Posts tagged STEM
Straight talk about race in academia
Straight talk about race in academia

For many Black scientists and researchers, working in academia means weathering systemic bias, micro-aggressions, and isolation. Dr. Shardé M. Davis, a communications researcher at the University of Connecticut, created #BlackInTheIvory as a platform for discussing the experiences of Black academics.

On December 3, 2020, Dr. Davis joined Dr. Mareena Robinson Snowden, a nuclear engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, and Dr. James Mickens, a computer scientist at Harvard University, to examine academia's role in perpetuating institutional racism and efforts to change those systems. Tanya Ballard Brown, an editor at National Public Radio (NPR), moderated.

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PanelMareena RobinsonAcademia, DEI, STEM, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, MIT, Panel, Webinar, Advocacy
Project on Managing the Atom holds panel discussion on racial injustice in the nuclear field
Project on Managing the Atom holds panel discussion on racial injustice in the nuclear field

The recent killings of unarmed Black Americans and the ensuing protests have yet again highlighted the racial injustices and structural inequalities that remain a major part of life in the United States. Institutions across the U.S. nuclear community—including the Project on Managing the Atom—have issued statements condemning systemic racism and recognizing the need to counter racial injustices. To further these discussions, this panel focused on often-overlooked issues of racial inequalities in the nuclear field. Contributors to the panel discussed race in the context of global nuclear governance, the nuclear disarmament movement, and nuclear weapons testing.

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PanelMareena RobinsonNuclear Security, Harvard, Racism, STEM, Nuclear Engineering
RESPONSIBLE DISRUPTION: Women’s Participation, Perspectives and Power
RESPONSIBLE DISRUPTION: Women’s Participation, Perspectives and Power

The Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative held an energizing conversation via Zoom, Responsible Disruption: Women’s Participation, Perspectives and Power, Tuesday, October 20. Guest speakers were: Ambassador Laura Holgate, Mareena Robinson Snowden and Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, and the event was moderated by Ploughshares Fund president, Emma Belcher. We explored how responsible disruption leads to changing the world for the better – and how to do so in a way that is fair, responsible, safe and trustworthy.

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PanelMareena RobinsonNuclear Engineering, Advocacy, Nuclear Security, Women in STEM, STEM, Nuclear Weapons
PONI Pathbreakers: Breaking the Nuclear Glass Ceiling
PONI Pathbreakers: Breaking the Nuclear Glass Ceiling

On the third episode of the PONI Pathbreakers series, former Sandia National Laboratories Director Jill Hruby and Dr. Mareena Robinson Snowden, Senior Engineer in the National Security Analysis Department at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab talk about being pioneers in their careers, nuclear proliferation, and great power competition.

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MediaMareena RobinsonCSIS, Nuclear Security, Nuclear Weapons, STEM, Women in STEM
EP. 88: FREE GAME WITH MAREENA ROBINSON SNOWDEN, PH.D.
EP. 88: FREE GAME WITH MAREENA ROBINSON SNOWDEN, PH.D.

On this week's episode she talks about her life and career after that level of notoriety, especially when the ink had barely dried on her doctoral degree and she was entering the workforce. Mareena shares how she is charting her career path by gaining experience while exploring her interests, which she calls her 'unconventional post-doc'. She puts us on game (hence the episode name), sharing sage advice and insight on life post-grad.

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MediaMareena RobinsonPodcast, Advocacy, Black in STEM, Women in STEM, Diversity, Inclusion, STEM, Firsts, Nuclear Engineering, Policy, Government
Beyond Convention - Alternative Career Paths in Nuclear Security
Beyond Convention - Alternative Career Paths in Nuclear Security

This summer I had the opportunity to speak to current SSGF fellows about my experience post graduate school. My goal was to share with them my thought process, missteps and strategies to defining my career path during the critical first few years after the PhD. Thank you to the DOE NNSA SSGF for not only inviting me to speak, but for generously supporting my PhD work.

