Women have always been critical to the core mission of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. But never before have they occupied as many leadership positions as they do today. From the environmental sciences to supercomputers, they are shaping high-profile and innovative research across the laboratory.
Each woman has taken a different road to Argonne. Some hail from generations of scientists while others forged an unprecedented path. All faced and overcame gender bias along the way, earning enough wisdom to proudly tell the next generation of women scientists to ignore their detractors and forge ahead.
Cristina Negri (video above), born in Milan, Italy, fell in love with nature as a girl through regular trips to the Alps with her family.
It was her deep affection for the outdoors that prompted her to study agricultural science – environmental science was not yet available – at the University of Milan in the late 1970s, at a time when the student movement started to challenge the barriers to women’s professional life choices.
Up until that point, many of her women peers went into teaching for lack of other opportunities.
“Teaching was not for me,” she said. “I wanted to do something more directly applicable to real world problems.”
Feature photo caption: Never before have women held as many leadership positions at Argonne as they do today. Image by Argonne National Laboratory.
Link to full article: https://www.anl.gov/article/opportunities-abound-for-ascending-women-scientists