Science is Fun Fridays!

 

Today is International Women's Day, and this year's theme is to inspire inclusion.

Women make up less than a third of the workforce across science, technology, and engineering.

But we're going to meet five women who have been selected by the UN's Environment Programme to receive the Champions of Earth award.

Wildlife biologist, Dr. Purnima Devi Barman, founded the Hargila Army to protect an endangered bird species, the greater adjutant stork.

Wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founded the Conservation Through Public Health, and has been safeguarding mountain gorilla communities across East Africa.

Engineer and inventor, Nzambi Matee, founded Gjenge Makers, a company aiming for a solution to plastic pollution.  She developed a prototype for a machine that turns discarded plastic into paving stones.

Xiaoyuan Ren founded MyH2O, a data platform that tests and records groundwater quality across a thousand villages in rural China into an app that lets residents know where to find clean water.  Over 300 million residents in China do not have consistent access.

Climate scientist, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, is one of the world's most influential communicators on climate change.  She evaluates long-term observations, future scenarios and global models to develop innovative strategies with actionable information.

Celebrate science, and celebrate women!