The “Frontiers of Innovation” program is a campus-wide effort to support the primary research initiatives of the UC San Diego Strategic Plan. One component provides fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral scholars. The other component provides funding to support teams of UC San Diego scholars from across campus in their efforts to launch large-scale, multidisciplinary research-center applications. This year, some of the Frontiers of Innovation funds will go to The Center for Research on Gender inScience, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine led by Mary Blair-Loy, Wendy Campana, and Pamela Cosman.
Research Area: Understanding Cultures and Addressing Disparities in Society
Mary Blair-Loy, associate professor sociology and associate vice chancellor for faculty diversity and equity: “The new Center for Research on Gender in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) brings together faculty and graduate students who use basic social science to study cultural and interactional factors that create gender inequality in STEMM fields. Subtle yet persistent barriers to women’s full participation in STEMM fields persist, despite official commitments to meritocracy, objectivity and excellence in diversity. Our center begins with two empirical studies on the obstacles to recruiting women at a top research university. We also convene a Faculty Learning Community, an interdisciplinary group of faculty and graduate-student instructors who engage in teaching about gender.”