A women’s universe

The advancement of women, particularly in the academic arena, is a matter close to Rector Sarah Springman’s heart. Even as a professor, she invested a great deal of effort in conveying to girls the fascination of engineering sciences. As a supervisor, she was highly conscious of the particular challenges facing young women in academic professions and made it her mission to support them. In her ultimate role as Rector, she has always had time for the specific needs of female students. Last but not least, she has campaigned for the use of gender-neutral language throughout ETH – and also periodically has had to intervene at corporate communications with her English charm.

Making a mark with “Women in Science and Space”

In her final year as Rector, Sarah Springman is planning to celebrate women in science and leave office on a high note. She is inviting all ETH members and interested young people from outside to a three-part event series on “Women in Science and Space” – a series in which women are the focus, but to which everyone is welcome. Springman commented that “many of the public events at our university are dominated by men, and I wanted to offer opportunities for outstanding women to share stories about their science.”

Initially, three events are planned on the subject of space exploration. “Even as a child, I was fascinated by the Apollo mission and for a while I considered studying astrophysics,” says Springman, who ultimately specialised in soil mechanics here on Earth. She goes on to explain her fascination: “Space exploration involves moving outside the sphere of what is known, beyond the boundaries of knowledge.” She adds that space exploration is a perfect example of how new knowledge is obtained, and how this knowledge from fundamental research finds everyday applications. “Even just the new materials that have resulted from research play an important part in our everyday lives,” says the triathlete, with a glance at her carbon bike. And exploring the universe is also about collaboration within international teams.

A visit from a pioneer in space exploration

As her guest at the first event on 17 March (4 p.m.), Springman will welcome Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell who, as a student in 1967, discovered the first pulsars – an achievement that was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics seven years later. The discoverer herself went empty-handed, however, as she was not the paper’s first author. She will relate how she experienced the story and how the discovery shaped her scientific career.

The event is entitled “The curious case of the pulsating star”. The talk by Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell will be followed by a discussion, which will feature Professor Louise Harra, Director of the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC). “Louise and I discussed the idea for this event series, and her ideas have been central to the programme,” says Springman. Harra will also be involved in the second event, to which Springman has invited Nicola J. Fox, Director of NASA’s Heliophysics Science Division, and physics professor Maura Hagan, dean of the College of Science at Utah State University.

The events will be held in English.