PITTSBURGH Carnegie Science Center announces the Women in STEM Speaker Series, a weekly virtual event featuring interactive conversations with inspiring role models who have established themselves as experts in a variety of STEM fields. The series will be hosted by the science center through Facebook Live at 11 a.m. every Wednesday through Sept. 30.

Recordings of the conversations will be available on YouTube following the livestream.

The series is supported by an IF/THEN Gender Equity Grant from the Association of Science and Technology Centers and IF/THEN, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. This program awarded funding to 26 science and technology centers to launch projects aimed at increasing the representation of women and gender minorities.

Our hope for this series is not only to celebrate the achievements of women and gender minorities in STEM, but to inspire young people who often dont see themselves represented in these fields, said Jason Brown, director of the science Center.

Feature conversations:

Wednesday: Wendy Bohon, geologist and science communication specialist at Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology;

July 22: Liz Engler-Chiurazzi, research assistant professor at West Virginia University Department of Neuroscience;

July 29: Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of health for Pennsylvania;

Aug. 5: Roselin Rosario-Melendez, associate principal chemist and project leader at LOreal;

Aug. 12: Rika Wright Carlsen, associate professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Robert Morris University;

Aug. 19: Ellen Bachman, inside sales engineer at Eaton;

Aug. 26: Kay Savage, senior data scientist at Spotify;

Sept. 2: Chavonda Jacobs-Young, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agricultures Agricultural Research Service;

Sept. 9: Sandhya Rao, professor of astrophysics at the University of Pittsburgh;

Sept. 16: Angela Cupelli, pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant nurse;

Sept. 23: Mercy Shitemi, senior systems analyst at Zimmer Biomet; and

Sept. 30: Dr. Natasha Tilston-Lunel, postdoctoral associate at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research.

Viewers will be able to submit questions during the livestream or in advance by e-mailing Kaitlyn Zurcher at ZurcherK@CarnegieScienceCenter.org.

A sign language interpreter will be present for each.

The grant also will support Girls Rock Science, an event hosted at the science center in September that will celebrate women in STEM and encourage girls to pursue STEM careers. Details will be announced later this summer.

For information on the speaker series, go to carnegiesciencecenter.org/programs/women-in-stem-speaker-series/.

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Virtual Women in STEM event on tap at science center - The Daily Times