LGBTQ+ STEM Day
LGBTQ+ STEM Day is an international event founded by the UK charity Pride in STEM. The yearly event celebrates and highlights the work of and barriers to LGBTQIA+ people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) on November 18th.
The Kumpula LGBTQ+ community, The Science Basement, and the FIMM Social Justice and Inclusivity Committee celebrated International LGBTQ+ STEM Day with a webinar highlighting the research and experiences of LGBTQ+ scientists at the University of Helsinki, with a special invited keynote speaker.
Why do we need LGBTQ+ STEM Day?
Why do we need LGBTQ+ in STEM Day in 2021? Join Emma Mannfors, Astronomy/Astrophysics PhD student in the Department of Physics at the University of Helsinki, for a short introduction on the state of LGBTQ+ rights in Finland and in academia.
Keynote speaker: Tom WElton, OBE
Professor Tom Welton, OBE, is President and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a professor of sustainable chemistry at Imperial College London. Professor Welton’s research focuses on synthesis and processing of biomass-derived polymers to replace petrochemical-based plastics, as well as the fundamental properties of ionic liquids. Professor Welton has long been an advocate for greater visibility for the LGBT community in the sciences.
Invited Speaker: Luciena Xiao
Luciena Xiao is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics with research interests in arithmetic geometry and representation theory. Before moving to Helsinki, Luciena was a postdoctoral researcher at the IMJ-PRG in Paris for one year. They received their PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 2020 and their BA from the University of Notre Dame in 2015.
Invited Speaker: Jukka Kallijärvi
Docent Jukka Kallijärvi, PhD, completed his bachelor’s and master’s studies studies at the University of Oulu and the University of Helsinki, and his PhD in the field of medical genetics at the Folkhälsan Research Center and Department of Medical Genetics of the University of Helsinki. Following postdoctoral positions at the Institute of Biotechnology studying insulin signaling and Drosophila developmental neurobiology, at the Folkhälsan Research Center, and at Lund University, Sweden, Dr. Kallijärvi is now principal investigator in the Faculty of Medicine and will begin work as a full group leader at the Folkhälsan Research Center in January 2022.
Panel Discussion
Joining the invited speakers on the panel were Dr Deanna Hooper, postdoctoral researcher at the Helsinki Institute of Physics, conducting research in the field of Astronomy and Space science, and Emma Mannfors, Astronomy/Astrophysics PhD student in the Department of Physics at the University of Helsinki, researching star formation and the cold interstellar medium.
Host: David Weir
David is an Associate Professor and Academy Research Fellow in the Department of Physics and the Helsinki Institute of Physics, working on gravitational wave cosmology. They are also interested in making academia a nicer, more respectful place where everyone feels welcome.
We would also like to thank Veronica Ahonen, Lisa Eick, Katja Kaurinkoski, Lea Urpa, and Alyce Whipp for volunteering their time for this event.