Following in the Footsteps of Distinguished Leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Narratives of the Next Generation of Young People Preserving key Oral Histories of our Societal History

Abstract

This project chronicles the oral histories of living female leaders in science, technology, and mathematics in the early part of the 21 st century by female students at the very early stages of their careers. It is important to chronicle the histories of these leaders because they are identified by our students as role models in the careers the students are considering. The value that their perspectives bring to the field of oral history is a unique set of one-on-one conversations with students who have selected them from national databases of STEM leaders. Additionally the leaders provide previously unprecedented mentorship and perspectives into their life stories in science. Currently starting its fifth year, the goal of this project is to add to the body of knowledge of oral history by collecting oral histories of women in physics and engineering whose career paths span leadership roles in industry, government, and academia. This project is a collaboration of six female undergraduates at four academic institutions of higher education, IEEE History Center, and American Institute of Physics (AIP) Center for the History of Physics. We are excited that in June 2015 and June 2016, the first three participating students graduated with a STEM degree. Interviews collected in this project are previously published on the IEEE Engineering Technology and History Wiki (ETHW). Following the oral history interviews, the students write reflections to answer the following three research questions (RQ). RQ#1 is "What are the key factors that led to the success of the distinguished leaders?." RQ#2 is "What are the crucial skills that enabled their success?." RQ#3 is "What is the impact on my career path?" One objective of this paper is for the participating female students, who are majoring in STEM fields, to present their reflections on the three research questions. A second objective is for the students to describe the impact, if any, that carrying out interviews of distinguished STEM leaders has had on their career paths. This paper presents new contributions from three participating students as well as additional contributions from two students who have published preliminary results previously.