We are excited to announce the speakers for the March 8th, Blossoming STEM of Women event, a free online event for educational institutions.
Coordinator: Francesca Battista
Francesca Battista obtained her Ph.D. in Quantum Physics at the University of Lund, Sweden in 2013. She worked as a researcher in Germany and Argentina where she also served as a Physics instructor at the University of Buenos Aires and in international schools. In 2018 she completed the Masters in Public Communication of Science and Technology at the University of Buenos Aires. In 2019, she moved to the United States to continue her studies in Science Technology, and Society. She obtained her Master’s in Science and Technology Studies at Virginia Tech University in 2021. She moved back to Buenos Aires in 2022.
Speaker: Yasamin Rezai
Yasamin REZAI (she/they/او) is a polyglot actor, Performance and Media scholar and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures (MLL) at the University of Miami. Her academic work is focused on the intersection of New Media Studies and Performance Studies by employing Digital Humanities tools and data-driven approaches. Her research is focused on instapoetry, data culture and justice, online activism, in Iran. She is the co-founder of DLC+, formerly known as Instasociety, an open-access research network and resource for scholars exploring digital literary culture. Yasamin’s works have appeared in several academic journals. She holds a BS and MS in engineering.
Speaker: Mariana Duarte
Mariana Duarte is project manager at BASF. Mariana graduated in Chemical Engineering at the University of Porto and obtained a PhD from Lund University, in Sweden, on a dual program between academia and industry. She was awarded a Marie Curie grant to develop her research work between Lund University and Biotage AB, a middle sized Swedish company headquartered in Uppsala. Her research work focused on polymeric materials for applications in medicine, with focus on diagnostics. In 2017, Mariana decided to continue her career in a leading chemical company and moved to Germany to work at BASF as research engineer and lab team leader. Together with her team, she developed polymer production processes for a wide market range, from automotive to construction and consumer. More recently, she started a new position at the business unit Health & Nutrition, where she leads innovation and development projects.
Speaker: Laura Convertino
Laura Convertino is a PhD candidate in cognitive and theoretical neuroscience at UCL (University College London), awarded by the Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Training Programme for the Ecological study of the Brain. She studied Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pavia, with a parallel diploma in Biological Sciences at IUSS Pavia, and became a qualified MD in 2018. Proud member of Collegio Ghislieri, she had the opportunity to extend her studies in basic research and clinical training in different international leading institutions. She is particularly interested in issues related to minorities’ access to the benefits of science and scientific knowledge, and in promoting freedom of research and the right to science beyond cultural biases.
Speaker: Kulyash Zhumadilova
Kulyash Zhumadilova is a doctoral candidate in Science, Technology and Society (STS) at Virginia Tech. She received her MSc in Life Sciences from Skoltech and BSc in Biology from Nazarbayev University. Kulyash’s primary research interest is history and philosophy of molecular biology, but she also engages with broader issues in STS, political economy and academia.
