Author: Natalie Zender

September 2022 Edition

Laura Fox, Natural Resource Specialist, EVS

Teamwork makes Laura Fox’s work-life balance achievable. As a data scientist and natural resource specialist in the Environmental Sciences division, she spends considerable time in the summer working in the field and she never goes alone for safety reasons.

“There always needs to be two of us in the field, in case you fall or get hurt or something improbable but dangerous happens,” explained Fox. “Collaborating – working as a team – is also the most efficient way to get work done.”

Of late, Fox’s field work focuses on observing pollinators at solar facilities and in adjacent soybean fields. This means she routinely finds herself between solar panels in a nearby Midwestern state rather than home with her young family. Teamwork becomes essential on the home front, too.

“I would not be able to work, especially travel for work, without help from family,” she said. Fox credits support from her husband, in-laws, and babysitters in the care of her two elementary school-aged children. “The pandemic has been nice in that both my husband and I primarily work from home. Eliminating our time spent commuting has been great.”

Fox was always interested and encouraged in pursuing a career in science, but she originally expected to study medicine. A trip to Belize during her undergraduate years at the University of Vermont to study sustainability resulted in visiting research centers and discovering the perk of working heavily outdoors. This led her to consider using her biology degree on the environmental side of things.

“I was really intrigued by what the scientists were doing and realized I wanted to work outside as much as possible,” said Fox.

Ironically, that love of field research interfered with a professional ambition she now wishes she had acted on earlier: obtaining a graduate degree.

“Straight out of school, I had the opportunity to do really cool work with the San Diego Zoo, observing mother cub interactions for a behavioral research study of polar, panda and other species of bears,” said Fox. “I never went back for a graduate degree. I think that makes obtaining leadership positions difficult and, if I was advising other women interested in careers in science, I would recommend going for your graduate degree right after your baccalaureate.”

In addition to cheering for her children in the many sports they play, Fox refuels her professional and personal energy with hiking, camping, and summertime trips to the beach. Another unexpected bonus of the pandemic was the time it created to regularly eat a family dinner together each night. She or her husband prepare a meal and they all sit down together by 6 pm as often as they can.

Together, with her teams at home and work, Fox finds the end results deeply rewarding.

“My favorite part is when projects come together and the results of good research are shareable to the scientific community,” she said.

September 2022 Edition

Wendy Di, Computational Mathematician, MCS

After China’s Cultural Revolution, Zichao “Wendy” Di’s father did not have the option of pursuing his dream of becoming a scientist, or even attending college. He did, however, have a daughter who surprised almost everyone with her prodigious abilities in math. He invested himself in encouraging her interest.

“He always told me stories of scientists, and the “true science” behind science fiction stories,” said Di, now a research scientist at Argonne who focuses on applied mathematical modeling and optimization algorithm development. “Despite others’ expectations that boys excel more than girls, he never made me feel that I was not supposed to be good in math or science. Being one of the very few girls who were good at math from a very young age improved my self-esteem, and it has felt very natural to work toward where I am today.”

Despite recognition from her father, teachers, and even peers, Di did struggle to overcome one seemingly mountainous barrier to becoming a respected mathematician: Shyness.

“In China, the emphasis was on passing tests, not on asking questions or expressing opinions,” she said. “It wasn’t until I came to Argonne that I learned from my mentor, Lois Curfman McInnes, the skill of speaking up and making my ideas known.”

This ability to voice one’s ideas was critical to becoming the professional scientist Di wanted to be – one who earned her colleague’s respect with independent thinking and ideas worth hearing.

To overcome this fear, she took the small steps of first expressing an idea or question to only one person. Then, she built the courage to do so in front of only a few people. Eventually, she made herself do so in seminars and colloquiums, where there were more public audiences.

“Eventually, it worked, and now I’m not afraid anymore,” she said. “My advice is never assume any question is ‘stupid’ or ‘silly.’ Just ask!”

Di is expecting her first baby – a girl – in September and she credits her energetic Siberian Husky with keeping her healthy and in shape during pregnancy. (“The dog needs lots of walks and my husband and I both really like ice cream!”) She named her dog after science fiction writer Ursula LeGuin’s fictional character, Shevek. Di has another creatively inspired name in mind for her daughter when she arrives. And, it seems one her father would appreciate.

“I’m going to name her ‘Max,’ even though it’s a boy’s name, because I work in optimization,” Di said with a laugh. “I do mathematical optimization and that means I’m working with maximums and minimums all day. The name seems like the right fit.”

July 2022 Edition

Susan Babinec, Project Lead, Stationary Storage, ACCESS
Anyone who follows sports has likely heard the advice, “the best defense is a good offense.” It’s a pithy way to encourage athletes to take control of the pace of a game and not sit around waiting to react or change direction.

Susan Babinec, project lead of stationary storage in PSE’s ACCESS division and a competitive athlete, seems to have adopted this attitude and applied it to a long, varied and successful career in science, even when the scientific field wasn’t especially diverse.

“In the 1980s, women in science were very significantly disadvantaged due to gender,” said Babinec. “I just kept going and never used discrimination as an excuse for not pursuing my interests and achieving my goals.”

Sports, it turned out, were a simple but key way to connect with male colleagues.

“I love talking about sports,” said Babinec, who put herself through school and earned a master’s degree in chemistry and electrochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. “It did help me relate to male colleagues in a friendly and familiar way. It was natural for me.”

