SWSM NEWSSociety of Women in Sciences and Mathematics

Fall 2016 • auburn.edu/cosam

THIS IS LEADERSHIP. THIS IS ACHIEVEMENT. THIS IS SWSM.

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Q&A WITH AMANDA SAVRDA

Amanda Savrda, geology ’08, received the inaugural SWSM Scholarship in 2006. She holds a master’s degree in geological sciences from the University of South Carolina, and is currently working toward her master’s degree in general science education at Auburn University.

What does SWSM mean to you, and why are programs like this important for young women?

SWSM’s supportive and dynamic mentorship network, through scholarships and sponsored programs like the SWSM annual symposium, empowers young women in pursuit of careers in sciences and mathematics. While pursuing my bachelor’s degree in geology at Auburn, I was often one of the only women in my upper-level courses, and Dr. Lorraine

Wolf in the Department of Geosciences was one of the few female scientist mentors I had. Through SWSM, I gained other wonderful female mentors. In particular, Dr. Marie Wooten and Dr. Margaret Craig-Schmidt were two SWSM leaders who truly inspired me as an undergraduate. They encouraged me to recognize myself as a leader and as a role model for other young women.

Tell us a bit about your life and career after Auburn.Life after Auburn has been an adventure!

After I graduated in ’08, I went to the University of South Carolina for my master’s degree in geological sciences. My research focused on tectonic events affecting rocks in mountain ranges of the Antarctic Peninsula. I spent a month in Antarctica collecting rock samples with my thesis advisor, Dr. David Barbeau, supported by some incredible mountaineers and logistical staff from the British Antarctic Survey. It was thrilling! We were dropped off at our icy field sites by small planes. We camped in tents and had to snowshoe, ski, and ice pick our way to rock outcrops while linked to each other via ropes for safety.

At USC, I spent a lot of time teaching undergraduate students and helping run field trips in the Appalachian Mountains. I loved getting my students excited about geology! I was a USC Partners in Inquiry Fellow, and had the wonderful opportunity to teach eighth grade science for a semester at a middle school in Columbia, South Carolina, as a resident scientist. I enjoyed facilitating the students’ connections between the science they were learning in the classroom and their daily lives.

Following graduate school, I was employed as a geoscientist in ExxonMobil’s Exploration Company in Houston. During my five years at ExxonMobil, I worked some challenging and complex projects with some brilliant geologists, and got to travel to some amazing places while doing so!

What brings you back to Auburn now?

My passion for teaching has brought me back to Auburn! I love getting young people excited about science and the beauty and complexity of the world around them. I missed the fulfillment of being an instructor, so I decided to make a career change. I just began my master’s degree in general science education at Auburn, and I am working as a graduate research assistant in the College of Education with Dr. Christine Schnittka—she’s my role model; an excellent teacher and a former engineer.

What has been the most rewarding part of your career so far?

Being a teacher and mentor has been the most rewarding part of my career as a scientist so far, whether it was during my time as an undergraduate in Auburn’s Association for Women in Science or as a camp counselor for COSAM’s Office of Outreach, teaching college and middle school students as a graduate student in South Carolina, or mentoring interns at ExxonMobil. Encouraging young

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men and women to see how amazing science is and how much it impacts their lives, and empowering them to explore the world for themselves is challenging, fun, and fulfilling!

What do you love most about Auburn?

I grew up in Auburn, and love that Auburn University has always been an enormous part of what ‘home’ and ‘family’ mean to me. In 1986, my parents and I moved to Auburn because my father joined the COSAM faculty. The university is the life-blood of the city and made the town a great place to learn and grow. Two of my younger sisters are also Auburn graduates, and one is currently a sophomore at Auburn. Every day on campus I see former teachers and mentors, and I run into friends from growing up. It’s wonderful! The Auburn Family, along with my own family, taught me the value of education and community, and shaped so much of the woman, and scientist, that I am. I am so grateful to call Auburn home!

SWSM-SPONSORED STUDENTS EXCEL IN COSAM OUTREACH PROGRAMS

Four students who were sponsored by the Society of Women in Sciences and Mathematics received top honors through their participation in two COSAM outreach programs, the Greater East Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair, or GEARSEF, and the Summer Science Institute.

GEARSEF is a regional affiliate fair of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Noel Lange, of Auburn Junior High School, was the senior division winner at GEARSEF for her project, “Kinetic Evaluation of Metal Modified Non-Woven Cotton Fibers Capable of Removing Sulfur Dioxide.” Ella Mae Wiggins, of Beverlye Magnet School in

Dothan, was the junior division winner for her project, “How Far Can Sparks Fly?”

COSAM’s Summer Science Institute is a program for rising 11th and 12th grade students with a high aptitude and interest in the fields of science and mathematics. The program partners students with research faculty to explore topics more advanced than what is typically taught in a public or private high school environment.

Hannah Newbold, of Westridge Christian Academy in Roswell, Georgia, and Gabby Logan of Oxford High School, received the Spirit of SSI Award during this year’s Summer Science Institute. The Spirit of SSI Award is given each week to the student who most exemplifies a willingness to learn and make the most of the educational opportunity while maintaining a positive attitude.

For more information on COSAM Office of Outreach programs, visit auburn.edu/cosam/outreach.

ANNUAL SWSM SYMPOSIUM TO BE HELD MAY 4, 2017, FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER AUDREY GOINS BRICHI

Each year, the Society of Women in Sciences and Mathematics Symposium invites area women to be a part of a dynamic, one-day experience. The symposium includes a panel discussion from accomplished women in various disciplines, opportunities to receive mentorship for possible career paths, and a luncheon featuring a keynote speech delivered by a woman distinguished in her discipline.

