes to become a remarkable female scientist.  

I consider Adriana Ocampo a remarkable role model for an aspiring future scientist because she believes that any young person, from any country or background can reach for the stars. She followed her dreams and stopped at nothing to achieve them. With effort, time, and persistance, one can do anything; it doesn’t matter if you are a girl.

 See Adriana in action as she digs up some answers about our planet’s past: http://www.iwaswondering.org/adriana_video.html

My interest in Sally Ride began with the name,
honestly.  The first thing that came to
mind was “Ride, Sally Ride”! Oddly enough, that is what thousands of people put
on t-shirts when they went to watch Sally Ride fly off into space. However,
after the fascination of her name drew to a close, I noticed that Sally Ride
was the first American woman in space. Then, the real interest began.  Being a woman in a “man’s world” is not very easy;
however, Sally Ride took the space shuttle by the engines and flew.  She was unaffected by the fact that she was
going into a job that had only been done by men, and she excelled at the task.
Although, Sally Ride was unaware that being the first American woman in space
would break down barriers for many other women in science.

Before Sally Ride flew off into space, she was just an average girl. Born in
Encino, California, she had a very normal life. She very much enjoyed science,
math, and reading in school. She was pretty shy in the classroom and did not
like to be called on. However, she also enjoyed being active and playing
outside, as most children growing up in the 50s and 60s. Whenever her teacher
would put on the TV to watch a space launch, Sally Ride knew that is what she
wanted to do.

Currently, Sally Ride teaches Physics at
the University of California. She still enjoys being active and brushing up on
her readings.

Sally is a perfect example of a role model for future scientists! She pushed through the negativity and the barriers that people thought would prevent her from doing what she loved. She was hard working and dedicated. Plus she opened a program for young women to join to get them more interested in Math and Science.

Tara Landy

Beauty and Brains: FSEM

Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources

Ocampo. Adriana. Phobos: Close Encounter Imaging from the Viking Orbiters, NASA, 1984.        Print.

            I have not yet been able to find the full text, but this book is written by Ocampo and relates to her research for NASA and her major contributions. I will try to look for more primary sources, but, as of now, I can only find one. This book will be helpful when I am researching because I will get to see her writing style and how she approaches her missions.

Secondary Sources

Alvarez, Walter. T.rex and the Crater of Doom. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.         Print

            This book, by Walter Alvarez, mentions Adriana on pages 133-136. It also mentions her partners who discovered craters in the Yucatan peninsula (Kevin Pope [husband] and Charles Duller). This book is factual and describes briefly Ocampo’s work. I will most likely mention this work in my project, but not fully focus on it. Walter’s book does not focus on Ocampo’s work, only the theory of why dinosaurs became extinct.

Bailey. Martha J., American Women in Science: 1950 to the Present, A Biographical Dictionary.   Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1998. Print.

            This Biographical Dictionary gives the education, professional experience, and Adriana’s life in chronological order. The book also has a bibliography within it, so it helped with my further research. I believe  that this reference book will be helpful because it describes in great detail Ocampo’s theories and experiments for NASA.

Kerr, Richard A. Impact craters all in a row?  Science 272.5258 (1996): 33. MasterFILE   Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Sept. 2011.

            This short article contains Adriana and Kevin’s findings at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in 1996. They studied photographs and provide evidence. This is a criticism of their findings. Although this article does not focus solely on Ocampo, it will be good to see criticism.

Martinez, Debbie. Latina Women of NASA: Adriana C. Ocampo Uria. N.p. 28 February 2001.                  (Web) 12 September 2011.

            This website describes Ocampo’s missions and responsibilities for NASA. It also includes a list of organizations in which she is a member, awards and recognitions, and her education. This website is an offshoot from the NASA headquarters page and is very reliable. I believe that this website will be helpful when I am researching Ocampo’s accomplishments and missions.

Narins, Brigham. Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present. 4^th ed. Farmington Hills: The         Gale Group, 2001. Print

            The book Notable Scientists has Ocampo’s biography, her main attributions to science, her assignments and projects for NASA, as well as her ideals. She is an enthusiast for international sharing of space information and is the VP of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. This book will be extremely useful for my research because it has further readings listed and includes selected writings by Ocampo.

Telgen, Diane and Kamp, Jim, eds. Notable Hispanic American Women. Detriot: Gale Research, 1993. Print.

            This reference book contains Ocampo’s missions and includes direct quotes. It also has a biography and interesting stories about Ocampo’s childhood and her desire to work for NASA. It describes in detail Adriana’s research on distant planets and cites the sources used. This book will be great for my research because it has quotes and displays her personality. From this book, one can follow her research because it is understandable.

I am doing my research thingy on Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.