Guwahati: NASA scientist Dr Hashima Hasan interacted with the students of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) during a workshop on Saturday and shared her journey with Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Observatories.
A program scientist and astrophysicist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, USA), Dr Hasan virtually addressed the capacity-building workshop on “Gender Mainstreaming in Science and Innovative Policymaking” as chief guest along with the other speakers, Prof Arvinder A Ansari from Jamia Millia Islamia and Prof Zahid H Khan from New Delhi.
Making an online presence while sharing her journey, she recalled how she was first introduced to the space age when she saw Sputnik go like a shooting star in the sky of Lucknow.
“It was after Independence. At a time when schools did not offer science as a subject for girl students, I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to study science as we were the first batch in Loreto Convent Girls’ High School in Lucknow to take science, which helped me to pursue my passion and do my bachelor’s degree from Lucknow University in 1968 and MSc in Physics from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1970 before doing PhD from the University of Oxford with a scholarship”, the NASA scientist added.
The astrophysicist also made a detailed deliberation on various space telescopes and also had an interactive session with the students of USTM.
An alumnus of AMU and PhD from the University of Oxford, Dr Hasan has worked directly with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990 and James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched in 2021.
The workshop was organised by the sociology and physics departments of USTM to amplify the critical role that women can play in science and technology.
It was organised in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi as part of the celebration of UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023 and UNESCO International Day of Light 2023 Phase-1.
Earlier, the workshop began with the welcome address delivered by Prof GD Sharma, vice-chancellor of USTM.
Mahbubul Hoque, the chancellor of USTM, also addressed the participants and mentioned that USTM has always emphasised girls’ education.
Addressing the workshop, Prof Arvinder A Ansari, director, CSSEIP, Jamia Millia Islamia stated, “Women are involved in all aspects of life, but when it comes to science and technology, women are invisible.”
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“UNESCO has emphasised the environment and women because the gatekeepers of the environment are women. Therefore, it is important to understand science from a feminist perspective”, she said while emphasising that the contribution of women in science and technology should be made visible.
Prof Zahid H Khan, former professor, of physics, Jamia Millia Islamia and National Node India for International Day of Light 2023, also addressed the workshop.
The workshop highlighted the relationship between women in science and how women have been made invisible in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
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