{"584826":{"#nid":"584826","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Center Stage: Kate Napier is a Driving Force Helping Girls and Women Succeed in STEM Fields ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFourth-year School of Physics major Katherine A. \u0026ldquo;Kate\u0026rdquo; Napier dreams to be the first person to land on Mars. After she graduates in December 2017, she will pursue a Ph.D. and then apply to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astronauts\u0022\u003Eastronaut corps\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, she just received a weighty endorsement from Porsche Cars North America\u0026mdash;and it\u0026rsquo;s not for driving. Together with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.civilandhumanrights.org\/porsche\/\u0022\u003ENational Center for Civil and Human Rights\u003C\/a\u003E, the car company has named her a recipient of the 2016 Porsche Driving Force Award. She is one of three recognized in the age 14-21 category.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 2016 awards celebrate women whose community work helps advance women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Napier\u0026rsquo;s recognition speaks highly of a smart, young, female scientist-to-be who envisions herself in an extraterrestrial future but is meanwhile solidly grounded in helping fellow females succeed on Earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I am often only one of a few female students in physics classes,\u0026rdquo; Napier says. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s important to have female role models in the very male dominated field of physics.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor this reason, Napier has consistently sought female mentors. In high school, she asked\u0026nbsp;a female astrophysicist to advise her on a science fair project. During her second year in Tech, she took the initiative to join the group of School of Physics Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/deirdre-shoemaker\u0022\u003EDeirdre Shoemaker\u003C\/a\u003E, the director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cra.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ECenter for Relative Astrophysics\u003C\/a\u003E, as a research assistant. Thus she became part of the Georgia Tech team that helped \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/gravitational-waves-observed\u0022\u003Ediscover gravitational waves\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp; When she worked at NASA sites during summers, she performed research under the direction of female astrophysicists.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I want to help other women and girls succeed in physics and other STEM fields,\u0026rdquo; Napier says. To that end she helped organize the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/491471\u0022\u003EConference for Undergraduate Women in Physics held at Tech in 2016\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;And she serves as president of Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.wip.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESociety of Women in Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, which has a mentoring program for female physics majors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENapier advocates for women and girls in STEM in other ways. \u0026ldquo;I never hesitate to speak up when a professor fails to recognize the women in class or women\u0026rsquo;s contributions to physics and astronomy,\u0026rdquo; she says. When she helps with \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/584672\u0022\u003Epublic nights at the Tech observatory\u003C\/a\u003E, she says, she pays special attention to the girls in the audience. \u0026ldquo;It is important to counteract the bias of attention toward boys often found in the classroom and society,\u0026rdquo; she says. \u0026ldquo;Women and girls can succeed in STEM if they are given the same opportunities as men and boys.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENapier\u0026rsquo;s advocacy extends to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/jacketpages.gatech.edu\/organizations\/view\/27992\u0022\u003EOne Voice Atlanta\u003C\/a\u003E, a Tech student group that works to end the sexual slavery and exploitation of children in Atlanta and to educate Tech students about the sex-slave industry. At Napier\u0026rsquo;s initiative, One Voice Atlanta established an after-school program that enables at-risk students to experience STEM activities.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;Many of these students have never had a family member attend college,\u0026rdquo; Napier says. \u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;It is important to keep students, especially girls, interested in STEM subjects and for girls to see themselves as future scientists.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn recognition of her community work, Napier received a \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/0BzwLaMa03eYdaXVLV2NKYXBIM0k\/view\u0022\u003Evideo platform\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E from which to spread her message of the importance of encouraging women and girls in STEM.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;No Porsche,\u0026rdquo; she jokes. But that\u0026rsquo;s okay, because what she really wants is a spaceship to Mars.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Future astronaut gets major recognition from Porsche Cars North America and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFourth-year School of Physics major Katherine A. \u0026ldquo;Kate\u0026rdquo; Napier, who dreams to be the first person to land on Mars,\u0026nbsp;just received a weighty endorsement from Porsche Cars North America\u0026mdash;and it\u0026rsquo;s not for driving. Together with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.civilandhumanrights.org\/porsche\/\u0022\u003ENational Center for Civil and Human Rights\u003C\/a\u003E, the car company has named her a recipient of the 2016 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.civilandhumanrights.org\/porsche\/\u0022\u003EPorsche Driving Force Award\u003C\/a\u003E. Her recognition speaks highly of a smart, young, female scientist-to-be who envisions herself in an extraterrestrial future but is meanwhile solidly grounded in helping fellow females succeed on Earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Future astronaut gets major recognition from Porsche Cars North America and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2016-12-08 14:48:08","changed_gmt":"2018-06-25 12:33:07","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-12-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-12-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"584825":{"id":"584825","type":"image","title":"Kate Napier at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta. Photo by Karen Images.","body":null,"created":"1481208109","gmt_created":"2016-12-08 14:41:49","changed":"1481208109","gmt_changed":"2016-12-08 14:41:49","alt":"","file":{"fid":"222987","name":"Kate.Napier.PorscheHeadShot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kate.Napier.PorscheHeadShot.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kate.Napier.PorscheHeadShot.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":339347,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Kate.Napier.PorscheHeadShot.jpg?itok=a04IN8yo"}}},"media_ids":["584825"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/0BzwLaMa03eYdaXVLV2NKYXBIM0k\/view","title":"Kate Napier video on advancing girls and women in STEM"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"172926","name":"Women in STEM"},{"id":"172927","name":"Kate Napier"},{"id":"13402","name":"Deirdre Shoemaker"},{"id":"166937","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}