NASA Chief Scientist Dr Ellen Stofan was the key speaker for the charity ‘Right To Play’ Women’s Network on Thursday 21st January 2016, hosted by corporate supporter Microsoft at its headquarters in London. Dr Stofan spoke about the need for strong female leadership in science saying that “When you face huge challenges you need all hands on deck. Why only tap into 40% of the resources available?” Notwithstanding her success, she felt strongly that there is much more work to do before women can truly achieve equality – even in the developed world – and her insights about how sport and play can help girls gain the confidence they need to succeed really helped reinforce the need for, and relevance of, the work Right To Play is doing with girls around the world.
Dr Stofan was joined on a panel by Right to Play UK’s Programme Funding Manager, Ross Edgeworth, and Sam Bramwell, Head of Microsoft UK’s Women Chapter with moderation by Claire McDonnell, BBC Broadcaster. The panel discussion highlighted that, however wide the gender gap may still be in the West, it remains far, far wider in many developing countries. During the discussion, Right To Play UK’s Programme Funding Manager, Ross Edgeworth, spoke of the challenge many communities face of getting girls to attend and stay in school.
In fact, girls represent 70% of the 130 million children who are out of school around the world. Right to Play’s programmes seek to tackle these challenges through sport and play activities, thereby enabling more girls to attend school, improve their academic prospects and develop into strong role models. “We know this approach works. Within many of our programme schools in Africa we have seen great improvements in attendance and literacy rates, and numeracy scores increase by four times the rate of non-programme schools between 2010 and 2014” said Ross Edgeworth.”At Right To Play we seek to develop strong female leaders within the communities in which we work, so we are excited to learn more from one of the world’s leading female role models.”
Dr Stofan ended by saying “women in science today need to speak up louder and louder to say, ‘We are here, we are doing amazing science, and we are the role models for the next generation of STEM girls.’”
About Dr Ellen Stofan
Dr Ellen Stofan is Chief Scientist at NASA, serving as principal advisor on the agency’s science programs and science-related strategic planning and investments.
Prior to her appointment, Stofan was vice president of Proxemy Research in Laytonsville, Md., and honorary professor in the department of Earth sciences at University College London in England. Her research has focused on the geology of Venus, Mars, Saturn’s moon Titan, and Earth. Dr Stofan is an associate member of the Cassini Mission to Saturn Radar Team and a co-investigator on the Mars Express Mission’s MARSIS sounder. She also was principal investigator on the Titan Mare Explorer, a proposed mission to send a floating lander to a sea on Titan.
Her appointment as chief scientist marks a return to NASA for Dr Stofan. From 1991 through 2000, she held a number of senior scientist positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, including chief scientist for NASA’s New Millennium Program, deputy project scientist for the Magellan Mission to Venus, and experiment scientist for SIR-C, an instrument that provided radar images of Earth on two shuttle flights in 1994.
Dr Stofan holds a master’s and doctorate degrees in geological sciences from Brown University in Providence, R.I., and a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. She has received many awards and honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She has also authored and published numerous professional papers, books and book chapters, and has chaired committees including the National Research Council Inner Planets Panel for the recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey and the Venus Exploration Analysis Group.
About Right To Play
Right To Play UK is part of a global organisation that is transforming the lives of millions of disadvantaged children in some of the world’s poorest communities. Using the educational power of sport, games and play, it equips children and young people with the learning, health and social skills to overcome the effects of poverty, disease and war. Operating in 18 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Right to Play develops proven programmes that encourage children to attend school, protect themselves from disease and resolve conflict. Their play-based activities dramatically improve life chances and opportunities, particularly for girls, those with a disability or HIV/AIDS, street children, former child combatants and refugees.
Established in 2000, Right to Play manages complex, large-scale, multinational interventions from donors including government agencies and the United Nations. The Right to Play UK team partners with companies, individuals and athlete ambassadors who share our belief in the power of play to transform lives. For more information: www.righttoplay.org.uk