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Emma Goulet
Saint Anselm College
AIP Center for History of Physics/Neils Bohr Library & Archives Intern
American Institute of Physics
Final presentation
Emma Goulet - Final Presentation .pdf
Abstract:
Throughout history, there have been various cases of women in physics being underrepresented and undercredited for their work. It is essential to research and amplify their stories to promote representation in the field. This summer, I did just that and focused my efforts on two incredible women in physics: Katherine Clerk Maxwell and Émilie du Châtelet. I first created teaching guides on the two women for kindergarten through second graders, so that young kids could hopefully be inspired by women in science. Then, I wrote outreach articles about both women to attempt to share their stories with a wider and older audience. This consisted of articles for the AIP History Newsletter, Ex Libris Universum library & archives blog, an AIP essay competition, as well as some Wikipedia edits. Katherine serves as a case study about partners in science and how the companions of scientists often end up making huge contributions to research, but do not get credit for their work. Next, the media around du Châtelet served as a prime example of how stories are exaggerated and misrepresented throughout history. This presentation will touch upon my experience researching these two concealed craftswomen of physics, and share their very unique stories as well as my teaching guides and articles on them.
Hello everyone! My name is Emma Goulet (she/her), and I am a rising senior at Saint Anselm College. I major in Physics and Psychology, with a minor in Astronomy and Planetary Science. This coming summer, I will be the incoming Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives Intern. At this point, I have been lucky enough to do mainly more technical astronomy research through my school and previous REU programs. I have always imagined myself in some kind of astronomy or research-related field, as I am also doing a few research and teaching projects on the side and getting certified to be able to find Pulsar stars with astronomical data. However, I have always wanted to explore what else I could do with physics and am thrilled to try something new with the policy in this internship! I am extremely passionate about the importance of amplifying underrepresented voices and policy matters; finding some middle ground between this and my excitement about physics research is a really amazing opportunity. Before this internship, I couldn’t think of a way to combine my passions for physics, psych, and education specifically in social equality; I am thrilled to find some kind of intersections between these passions and am excited to try my hand at more historical research and writing! I am also the president of my school's SPS chapter, and it has been a blast getting closer to my department because of it! We are a tiny department, so coming together in our SPS chapter has really been an amazing way to establish our wonderful community.
Apart from professional-related pursuits, I am very outdoorsy in my personal life. I love camping, hiking, animals, etc (probably because I live next to a farm and have camped my whole life). In very much the same vein, I have found hobbies in fitness and cooking! I have worked as a chef and in a kitchen, and I love making up recipes and trying new things, as well as physically challenging myself. While I am excited to combine a few of my passions together in this internship, I am also thrilled to be able to meet the other interns and live in an apartment with a few peers in downtown DC! I truly can’t wait to meet everyone and get outside of my comfort zone this summer.