Ambrose Jearld, Jr. Lecture

Lecture abstract:

Science is in a constant state of redefinition and renewal through the research enterprise. New questions lead to new research initiatives which in turn lead to the production of new data and sometimes new interpretations of existing data. These advances are accelerating at a pace today that has heretofore never been seen. Advances in Information technology that can analyze, store, and transmit data worldwide in a matter of seconds have clearly hastened the world of discovery and, concomitantly, has advanced the quality of life for all humankind.

For decades, the United States has been the global leader in advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For example, scientists in the United States have historically led the world in the number of peer reviewed publications, but the gap between the United States and other countries is narrowing. Much of this scientific leadership has emanated from White men and Foreign-born scientists.

Several years ago, the National Academies reported that the nation’s global leadership in science was at risk because of the continued underrepresentation of women and people of color in the STEM workforce and increased competition for talent from other countries. To address this issue, the nation’s STEM enterprise must significantly increase its talent pool to include more people from these groups.   This means a New Normal STEM workforce - and a higher education faculty to produce it - that is far more diverse and inclusive than it is today. It will also require the cultivation of a New American STEM community that is more than about the numbers. It must also intensify its encouragement and support of scientific questions and methodologies for seeking answers to them  that arise from the cultural experiences and perspectives of a more diverse scientific workforce.

This talk will seek to contextualize the significance of the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP) in a way that provides a template for energizing and preparing a more diverse workforce for the nation that will be required for New America to sustain its global leadership in science. References will be made to scientific advances being made by a new generation STEM women and people of colors such as Kizzmekia Corbett who played a major role in developing the initial Covid vaccines and the group of women scientists who played a significant role in developing a more patient friendly mammography device.