Incoming WPI leader: Keep teens interested in STEM

Incoming WPI president Laurie Leshin believes schools need to keep kids engaged with science, technology, math and engineering long after they begin to show interest.

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By Emily Micucci

As Worcester Polytechnic Institute's first female president, Laurie Leshin's pending arrival in June has been hailed as a boon for generating enthusiasm about careers in science and technology for women.

While Leshin, a 48-year-old Arizona native, doesn't mind leading that charge, she believes there's a broader need to attract both male and female students to science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) fields, and she's excited to help make it happen.

Leshin believes that this work starts before students reach high school. She said younger children are quick to say they want to grow up to be scientists or engineers, but by the time they hit middle school, interest wanes.

“We're losing boys and girls all the way along. I think there's a lot of feeling like, 'Oh I just can't do it … this is too hard',” Leshin said.

In January, WPI announced the hiring of Leshin, dean of the school of science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. She was formerly a space scientist who worked for NASA and as a White House advisor.

In addressing the need to connect kids with science, Leshin draws from her own experience growing up on the campus of Arizona State University. Her mother worked on campus, and Leshin ultimately obtained her undergraduate degree there before earning a doctorate in geochemistry from California Institute of Technology in 1994.

But she was first intrigued by space when photographs of the surface of Mars were published for the first time after NASA's Viking landing in 1976.

“My first memory of space was seeing this gorgeous, stark beauty of the surface of mars,” Leshin said. “I wanted to reach out and touch it.”

As an undergrad, Leshin asked a female professor for help applying for an internship at NASA. She was accepted, and that set her on the path to becoming a space scientist.

There were few females in the internship program in the mid-1980s; Leshin said most of her study mates were male. And Leshin doesn't exactly consider herself a pioneer.

“There are lots of women leading technological organizations right now. I'm surprised it's such a big deal,” Leshin said. “On the other hand, we still have a ways to climb.”

Leshin joins the Worcester STEM education community at a bustling time. In addition to WPI's robust programs that include partnerships between professors and entrepreneurs who bring the technology to market, other area schools are on the forefront of STEM education as well, as a way to prepare students for careers in those fields. And frequently, women are leading the charge.

Quinsigamond Community College (QCC), for example, will break ground on a new science and technology building in April. QCC students often matriculate into WPI as juniors after completing two years. QCC President Gail Carberry said she's excited to work with Leshin to build on the strong relationship between the two schools.

Carberry said that at QCC, there's still a stark contrast between the number of males and females pursuing STEM education, with about 75 percent of STEM program enrollments being male.

“People are recognizing that women can lead ... (with) her background in the sciences, how do you question it?” Carberry said.

Meanwhile, the work of reaching students at younger ages is being done at Worcester Technical High School, which has been recognized for a drastic turnaround under the leadership of Principal Sheila Harrity, and for its high-quality, STEM-based programs. Earlier this month, Harrity announced that President Obama will deliver this year's commencement address.

With partnerships with WPI in place that give Worcester Tech students hands-on experience with real-world projects, Harrity said she's thrilled that she'll be working with Leshin, and she doesn't discount the impact her appointment will have in closing the gender gap in STEM education — though Harrity said it's already narrowed.

“We still have to work to do ... but I'm optimistic,” Harrity said.

Of course, Leshin will bring more to the presidency at WPI than her gender perspective. She's spent her professional life studying outer space, and has expertise in cosmochemistry.

Leshin is primarily interested in studying water found on objects in the solar system,which answers what Leshin considers the most exciting question: Are we alone?

“I really think the answer is within our grasp within the coming decade,” Leshin said.

Laurie Leshin: A bold stroke for WPI