‘International Day of Women and Girls in Science’ – The Nikhef edition 2021

As part of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we asked five Nikhef women about their work, and diversity and inclusion.

  1. Who or what inspires you most in your work?
  2. How could science become even more inclusive and diverse?

 

Anna Pucher is PhD student bij de Detector R&D afdeling van Nikhef.

1) “During the last year of high school, I attended some lectures on very different topics, from classical studies to maths and economics. I was truly fascinated by the physics ones, and I chose to study Physics because there are so many things to understand, there will always be something interesting to do.”

2) “Maybe people belonging to minorities in science, especially the young ones, would be encouraged to start scientific studies if they see or meet other people from the same minority working in that field.”

 

 

Dr. Keri Vos is Assistant Professor at Maastricht University and works at Nikhef.

1. “I have always been fascinated with solving puzzles and understanding the logic behind things. And trying to understand the universe is the biggest puzzle of all!”

2. “We are at a historical crossroads in particle physics. Making progress requires new, creative and outside-the-box ideas which require interdisciplinary, diverse and inclusive collaborations.”

 

 

Dr. Els de Wolf is researcher at KM3NeT at Nikhef

  1. “I started studying physics by chance. A golden choice: it has given me a fantastic and varied career.”
  2. “The sciences will only get more inclusive when lots of people with different backgrounds and genders are given permanent positions.”

 

 

 

 

Flavia de Almeida Dias is assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam and works for ATLAS at Nikhef

  1. “I like how science can be unifying: people from all over the world, with different cultures, diverse backgrounds and life experiences are fascinated by the same fundamental questions we try to answer in particle physics. The beauty of nature is universal.”
  2. “Diversity is essential to maximise innovation and creativity, which are crucial for scientific excellence. Scientists with different genders, ethnicities, sexual identities and disabilities should occupy positions in all career levels. Role models send the message that people from underrepresented communities are welcome in the field, and they too can become a scientist. We have to stop perpetuating stereotypes. From a young age, if you are a girl interested in science, everybody always asks you why. But if you are a boy, no one asks you that question. And even now, when I mention I am a physicist, people are surprised. They say that I do not look like one. We should send a clear message that people of all genders, ethnicities, sexual identities and disabilities are welcome in our scientific community.”

 

Dr. Jory Sonneveld is assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam and works at the Detector R&D department at Nikhef

  1. “It absolutely fascinates me to explore uncharted territory at the forefront of technology.”
  2. “We can reach out to children of all social backgrounds and show them the beauty of exploration in our field of science and technology.”

 

 

 

Dr. Suzanne Klaver works for LHCb at Nikhef

“In high school one of my best friends was also very interested in physics and astronomy. Together we went to open days at universities and to the astronomy Olympiad, which was lots of fun. Our teacher stimulated our interests and I look back on that with great pleasure.”

“What I like about my job is working together with different people from different backgrounds. This creates interesting discussions from which you can learn a lot. I also like the fact that in this job you are always facing new problems, and therefore have to come up with new solutions.”

 

 

 

 

 

Read and watch interviews with female researchers at Nikhef in the 2020 edition of ‘International Day of Women and Girls in Science’ (English and Dutch)

Read the statement about inclusive science from NWO-I