Emma Towlson, an associate research scientist in the Center for Complex Network Research at Northeastern University is all set for her expedition to Antarctica. Ms Towlson is one among the 100 women scientists and researchers who have been selected to participate in the upcoming program led by Homeward Bound, a company that sends women scientists to Antarctica to learn valuable skills that will help them to become leaders in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields.
Talking about her motivation to take part in this expedition, Ms Towlson says, “A motivation for my taking part in this program is to change things for women.” Towlson also says that this voyage will mark the largest women-only expedition to Antarctica to date and she anticipates that it will open numerous opportunities for women, including applying for more grants and organizing conferences. “It feels like the beginning of something far bigger, and I think the biggest opportunities will come from what we create ourselves,” she says.
The trip is said to be a three-week long expedition that will involve leadership training, developing ideas for collaborative science projects, and visiting a number of research stations. During the visit, the women scientists will work with graduate students, retirees who have already built successful careers and scientists who work for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to this, the trip will also include hiking excursions.
Talking about her preparations for this trip, Towlson says she has been evaluating her leadership abilities and forging connections with fellow participants from all walks of life. She concludes by saying that she signed up for the program because she could no longer live with the “existential unease” of watching from the sidelines as climate change affects the planet and this expedition forms a constant backdrop to everything that she just can’t ignore anymore.
Umayal