The High School Dropout Who Fought for the American Dream

“I was a social work major, thought I wanted to go into family counseling. But I didn’t like the classes and loved the statistics and research methods courses. I switched to psych with a stats concentration, and I was off.”

Why do researchers’ and women’s rights matter to an Italian pharmacologist?

“What I am now isn’t what I dreamed of when I was young. After middle school, I knew that I was interested in studying the classics. I was in love with Greek mythology. And so I went to study in a school that concentrated on the classics. After finishing successfully high school, I then knew that I wanted to do science - be it chemistry or biology – and understand microscopically the world that I am surrounded in.”

The woman who explores Australia’s outback to measure the Earth’s sea level

“The wisest choices are those where I have accepted the opportunities that arise, even if there will be challenges and changes. Opportunities for travel and new knowledge are some of the wisest choices that I have made.”

The Palestinian Woman that Dreams of Science and of her Nation

"There was no hope, Israeli occupation prevented a lot of materials and chemicals to enter Gaza. At that point, it was clear enough that the only way to achieve my dream is to go out from the big prison “Gaza”."

How did a chemical engineer end up as a well-loved science teacher in the land of oil?

“Once I started having kids, I realized I wanted a more flexible, perhaps part-time schedule.  I was also frustrated working for a huge company where my projects were never the ones that got funded and where I was one employee out of 20,000.”

The Foodie Who is Saving the World One Code at a Time

... the state of the planet is rapidly deteriorating due to over exploitation, contamination and climate change. That has severe impacts on our food systems, and I wanted to be part of the effort to understand what might happen to our food, so that we can prepare and avoid adverse outcomes of hunger or food crises. I hope to understand what we can do to adapt to the future, while being mindful of sustainability and cognizant of problems of food injustice like food waste and food 'deserts'."

What’s a Swedish horticulturist to do in Northern Italy?

“My father convinced me that I never would find a job…,” she says, “And so I chose my second passion; to study how flowers work through the horticulture program. I was always fascinated about the nature as a child.”