Picture a Scientist Screening - EEGS Community Engagement

What comes to mind when you think of a scientist? The faces of science are changing. Barriers to inclusion, spoken and unspoken, still hinder diversity from flourishing within the sciences. Join the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS) for a screening of the barrier-breaking documentary, Picture a Scientist, and engage in a panel discussion and happy hour on diversity, equity, and inclusion within the geoscience community.

Event Details

We invite you to watch the film when it's convenient for you - any time over a two day period starting on October 1st at 8am PT and running through October 3rd at 8am PT. A time to reflect and discuss through a diverse panel conversation and virtual happy hour will be hosted via Zoom on October 2nd from 4:30pm PT - 6:15pm PT. Join us!

Ticket sales have been extended to September 29th at 8pm PT.

Tickets are limited!

About the Film

PICTURE A SCIENTIST chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries - including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists - who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.

PICTURE A SCIENTIST was an official selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film’s virtual theatrical run reached 47 theaters across the USA in June 2020, and raised money for two organizations advancing women of color in STEM.

CW: Please note that some scenes from this film feature firsthand accounts of explicit and brutal harassment, implicit gender and racial bias, and discrimination, so viewer discretion is advised.

About the Panelists

We are excited to host representatives from both EEGS and AGU-NS to participate in the panel discussion about the film and their experiences.

Joining us will be:

- Dr. Kisa Mwakanyamale, AGU-NS

- Dr. German Y. Ojeda, P.G., EEGS

- Cian Dawson, AGU-NS

- Emily Hart, EEGS

Dr. Kisa Mwakanyamale is a research geophysicist at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) - Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In this role, Kisa conducts research in near surface geophysics using airborne and ground-based electromagnetic methods. Prior to ISGS, Kisa worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, conducting geophysical research on the dynamics of free phase gas content in the restored peatlands in Alberta, Canada. Kisa holds bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Geology from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, as well as masters degree in Geology from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan and PhD in Geophysics from Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.

Dr. German Ojeda was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. He attended Universidad Nacional de Colombia to study Geology, where he graduated with a thesis on 2D seismic interpretation in 1992. German moved to the US for graduate school, earning Masters and PhD degrees in Earth Science at the University of South Carolina and Florida International University respectively. German then took a postdoctoral position at Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, and was promoted to Assistant Director of the Center for Marine Studies. He moved back to his home country in 2004, where he spent several years in the oil industry working as a technical lead for Ecopetrol energy company, and later as Vice President of G&G at LAEFM, a private equity firm. German is co-founder and current president of Subsuelo3D, a successful company engaged in developing easy-to-use geophysical instruments for near-surface exploration. German is a FL-licensed Professional Geologist.

Cian Dawson is a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Mission Area, where he has worked with the Hydrogeophysics Branch since 2000. Cian’s current USGS work focuses on testing and integration of drone-deployed sensors into USGS hydrologic studies, with a recent focus on GPR. In past USGS roles, Cian was involved in a range of borehole, surface, and waterborne geophysical studies and technology transfer, and related policy development. Previous work also included applying the geosciences in a variety of sectors, including NGOs, environmental consulting, and informal education.

Emily Hart is an applications geophysicist for Geometrics, a geophysical equipment manufacturer based in San Jose, California. She has a diverse background in field work, having conducted many MT installations across the US as a part of the Earthscope Transportable Array among other projects for USGS and Oregon State University throughout the Cascadia region. Emily’s current role at Geometrics spans the support and development of their seismic, magnetic, and EM geophysical equipment, though her primary focus is the marine seismic product line. As a geophysicist she has worked on five continents, often as one of few or the only woman aboard each vessel. She primarily trains and supports research groups and industry professionals who conduct ultra-high resolution seismic surveys from Antarctica to offshore windfarm development in the North Sea. Emily holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geophysics and Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

About EEGS

The Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS) is an applied scientific organization founded in 1992. EEGS hosts an annual meeting on applied geophysics with topics range from natural hazard and risk evaluation, to hydrogeophysics, archeology, humanitarian geophysics, dams and levees, to unexploded ordnance and agricultural applications. EEGS pursues a mission to promote the science of geophysics especially as it is applied to environmental and engineering problems; to foster common scientific interests of geophysicists and their colleagues in other related sciences and engineering; to maintain a high professional standing among its members; and to promote fellowship and cooperation among persons interested in the science. EEGS student chapters are active worldwide and EEGS maintains close ties with the near surface geophysics section (formerly EEGS-European Section) of the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, the Near-Surface Geophysics Section of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the Near-Surface Focus Group of the American Geophysical Union, and formal affiliated society agreements with several international professional societies.

This is the inaugural event of the EEGS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.

For more information on EEGS: https://www.eegs.org/

For more information on the EEGS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force: https://www.eegs.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion