Dr Eva-Marie Graefe juggles science and motherhood - with help from L'Oreal and UNESCO
12 Dec 2014 by qwwqdccwwm.d qwwqdccwwm.d
Dr Eva-Marie Graefe juggles researching leaky quantum systems with being a mum – here we learn more about work-life balance and how the L’Oreal-Unesco For Women in Science Fellowship is helping her achieve that
I grew up in the firm belief that men and women are equal and that feminism in the modern world is as necessary as an umbrella in the sunshine. When one of my university professors first mentioned a dedicated conference for “female physicists” to me, for example, I was offended. In the meantime, having embarked on an academic career in theoretical physics, I call myself a feminist, and I have attended several such meetings. This summer I have even won a fellowship specifically dedicated to women in science.
Thankfully, I have never experienced any harassment, bullying, or active discrimination that changed my views. Instead, over the years, the realisation grew on me gradually: While most people who use their brain think men and women should be treated equally, that doesn’t really happen. One of the reasons for this is the often-quoted lack of successful female role models. Many individuals might feel they don’t need role models, but this lack does inform general perceptions, such as “science is not for girls”. A related issue is the perception of motherhood. The assumption seems to be that a woman at some point in her life will become a mother and that this will conflict with her professional life. On the other hand it is generally assumed that being a father does not have any major impact on a man’s work. As long as family issues are “women’s issues” we have a problem that blocks the full potential of women in the workforce.
Some of these abstract thoughts became more personal recently, when I embarked on the adventure of being a mother in science. My eleven months old daughter has taught my husband and me a lesson or two about work-life balance, and how parenthood might interfere with professional life. I found myself in a haze of research, teaching, supervising students, changing nappies, feeding, and singing nursery rhymes. In the middle of this, earlier this year, I heard about the L’Oreal UNESCO for Women in Science Fellowship, and I got interested.
One thing that every parent will tell you is that having children miraculously makes you more effective. Thus, on the above-mentioned backdrop, I somehow managed to put together an application. A few months later I found myself together with seven other shortlisted candidates in the Royal Society for a day of academic interviews, posing for cameras and explaining my research for a short film they produced. The other candidates were all inspiring scientists, and very pleasant to be around. Thus, the only bad part of the day was that only four of us received a fellowship in the end.
Besides the financial aspect that allows me to visit collaborators, and conferences, buy new equipment for my office, and partly pay for childcare, the fellowship has opened various unexpected doors for me. Suddenly I have much more opportunity to do what I like best: talk about my research.
I work on ‘leaky’ quantum systems. That is, I try to figure out what happens if you punch holes into quantum systems. How do you effectively describe the content that is being lost and the dynamics of the remaining content? In recent years scientists have realised that engineered holes might be useful to control systems and ultimately to design new technologies. The theoretical models to simulate and explore these leaky systems, however, are not sufficiently developed yet, which is where my work comes in.
Ultimately, for the science it doesn't matter whether it is investigated by a man or by a woman, with children or without. Nevertheless, to engage different types of people along with their different ways of looking at things maximises the chances of scientific discovery and its translation into technological applications. I hope that the “for women in science” fellowship will allow me to be a mother in science with ease, not only for my own benefit, but also as a positive role model to younger researchers, and to my daughter.
Dr Graefe is a junior research fellow in the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London. She received the L’Oreal-Unesco For Women in Science Fellowship for her her inventive work modelling leaky quantum systems.
About the L’Oréal-Unesco for Women in Science
The L’Oréal UNESCO For Women In Science international programme was founded 16 years ago by L’Oréal and UNESCO on the premise that ‘the world needs science and science needs women’. The awards programme is designed to promote and highlight the critical importance of ensuring greater participation of women in science, by awarding promising female scientists with fellowships to help them further their research.
The L’Oréal UK and Ireland Fellowships For Women In Science were launched in January 2007. The Fellowships are run in partnership with the UK National Commission for UNESCO, the Irish National Committee for UNESCO with the support of the Royal Society.
In 2014, four fellowships of £15,000 were awarded to outstanding female postdoctoral researchers. The programme is designed to provide practical help for the winners to continue in their chosen fields. For example, winners may choose to spend their fellowship on buying scientific equipment or paying for childcare costs or indeed whatever they may need to continue their research.
From 2015 the For Women In Science programme will encourage applications from the engineering, mathematics and computer science fields and increase the number of fellowships to five worth £15,000 each.
By the end of 2014 over 2000 women from over 100 countries will have been recognised for their research and received funding to further their studies since the overall programme was founded in 1998.
