Ordinarily Extraordinary - Conversations with women in STEM
We’re Kathy Nelson and Linda LaTourelle — co-hosts of Ordinarily Extraordinary: Conversations with Women in STEM.
Kathy, an electrical engineer, launched the podcast in 2020 to share real, unfiltered stories of women working across STEM disciplines. Now with over 130 episodes, the mission remains the same: to amplify the voices of ordinary women doing extraordinary work in science, technology, engineering, and math.
We’re deeply committed to:
- Normalizing the presence of women in STEM by making their stories visible
- Building community for women who may be the only ones like them in their workplace
- Educating listeners about the wide variety of STEM careers — and what they actually look like
- Empowering growth and retention by addressing the challenges behind the leaky pipeline
From early-career professionals to experienced leaders, our guests share how they got started, how they’ve grown, and what they’ve learned along the way. This podcast is a space where women in STEM can be seen, heard, and supported — because representation isn’t just powerful, it’s essential.
Ordinarily Extraordinary - Conversations with women in STEM
86. Museum of Mathematics & Cindy Lawrence, Executive Director of MoMath
Cindy Lawrence is the Executive Director and CEO of the Museum of Mathematics. The Museum of Mathematics began in 2008 with the mission of enhancing public understanding and perception of mathematics. Its dynamic exhibits and programs stimulate inquiry, spark curiosity, and reveal the wonders of mathematics.
Episode Notes
Cindy shares her joy of mathematics and the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) and the importance of making mathematics accessible, joyful, and beautiful for all that visit MoMath. She shares how her perspective as a non-mathematician was very important during the museum's creation as exhibits were being developed to ensure the museum was a place where all people would feel welcomed and that all people could understand the exhibits.
She shares how the museum came together (initially it was a traveling exhibit), how she got involved, and the process of fundraising to bring the museum to fruition.
MoMath is an amazing place that is immersive, interactive, and beautiful. It is well worth the visit when you're in NYC!
Music used in the podcast: Higher Up, Silverman Sound Studio
Acronyms, Definitions, and Fact Check
MoMath is located at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan and is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, seven days a week, 364 days a year (MoMath is closed on Thanksgiving Day and after 2:30 pm on one Wednesday every month for Math Encounters*). Information can be found at https://momath.org.
Stan Wagon invented the square wheel tricycle and is from Minnesota. He is a Canadian-American mathematician, a professor of mathematics at Macalester College in Minnesota. He is the author of multiple books on number theory, geometry, and computational mathematics, and is also known for his snow sculpture. (wikipedia)
Erik D. Demaine (born 28 February 1981) is a professor of Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former child prodigy. (wikipedia)
Jennifer Chase (data scientist) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennchase/
A study of 104 children from ages 3 to 10 found similar patterns of brain activity in boys and girls as they engaged in basic math tasks, researchers reported Friday in the journal Science of Learning."They are indistinguishable," says Jessica Cantlon, an author of the study and professor of developmental neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University. (https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/11/08/777187543/math-looks-the-same-in-the-brains-of-boys-and-girls-study-finds)
Eileen Marie Collins (born November 19, 1956) is a retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force (USAF) colonel. A former flight instructor and test pilot, Collins was the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle and the first to command a Space Shuttle mission. (wikipedia)