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PresentationMareena RobinsonNNSA, SSGF, Postdoc, STEM, Nuclear Engineering, My Story
AWIS Announces Nobel Laureate Dr. Carol Greider as Pinnacle Award Recipient and Dr. Mareena Robinson Snowden as Next Generation Award Recipient
AWIS Announces Nobel Laureate Dr. Carol Greider as Pinnacle Award Recipient and Dr. Mareena Robinson Snowden as Next Generation Award Recipient

“We are presenting our Next Generation Award to Dr. Mareena Robinson Snowden who, in 2017, became the first African American woman to earn a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from MIT and whose inspirational story has been featured on national television and radio, and in print media. She is currently the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Both are wonderful examples of the contributions that women in STEM fields have made and will continue to make to the greater good.”

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AwardMareena RobinsonSTEM, Award, DEI, Advocacy
How to Avoid the Nuclear Apocalypse - 2019 SXSW Panel hosted by Women’s Actions for New Directions
How to Avoid the Nuclear Apocalypse - 2019 SXSW Panel hosted by Women’s Actions for New Directions

Last month, I had the honor of participating on a panel about the history and future of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons policy, hosted by the Women’s Action for New Directions. Alongside my fellow participants - Beatrice Fihn, Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons & Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, former coordinator for threat reduction programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation - we discussed the changing geopolitical landscape, the decline of international cooperation on arms reduction and other tools of strategic stability, and our views on the best paths forward with respect to US and international nuclear weapons policy.

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PanelMareena RobinsonNuclear, STEM, Nuclear Security, Panel, SXSW, Austin, Nuclear Engineering, Policy
The Highest Honor on the Highest of Seven Hills
The Highest Honor on the Highest of Seven Hills

I am so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to thank the university that has given me so much. On August 3rd, I returned to the highest of seven hills to acknowledge the role FAMU played in my own journey and let the graduates know how uniquely prepared they are to excel in this new stage. As the keynote speaker for the 2018 Florida A&M University Commencement, I came to affirm the best that FAMU has given them - a strong identity based in the facts of black excellence, training that qualifies them to solve the world’s biggest problems, and critical thinking skills that will allow them to prioritize the future in a culture that increasingly is preoccupied with the now.

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SpeechMareena RobinsonFAMU, Commencement, MIT, STEM, Nuclear Engineering, HBCU, Graduation
Congrats to all the MIT Graduates - especially the Graduates of Color!
Congrats to all the MIT Graduates - especially the Graduates of Color!

One of the things I cherish most about my time at MIT is the relationships I was fortunate enough to develop, with some of the most brilliant technical minds. Together we not only grew into skilled researchers, but built bonds based on mutual accountability and support. We studied together, partied together, provided listening ears after frustrating days in the lab, advice after unsure interactions with advisors, and showed up whenever and where ever needed - for presentation practice session, start-up launches, and post victory celebrations. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this is true for scientists and engineers as well. I grateful to my friends for the example they set for me, for their motivation and for their love.

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AwardMareena RobinsonMIT, Graduation, PhD, STEM
VanguardSTEM #WCWinSTEM Feature
VanguardSTEM #WCWinSTEM Feature

On Feb 1, I was featured on VanguardSTEM.com as their #WCWinSTEM. #VanguardSTEM is an online movement seeking to highlight the contributions of women of color in STEM. Started by the celebrated astrophysicist Dr. Jedidah Isler, #VanguardSTEM hosts a monthly web series featuring a rotating panel of women of color in STEM discussing a wide variety of topics including their research interests, wisdom, advice, tips, tricks and current events.

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MediaMareena RobinsonVanguardSTEM, Media, Interview, Advocacy, STEM, Black in STEM
MIT community engages in dialogue on race
MIT community engages in dialogue on race

Reif said the ongoing pursuit of racial equality and social justice “is one of the world’s great challenges. … Recent events have shown us, again, that terrible fault lines of race are still a major issue in our society. It would be naïve to think that we at MIT are somehow immune to these problems: MIT is a microcosm of our broader society. It shares many of its flaws, as well as its virtues.”

Reif noted that the protesters “are asking us to listen, to collaborate, and to act.”

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PanelMareena RobinsonBlack Lives Matter, STEM, MIT, Panel, Protest, Nuclear Engineering, Black in STEM