Today, Babinec works out daily (preferably outdoors), playing tennis, swimming, running and using her rowing machine inside during the worst weather. She hasn’t ruled out the possibility of training for a triathlon someday. Babinec is also a lifelong musician, having begun playing classical piano when she was very young.  She cultivates this passion with her husband and they attend concerts year-round, including favorites during the summers at Millennium Park and Grant Park. She is ever mindful of dedicating time to family and friends she holds dear.

“I always aspire to do a better job balancing my personal life and my work life,” she said. “There are a lot of distractions and I am very focused on my work, but you have to prioritize and make time for what is most important. Be very attentive to friends and family; call your friends, stay engaged, don’t get disconnected. Personally, I ‘walk the talk,’ which means I am always chatting with someone when I’m walking outside”

At Argonne, Babinec develops and implements high-impact technologies that can help slow climate change and ultimately result in a deeply decarbonized world.

She had no mentors in science during college. In fact she was frequently and openly discouraged.  However that changed once she entered the workforce, where she connected well with several senior male scientists who counseled her over many years. She has seen a real improvement for women in science and technology within the past 15 years or so.

“I don’t think the path I walked has much to do with women today,” she said. “It’s important for women to have other women to talk to and relate to, but I wouldn’t limit the possibilities and benefits of a good mentor to women. Some men can be as supportive as women.”

Babinec said she mentors several women and cares about them and their careers deeply, but she warns them they need to be realistic.

“This can be a very demanding career,” she said.

 

July 2022 Edition

Maria Chan, Computational scientist, PSE
One of the biggest barriers to women achieving their dreams can be the stereotypical expectations of others. This was the case for Maria Chan, a computational scientist in the Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) in the Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE) directorate.

“My parents did not expect me to become a scientist, my math teacher in high school said I was ‘pretty good for a girl’, and some professors expressed surprise that I was good at physics,” said Chan. “One manager was startled that I work in theory and modeling. Another colleague told me that women should not be managers. I am not sure I have overcome these attitudes; it’s a work in progress.”

To motivate herself, Chan leans on her intrinsic need to solve puzzles, a desire to help accelerate scientific discovery, and the exciting potential for solving societal problems.

Chan uses quantum mechanical simulations and artificial intelligence/machine learning to understand and design materials. She enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of her work at Argonne, and its many collaborations.

“We bring together physics, chemistry, materials science, applied math, statistics, and other perspectives and approaches,” she explained.

Chan was inspired at a young age to pursue physics when she read a book on special relativity in her native Chinese. The book introduced her to the enticing idea that logical reasoning and mathematics can be used to carry out scientific thought experiments.  “Counter to stereotypes, scientists don’t all wear lab coats and handle test tubes,” Chan said.    When she inquired about a research position as an undergraduate, she faced mostly rejections, and one professor told her, “You know, not everyone can do research.” Fortunately, she found mentors in notable professors Nina Byers at UCLA and later Millie Dresselhaus at MIT, who made a point of encouraging her and other women to pursue physics. “Without their support, I cannot imagine being able to become a scientist,” said Chan.

The best professional advice she thinks she received came from her PhD advisor who pointed out to her how important it is to avoid a defensive reaction when someone criticizes her work. “If the reviewer did not seem to understand the merits of our work, that means we could have explained it better,” said Chan. “We need to think about it from the other person’s perspective and address their concerns.”

 

May 2022 Edition

JoAnn (Joni) Garcia, Physical Therapy Assistant
Joni Garcia had only flown on an airplane one other time when she flew from south Texas to begin college at the University of Chicago in September 2001. Within two years, deeply moved by the events of September 11, Garcia left her undergraduate studies to enlist in the U.S. Air Force.

“I went in ready to do whatever was asked,” said Garcia, a Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) in Argonne’s Health and Employee Wellness center.

After taking an aptitude test, the Air Force identified jobs in which it thought Garcia could excel and serve. She chose Physical Medicine Technician. Garcia learned the equivalent of a two-year associate’s degree in four-months, and then headed to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. There, she provided physical therapy support to members of all branches of the armed services

Garcia rose to the rank of Technical Sargent (TSgt) and she still serves today with a deployable hospital unit near Saint Louis. She is also an invited speaker who encourages enlisted service members to obtain their civilian Physical Therapy Assistant license while they are still in the military. For many who enlist and keep re-enlisting, checking a civilian licensure box may seem superfluous. However, Garcia says the license is required (and acts as a significant threshold for higher salaries) once a person leaves the armed services and tries to find work.

“No one can take your education away from you,” she said. As a person of humble economic beginnings, she empathizes with those who shoulder student loans. Garcia cites student debt as the number one challenge she faced in developing a professional career. Today, she is earning her Master’s of Business Administration degree through a military-funded scholarship program.

At Argonne since 2013, Garcia employs her extensive training in orthopedics and ergonomics to help laboratory employees recover from musculoskeletal injuries or surgeries.

“When employees come to us, they need our help to get better,” she said. “If someone is thinking about a shoulder injury they developed over the weekend instead of their science, we are losing valuable minutes and hours they could be spending on their work. The sooner I can help people get better, the sooner they can get back to whatever they do at the Lab.”

Garcia credits two people in her life for shaping her professional identity. First, she cites her mother Ysabel, “a beautiful soul,” who worked for many years as a dedicated teacher’s assistant for children with significant disabilities. Second, she recalls a TSgt in the Air Force who modeled a whole-heartedly personal approach to patient care.

“People used to give him a hard time because he’d stay late to write notes after patient visits,” she remembered. “He didn’t want to spend time taking notes while he was with them. You can be the top student in your class, but patients need to know you care about their personal health and wellness. I’m 100% invested in my patients and getting them back to their best as quickly as possible.”