A victory for girls and science
Winners of the 2011 Google Science Fair, from left, Lauren Hodge from the 13-14 age group, Shree Bose from the 17-18 age group, and Naomi Shah, for the 15-16 age group. Credit:
Girl power. That's the outcome of this year's Google Science Fair, which received more than 7,500 entries from 10,000 students in 91 countries for its first contest to seek out the best and the brightest young scientists.
The three winners, Shree Bose, 17; Naomi Shah, 16, and Lauren Hodge, 14, all of the United States, conducted experiments ranging from improving drug treatments for cancer patients to improving indoor air quality for asthma patients.
In a field that remains disproportionately male, it's indeed a rare turn of events when a science fair is won, no less swept, by the other gender.
While female students outnumber men in college 57 percent to 43 percent, they still lag behind in choosing science as a career. Only 37 percent of scientific doctoral degrees are awarded to women and only 34 percent of scientists are women, according to the National Science Foundation in 2007.
But the Google Science Fair results may be a sign that the scientific gender gap is closing.
After seeing pictures of Bose, Shah, and Hodge standing on a stage with their trophies, aspiring female scientists may find it a little less intimidating and a little more normal for them to choose a career in research.
Though the budding scientists may not realize it yet, they're sending an inspirational message that science labs are no longer a males-only domain.
