Journeys of Women in Science and Engineering: No Universal Constants

Labor and Social Change

by Susan A. Ambrose

Today the image of the scientist is still that of a white man in a white lab coat. This book questions this stereotype and the assumption that the practitioners of science and engineering have a uniform look and follow one particular path through life. The scientists and engineers featured in this book are all women. They come from different races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. They have different sexual orientations. Some have disabilities.

The core of this important book is 88 profiles with photographs of women scientists and engineers whose diversity is stunning. Journeys of Women in Science and Engineering includes research scientists and engineers in areas from biochemistry to mathematics, from neuroscience to computer science, from animal science to civil engineering. It includes those who have made careers in public service—people like Dr. Joycelyn Elders, the recent U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. Susan Love, the breast cancer activist; and Rhea L. Graham, the first woman and first African American director of the Bureau of Mines. It includes Nobel Prize winners, beginning assistant professors, division directors of corporations, and even an engineering school dean.

The indexes by field of speciality make it easy for the reader to compare the life stories of, for example, all the chemical engineers or all the mathematicians. There is also an index by employment sector. The book begins with a thorough introduction to the history of women in science and engineering.

488 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 1997