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Part 1 of 3
As a young girl, Anne Moon thought it was cool to hang out in her father's laboratory on weekends, watching the veterinary pathologist work. Today, she is nationally recognized for her research at the University of Utah into why some hearts develop abnormally and what role genes may play.
Liz Hammond, inspired as a teenager by her female pediatrician, decided to become a doctor. Now, as a prominent immunopathologist, she has helped explain how the human immune system influences cancer and organ-transplant rejection.
Other Utah women are probing how rainforest trees defend their leaves, exploring how to find electrical glitches in airplanes in flight and using mathematics to analyze molecular biology.
Their work provides a daily counterpoint to Harvard University President Lawrence Summers' assertions earlier this year about the roots of America's gender gap in science and engineering.
Summers said women shun science and engineering for three reasons: They aren't willing to work long hours due to family priorities; their "intrinsic aptitude" falls short at the very top levels; and as a distant third factor, they face bias and discrimination.
His observations sparked controversy - and a national discussion on the under-representation of women in science.
"It's really brought to the foreground this culture issue of what women face . . . in academic institutions and the world at large," said Elizabeth Ivey, president of the Association for Women in Science. "It's a monster thing to turn around."
According to the National Science Foundation, the percentage of doctoral degrees earned by women in science and engineering has more than tripled since 1970. Still, men with doctorates in those fields outnumber women 2-to-1.
In Utah, a sole U. woman earned a doctorate in science - biology - in 1974, compared with 33 men. In 2004 at the U., 14 women earned a science doctorate, compared with 35 men. Nationally, three of four scientists and engineers are men, as are four of five tenured university professors. At the U.'s physics department, there are no women among about 30 tenured and tenure-track professors.
Different gender, different brain: One of Summers' first reasons for the gap: Women have inherently less ability for the most complex science. Research is showing men's and women's brains are different, partly because of hormones' influence, partly because of the brain structure itself.
Canadian researcher Doreen Kimura, who focuses on the effect of hormones on brains, argues biology accounts for disparities "across a wide range of occupations and professions." Gender gaps don't necessarily mean there have been "either deliberate or systemic obstacles" for either sex," Kimura wrote in 2001. "Rather, it appears that self-selection on the basis of talents and interests now largely determines such career choices."
But whether gender differences in brains also create an intellectual gap is still debated. Recent brain-imaging studies published in the journal NeuroImage revealed men and women achieve similar results on IQ tests, despite using different parts of the brain.
The sexes use the frontal lobe - responsible for problem-solving, memory, language and impulse control - in a similar way. But men also relied on their parietal lobes, which process spatial orientation and visual perception. Women instead used a region called Broca's area, which is involved in understanding language and producing speech.
Those differences are precisely why the gap matters, said Christine Hailey, an associate dean in Utah State University's College of Engineering. Beyond any arguments for equity, "the more diverse the team, the more creative the solution," she said.
Adds Ivey: "The other thing is you need a good solid work force and 50 percent of us is female, so just play the numbers."
Antonio Gonzales, a retired Granite School District educator, agrees. He helped start MESA, which mentors girls and minority students interested in science, at John F. Kennedy Junior High School in West Valley City. MESA stands for mathematics, engineering and science achievement.
If the United States doesn't start producing more engineers, it will be the one "left behind," Gonzales said, referring to President Bush's No Child Left Behind education reform law.
Won't work or not welcomed? Summers argued many women won't accept the high-demand environment of top science jobs. He also acknowledged that environment may include bias and discrimination.
Summers cited a 1998 study at the University of Michigan and the University of California that found female scientists produced fewer papers than male counterparts, and that their productivity declined from the 1960s to the early 1990s. Researchers cited personal factors, such as marital status, as the reason.
But advocates for more women in science - including Harvard women who responded to Summers - say school and work environments must change to welcome women.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison contend that a hostile environment and insensitivity to women's family obligations drive them out of science. Their study was published in the August issue of the journal Science.
Moon, a genetics researcher at the U. and attending physician at Primary Children's Medical Center, said a supportive work environment has been "critical" for her success. She finished her medical degree and doctorate in 1992, and recently earned the 2005 National Young Investigator Award from the Society for Pediatric Research.
"Some days I wish I could spend more time with my daughter or hiking in the hills," said Moon, who also is an assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy, married and the mother of a 4-year-old. "The biggest thing for everyone is achieving some sort of balance between work and personal life, and I think that's a lot harder for women than men."
Moon said there is occasional skepticism of her work due to her gender, but she believes all people face barriers they must overcome.
"Women and girls in our society still have more choices than any place in the world," Moon said. "People just have to be in an environment where they feel like that struggle to balance is supported."
Supporting women in science: Summers has since said his remarks were "speculative," and committed $50 million over 10 years to bring more women into the scientific pipeline and keep them there. Advice from two faculty task forces included improved freshman advising, mentors for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty, paid maternity leave and more child care scholarships.
Utah tries to draw girls into science early.
At several magnet schools, such as Escalante Elementary School in Salt Lake City, classes focus on science - from writing about glaciers to hiking in Little Cottonwood Canyon to see their impact - and girls dream of being pediatricians, veterinarians, Egyptologists.
Nearly 4,000 Utah students participate after school in MESA, which is aimed at female and ethnic minority students in grades seven through 12.
Research has shown the junior high window is crucial for keeping girls interested in science, said Carolyn Connell, a math professor and associate dean of arts and science at Westminster College. Elaine Cohen, a U. computer scientist who uses algorithms to analyze digital representations of molecular biology, traces one important influence in her life to seventh grade, when her female math teacher "urged me to pursue my intellectual passions."
To increase the number of women and minorities among university faculty, Utah universities are using and seeking National Science Foundation ADVANCE grants.
Phyllis Coley, a U. plant ecologist who studies how tropical trees defend their leaves against herbivores, said female graduate students sometimes feel an insecurity that stems, in part, from too few role models.
"Being in academics is a terrific job, with lots of freedom and challenges," she said. "We just need more female colleagues."
Cynthia Furse, a U. engineer who develops ways to find faults in the electrical wiring of aircraft in flight, has been able to take leave and to work part time while raising a son and daughter. She has a message for Utah's girls:
"We need their creativity and problem-solving skills to tackle so many of the challenges that face us, from medical care to global warming," Furse said.
"And most of those girls will need to contribute to the financial well-being of their families, while still being the loving wife and mother that their families deserve," she said. "How much easier this balance is when you have the flexibility that goes with a science career."
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Tribune reporters Mike Cronin, Greg Lavine, Sheena McFarland and Shinika A. Sykes contributed to this story.