Embodying the Spirit of Research and Scientific Discovery for Over 45 Years! #MySTEMrolemodel

As part of Digital Science’s celebrations for Ada Lovelace Day, we are running a series of blog posts where inspiring women in STEM are sharing their personal role models. Anyone can get involved and we encourage you to share your role model on social media using the hashtag #MySTEMrolemodel. We are also sponsoring Ada Lovelace Day Live! 2015 and hosting a free event on women in STEM, with a fantastic panel to get the discussion going. The event is taking place on October 14th at our London office.

Shelly Miller, former Math and Art teacher at an independent progressive high school, currently excited about my role as Sales & Marketing Manager for Overleaf. In this role, I have the exciting opportunity to champion an innovative new technology that helps scientists and researchers collaborate on scientific research, writing and publishing with the goal of allowing more time for scientific discoveries and an easier way of sharing these discoveries with each other and with the world.

As Ada Lovelace Day @FindingAda approaches, I would like to share a few words about one of my female role models, Jane Goodall @JaneGoodallInst. Jane has embodied the spirit of research and scientific discovery for over 45 years!

Her tireless observations of chimpanzees and meticulous notes led to significant discoveries like the fact that chimpanzees make tools that they utilize – formerly only thought to be achieved by humans. Her lifelong commitment to research and discovery has inspired and resulted in a valiant volume of data, both written and visual.

Several Jane Goodall research centers, such as the Jane Goodall Institute Research Center at Duke University and the Jane Goodall Research Center of USC, care for and offer access to this data to benefit current and future scientists.

Just as Ada Lovelace was an example of how one mathematician can make a big difference, Jane Goodall is a living example of how just one person, one scientist, can make a HUGE difference in the world! Jane continues to travel around the world spreading her message about the importance of conservation and preservation, empowering young scientists, modeling actions toward the betterment of the world, and instilling hope.