“Girls are looking for opportunities to make a difference. What we don’t communicate well about fields like physics and engineering, is that these are careers where you can have a great impact… In high school we say, ‘Solve equations!’, ‘Do this study on the Milikan experiment!’ or ‘Document the number of electrons!’ Well, how exciting is that?” Dr. Elizabeth Croft said. “We don’t connect that to knowing the strength and materials needed to design a car to keep people safe, or how to process chemicals to produce enough energy for our world without polluting our environment.”

Dr. Elizabeth Croft, Mechanical Engineering professor and NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, is one of 15 female scientists invited to speak at UBC’s second annual Women in Physics conference this week. “More than 115 people are expected to attend, many of them young women enrolled in university-level science programs. Conference organizers say they want to encourage and support young women who may have an interest in pursuing careers in physics and other sciences.”

Read more about the conference, Dr. Croft, and other inspirational women in physics in the Vancouver Metro news article: Women Physicists Wade Into a Man’s World

For more information about the Women in Physics Conference (Aug 1-4), visit their website: http://www.phas.ubc.ca/~wipc2012/