On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we highlight the talent of ten female researchers from different areas who, through their work and dedication, are creating Chile's future for the world.
Paula Jofré: Featured as one of the 100 most influential people according to Time magazine, the astronomer and astrophysicist is dedicated to studying the universe, focusing especially on the analysis of stellar spectra to understand the physical processes that shape the Milky Way. Earlier this year she published the book Fossils of the Cosmos, with which she seeks to disseminate her research on the formation and evolution of our galaxy.
Isabel Behncke: Primatologist, PhD. in Evolutionary Anthropology from Oxford University. She studies social behavior, especially play, in bonobos. She is a member of the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group at Oxford University and the Center for Research in Social Complexity at Universidad del Desarrollo. He has received several awards and has given talks for TED, Google and the UN, among other world-renowned institutions.
Maisa Rojas: Chilean physicist and climatologist. Director of the Center for Climate Science and Resilience at the University of Chile. She was part of the commission in charge of drafting the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in 2021. She also served as coordinator of the scientific advisory committee for COP25. She is frequently involved in global projects for the development of public policy on climate change. On March 11, she will take office as Chile's new Minister of Environment.
Judith Pardo: Biologist and paleontologist. PhD. in Sciences from the University of Heidelberg. Post-doctorate with specialization in paleopathology of extinct animals at the Natural History Museum of Stuttgart. Researcher at the GAIA-Antarctic Research Center and associate professor at the Universidad de Magallanes. In charge of the area of macropaleontology at the Instituto de la Patagonia. Member of the science advisory committee of the Seremi de Ciencias de la Macrozona Austral. At the age of 21 she began paleontological research in the Tyndall Glacier after finding numerous ichthyosaurs (extinct marine reptiles).
Flavia Morello: Archaeologist from the University of Chile, Master and PhD in Archaeology from the University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne. Since 2001, she has been a researcher in social sciences and professor at the Universidad de Magallanes, and currently serves as director of the Instituto de la Patagonia and academic coordinator of the Master's degree in Social Sciences, mention in Heritage or Social Intervention, at the same university. She is dedicated to the study of hunter-gatherer groups in Patagonia and the Fuegian archipelago. She has researched from different perspectives, historical and current, the dynamic interactions between culture, society and environment.
Bárbara Saavedra: Biologist and ecologist. Since 2005 she has been the director for Chile of the Wildlife Conservation Society. She has a degree in Biology, a Master's degree in Ecology and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She has led, among others, the Karukinka Park project in Tierra del Fuego. CNID Councilor since 2014, she led the Committee for Biodiversity and Natural Capital Management, and promotes the initiative Natural Laboratory Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica. She led the Ecological Constitutionalism Network, offering substantive content to the new Chilean Constitution. He has dedicated his career to promote the knowledge and appreciation of nature and biodiversity in different public, private, academic, social and other spaces.
Lorena Tapia: Surgeon from Universidad de Chile, specialist in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases; PhD in Medical Sciences from Universidad de Chile and post doctorate from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX, USA; Associate Professor of the Virology Program of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences and the Department of Northern Pediatrics of the Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile. She is a member of the Covid-19 Vaccine Committee, a scientific commission that advises the strategy for equitable and timely access to a vaccine against coronavirus in our country.
Laura Pérez: Astronomer and professor at the University of Chile since 2017, where she leads a research group to understand how planet formation occurs in our galaxy. Her research focuses on studying the gas and dust disks that surround nascent stars, since that is where planets form. He contributed to the first high-resolution observation of a protoplanetary disk with ALMA, and discovered the first evidence of spiral density waves in a disk, supporting an alternative scenario of planet formation. In recognition of her scientific career as a young researcher, she has been awarded by the Chilean Academy of Sciences, and recently by the World Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Alejandra Stehr: PhD. in Environmental Sciences. Her line of research focuses on the study of the availability of water resources under climate change and land use scenarios, with emphasis on the study of the hydrological regime and water balance of watersheds through the use of different methodologies depending on the problem to be addressed and the availability of data. He was a member of the advisory committee for the update of the Energy Policy, Ministry of Energy during the year 2020, in addition to being a member for 6 years of the Council of Civil Society Organizations of the Ministry of Agriculture. She is currently part of the advisory committee on climate change and the advisory committee on water resources of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, U. de Concepción.
Bernardita Méndez: Co-founder and president of Fundación Ciencia & Vida, professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad Andrés Bello. She is a member of the board of Fundación Chile, the Bios group, the Board of Directors of the Millennium Initiative and other institutions that aim to promote science. She is also an advisor to Comunidad Mujer.
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