The Marie W. Wooten Distinguished

Speaker at the 2017 SWSM Symposium will be Audrey Goins Brichi, biological sciences ’74, zoology entomology ’77.

Born in Birmingham, Brichi attended Auburn University on the William Crawford Gorgas Scholarship for outstanding students in Alabama. She is also a graduate of the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, where she received a Master of Business Administration in supply chain management.

Brichi recently retired from the Chevron Corporation’s Office of Global Diversity, Ombuds and University Partnerships where she served as the manager of diversity and inclusion. Brichi was responsible for workplace inclusion strategies, mentoring programs, and external relationships with global diversity organizations.

She has also served as manager of Strategy, Planning, and Coordination for Downstream Technology and Services Procurement at Chevron Corporation in San Ramon, California, where she ensured that procurement processes – category management, procurement operations, and contracting – were strengthened in downstream operating companies and service organizations. Prior to that assignment, she was responsible for the management and coordination of Chevron’s global procurement

activities with diverse—small, minority, women-owned, and locally owned—businesses.

Brichi has held positions in environmental health and safety at Chevron’s Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Richmond, California, refineries, and in the corporation’s environmental affairs group. Following an assignment managing contributions and community development for Chevron’s international external affairs group, she joined corporate procurement.

She served on the executive committee for the Chevron Women’s Network, was a member of the Boomers Network, and also served as mentoring officer on the Black Employee Network Leadership Team. She has served on a number of boards and committees and has received many awards and recognition for her work.

She was one of the founding executive committee members of the Northern California chapter of the Network of Executive Women, a national nonprofit organization with a mission to attract, retain, and advance women in the retail and consumer products industry through education, leadership, and business development.

Brichi resides in Oakland, California. For more information about the SWSM

Symposium, visit auburn.edu/cosam/swsm or email kristen.bond@auburn.edu.

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Former SWSM Distinguished Speaker, Kathryn Thornton, physics ’74, has been named the 2016 Distinguished Alumna in the College of Sciences and Mathematics.

COSAM’s Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize alumni who have achieved significant stature in their chosen fields while also possessing a history of commitment to Auburn University and the college.

Selected as an astronaut by NASA in May 1984, Thornton is a veteran of four space flights: STS-33 in 1989, STS-49 in 1992, STS-61 in 1993, and STS-73 in 1995. She has logged over 975 hours in space, including more than 21 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA), and was the first woman to participate in a classified U.S. Government space mission.

Thornton was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-33, which launched at night from Kennedy Space Center in 1989 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission carried Department of Defense payloads and other secondary payloads. In 1992, on her second flight, Thornton served on the crew of STS-49 on board the maiden flight of the new Space Shuttle Endeavour, and the following year, was an EVA crewmember aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on the STS-61 Hubble Space Telescope servicing and repair mission. On her final mission in 1995, Thornton served aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-73 as the payload commander of the second United States Microgravity Laboratory mission.

Since leaving NASA, Thornton has served on several NASA review committees and task groups, including the Return to Flight Task Group, which evaluated NASA’s work in meeting goals set by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board prior to resumption of Space Shuttle flights. In 2008, Thornton co-chaired a workshop titled, “Examining the Vision for Space Exploration,” held at Stanford University and subsequently testified on the results before the Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives. She is currently on the board of the Space Foundation and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, is co-author on Pearson’s Interactive Science,

a K-8 science program, and is director of the aerospace engineering program at the University of Virginia.

Thornton is the recipient of numerous awards including NASA Space Flight Medals, the Explorer Club Lowell Thomas Award, the National Astronautics Association Robert J. Collier Trophy, the Freedom Foundation Freedom Spirit Award, and the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement. She was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.

In addition to her Auburn degree, Thornton received her master’s and doctorate degrees in physics at the University of Virginia.

MEET SWSM FACULTY AWARD RECIPIENT JESSICA MCDONALD

Jessica McDonald, recipient of the 2016 SWSM Faculty Award, is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Originally from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, McDonald received her bachelor’s degree from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick,

Canada, and her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Waterloo in Canada. Before joining the faculty at Auburn University, McDonald was a postdoctoral fellow at Simon Fraser University.

“One of the classes I teach at Auburn is about the concept of proof in mathematics,” said McDonald. “When I took the equivalent of that course as an undergraduate, it really got me interested in math in a way I hadn’t been before. That definitely started me on the path to where I am today.”

As a graph theorist, her research focuses on structure and coloring.

“In discrete mathematics, a graph is a set of points, some of which may be joined by lines,” said McDonald. “Graphs are useful models for chemical structures, electrical grids, the internet, transportation maps, and many other objects. Anything that can be viewed as a network is, abstractly, a graph. Real world problems involving such networks benefit from the theorems, algorithms, and insight of graph theory.”

Each year, the SWSM Faculty Award recognizes an outstanding female faculty member in her discipline. McDonald was honored at the 2016 SWSM Symposium, and received a plaque and a $1,000 stipend.

“I am so pleased to have been selected as the SWSM Faculty Award winner,” said McDonald. “Programs like this can play an important role in mentoring and encouraging young women, especially in a field like mathematics where women have traditionally been underrepresented.”

FORMER SWSM DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER NAMED 2016 COSAM DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA

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College of Sciences and MathematicsOffice of Development315 Roosevelt Concourse1161 W. Samford Ave., Bldg. 8Auburn, AL 36830-9989

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THIS IS AUBURN.

Join us for food, fellowship, and fun! The annual SWSM Holiday Party for SWSM sponsors and friends will be held December 1, 2016, at the home of Martha Dumas.

For more information, contact the COSAM Office of Development at 334-844-7780.

SWSM Holiday PartyDecember 1, 2016

Save the Date

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