Empowering all Women, in Space and on Earth

Join International Women in Engineering Day 2020

Join WIA-E Rome and the U.S. Embassy in Italy on International Women in Engineering Day #INWED20 – June 23 04:00-05:00 p.m CEST time – for a virtual discussion with American scientists Dr. Erin Pettit, Dr. Britney Schmidt, and British scientist Dr. Joanne Johnson.

As leading members of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, the panel will speak about their careers, Antarctic investigations, and topics ranging from climate science and extreme engineering to environmental sustainability and resilience.

STEM Learning’s Strategic Initiatives Lead Dr Kerry Baker will chair the discussion with the following panelist connected by digital platform (Webex Event):

  • Dr. Erin Pettit is an associate professor at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University
  • Dr. Britney Schmidt is a Co-Investigator on the MELT Project, and the PI of the Icefin team
  • Dr. Joanne Johnson is a geologist and Antarctic scientist at the British Antarctic Survey

U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Robert Wood Johnson will give welcome remarks.

This program is brought to you by the U.S. Embassy in London in partnership with the U.S. National Science Foundation, British Antarctic Survey, and STEM Learning.

Advance registration required: https://bit.ly/2Ba3Gvx

Event details available on our social media:

#INWED20 Virtual Engagement with Polar Researchers

When: Tuesday, June 23rd, 4-5 p.m CEST time, 3-4pm BST time / 10-11am EDT time,
Panelists: Dr. Erin Pettit (U.S.), Dr. Britney Schmidt (U.S.) and Dr. Joanne Johnson (UK)
Audience: Secondary school students, parents, and educators

Platform: Webex Event

Panelist Bios:

Dr. Erin Pettit is an associate professor at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. She is also a National Geographic emerging explorer applying acoustic research with hydrophones to calving and melting glaciers reaching the ocean, to examine ice shelf disintegration and the ice-ocean boundary. Her research on glacier noise includes studying its effects on marine animals. She has presented at TEDWomen on listening to glaciers, and has created the Girls on Ice program to teach high school girls about glaciology, ecology, and mountaineering. Pettit is a lead Principal Investigator on the TARSAN project. She and her team will measure ocean circulation and thinning beneath the Thwaites Glacier. The team will employ automated underwater vehicles and automated land-ice stations.

Dr. Britney Schmidt is a Co-Investigator on the MELT Project, and the PI of the Icefin team. Icefin is an underwater ROV/AUV is designed to take under ice oceanographic data as well as bathymetry, sonar and imaging of the ice-ocean interface and the seafloor.

Dr. Joanne Johnson is a geologist and Antarctic scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. Her research interests include studying ice sheet change in Antarctica with exposure dating, and exploring feedbacks between glaciation, volcanism and climate in Antarctica. Johnson is a lead Principal Investigator on the GHC project. By sampling bedrock beneath the ice sheet, she and her team will identify if and when the Thwaites Glacier retreated in the past, how it recovered, and how it is currently responding to environmental conditions

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