Dartmouth College professor and astrophysicist Dr. Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil studies the smallest and faintest galaxies in our universe. She’s even discovered a galaxy that now bears her name, Burçin’s Galaxy.
She’s featured in an online exhibit called “Reimagining Women in STEM,” from the Innovative Genomics Institute in California, and she hopes that it will inspire women to see themselves in careers in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“Women are [a] big part of the STEM field, but they are undervalued and under-highlighted,” Mutlu-Pakdil told NHPR’s Morning Edition host Rick Ganley. “And when I was very little, I didn't have much role models. So I don't want [the] next generation to feel this way because there are incredible scientists out there doing amazing work.”
Transcript
Now, I don't know many people with a galaxy named after them. I don't know anyone with a galaxy named after them. Can you tell us more about your work and research in astrophysics?
The galaxy discovery that you just mentioned, it happened during my PhD work at [the] University of Minnesota. We got lucky. We were actually studying [a] totally different thing. We were studying a spiral galaxy. And while we are observing this regular, normal galaxy, this extremely rare galaxy happened to be in the background. So it is now commonly referred to as Burçin's Galaxy.
And currently at Dartmouth College I study a different type of galaxy. [These are] actually the most numerous galaxies in the universe, but these are smaller and fainter of the galaxy populations. So I am involved in several imaging surveys to get the faintest galaxies in the universe so that we can understand galaxy formation and also [the] nature of dark matter.
So you're featured in this gallery that focuses on women in STEM from around the world. It imagines them as the subjects of famous paintings. Can you tell us about your portrait in that gallery?
So the gallery basically features scientists with paintings from famous works by Western artists. The work that was highlighted was from Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, "Girl with [a] Pearl Earring." Instead of the pearl earring, it is reimagined as my hijab pin, and I am portrayed in that style. I think I am one of the youngest scientists that is highlighted in this gallery, and I'm really honored to be highlighted in this way. Hopefully this will inspire many women to the STEM fields. And it's always nice to see STEM fields and art joined this way. I really am proud of this gallery.
It is art and science together, and I know you're working on your own initiative to elevate public perception of women in STEM. Can you tell us more about that?
Yeah, I am an If/Then Ambassador, which is an initiative to highlight women in STEM leaders [on] a national platform. And we recently got a grant to create videos of women scientists in a very fun way so that students can learn about the science and their personal life, their trajectory and what kind of science they are doing. Hopefully next year you will be able to see it.
Why are these initiatives to highlight women in STEM important to you?
As a marginalized scientist in [a] STEM field, I deeply believe that women are the big part of the STEM field. But they are undervalued and under-highlighted. And when I was very little, I didn't have much role models. So I don't want [the] next generation to feel this way because there are incredible scientists out there doing amazing work. We just need to recognize them, highlight them, celebrate them.
When kids see someone achieve great things, they feel like, 'Oh, if she did it, I can do it too.' After our discovery, after I gave a TEDx talk about Burçin's Galaxy, I received hundreds of messages all around the world from middle school students, high school students, saying that they are really interested in astronomy. They want to discover their own galaxies, saying that this work actually inspired them and gave them hope. So it was really fulfilling to hear all these messages from these girls.
Have you experienced people dismissing you or your work in your career as an astrophysicist because you were a woman?
It happens, unfortunately, time to time. [The] latest example that I can give is I gave a colloquium talk about my research. I visited a university, I met with grad students and I was chatting about my research. And the male grad students really didn't want to talk with me about the science that I am doing. And they started to ask questions to each other instead of me and dismissing me as an expert there.
So it's just one example. There are many examples like that, either because you're [a] woman, either you are from [a] marginalized background, maybe you are immigrant, whatever category you want to put me in. They didn't assume that I am the expert in this field and they are talking about the science that I am sharing. But they are asking to each other, not to me, and I am in the same room. Unfortunately, we just need to change this perception in academia.
What do you hope for the next generation of women and immigrant scientists?
[I] hope they will be recognized because of their work, not because of their gender or their identity, [and] they will not feel the things that I experienced. I hope that they feel welcomed and they feel that they have a place in science because there are so many brilliant young researchers. And hopefully with these kinds of galleries and these kinds of works, by highlighting women scientists, we can actually share that we celebrate women and they deserve the seat in the table and they lead the field actually in a significant way.
