Scientists inspiring examples for girls

Otago Girls' High School pupil Lucy Davidson (14) adjusts a slide containing minute rock samples...
Otago Girls' High School pupil Lucy Davidson (14) adjusts a slide containing minute rock samples during the Sir Peter Blake Trust Dunedin Girls' Science and Leadership programme at the University of Otago's geology department. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Some of the region's top young science pupils got to pick the brains of some of the world's top scientific minds during the Sir Peter Blake Trust Dunedin Girls' Science and Leadership programme at the University of Otago yesterday.

About 60 year 10 girls from nine Otago secondary schools were selected to attend, based on their passion for science.

Sir Peter Blake Trust programme manager Jacob Anderson said the event aimed to inspire the next generation of female scientists, by giving them a chance to meet and interact with successful female role models in science.

The young scientists got to hear first-hand from OMG Tech founder and Auckland University engineering lecturer Dr Michelle Dickinson, who runs the country's only nano-mechanical laboratory; MIT Centre for Computational Engineering co-director and professor of aeronautics and astronautics Dr Karen Willcox; University of Otago zoology cellular biologist Dr Lisa Russell; and University of Otago zoology and marine science paleoceanographer Dr Christina Riesselman.

They shared their insights on leadership in science, their inspirational stories, and ran practical workshops for the pupils, Mr Anderson said.

"It's about providing students an opportunity to engage and ask questions with some of the world's top scientists, and help them learn a bit about some of the future environmental challenges that the world will face.

"Today is also about giving them an understanding about what some of these leading scientists did at their age, and how they've developed their own pathways and built careers from being teenagers.

"It's about developing that confidence and leadership within young girls.''

Mr Anderson said the event was just one of about 1000 events the trust was running throughout New Zealand, as part of Leadership Week, from July 1-8 .

The week culminates in the annual Red Socks Day, a reminder of Sir Peter Blake's legacy to dream big, and celebrate the Kiwi spirit that makes those dreams happen.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz

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