Her talk will focus on key diversity issues facing STEM fields as we prepare the next generation of leaders in science.
It is generally acknowledged that science, technology and innovation have pivotal roles to play in advancing national development as well as in moving toward realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.
At the same time, science and engineering face their own grand challenges: those related to building human capacity and enlarging and diversifying the talent pool, both across our country and around the globe.
Dr. Malcom is a trustee of Caltech, a regent of Morgan State University, and a member of the SUNY Research Council. She is a former member of the National Science Board, the policymaking body of the National Science Foundation, and served on President Clinton’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. In 2003, Dr. Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy.
A Birmingham, Ala., native, Malcom received her Ph.D. in ecology from The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s in zoology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s with distinction in zoology from the University of Washington. She holds 16 honorary degrees.
Malcom serves on the boards of the Heinz Endowments, Public Agenda, the National Math-Science Initiative and Digital Promise. Internationally, she is a leader in efforts to improve access of girls and women to education and careers in science and engineering and to increase use of science and technology (S&T) to empower women and address problems they face in their daily lives.
She serves as co-chair of the Gender Advisory Board of the UN Commission on S&T for Development and Gender InSITE, a global campaign to deploy science and technology to help improve the lives and status of girls and women.