Episode #1
Ingenuity
With astrophysicist Nancy Vermeulen, urban planner and e-educator Rudayna Abdo, and engineer Paige Kassalen. Moderated by g4g Founder, Melissa Rancourt.
During one hour, we interviewed these very inspiring speakers to learn about that ONE moment where they knew that science and their being were inexplicably intertwined. They told us about their experience, their studies, their projects. We talked about everything from the good science can bring, to purses that can charge your phone, from the first solar-powered plane able to circle the Earth, to Maya the bee and how to build your own telescope.
Of course we laughed, of course we conducted a hands-on experiment, and of course, we tried to inspire girls to pursue STEM subjects and to provide a community of role models.
Curious to learn more? The replay is available below, as well as some of our favorite snippets! And if you only have a few seconds and want to get inspired, discover our favorite quotes of the day by our brilliant speakers!
Speakers of this episode
(Hover on their photos to read their bios!)
Rudayna is an expert at envisioning, managing, and tailoring solutions to challenging housing, land use, and urban transportation issues across diverse urban geographies including the Arabian Gulf region. Her passion lies in empowering people and striving for social equity. She has a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies from MIT, a master’s degree in Urban Planning from McGill University, and is a graduate of Amsterdam’s THNK School of Creative Leadership. Rudayna recently founded Thaki, an NGO that aims to empower refugee and disadvantaged children to learn and thrive through self-paced, motivational electronic tools.
After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering Paige Kassalen soon became the only female engineer working with Solar Impulse 2, the world’s first solar-powered airplane to circumnavigate the globe, as it completed the round-the-world mission in Abu Dhabi in July 2016. After Solar Impulse, Kassalen helped Covestro develop its strategy for materials for the future of mobility and shared her work at conferences around the United States. Recently, Kassalen received a Master of Information Systems Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University and this fall will apply her degree to a role focused on devising business cases for the implementation of innovative technologies in the finance industry.
Nancy Vermeulen has always been fascinated by space. She studied astrophysics and became an airline pilot/instructor. She took part in the ESA astronaut selections, led a Mars simulation expedition and later founded her own Space Training Academy. As a true Space Ambassador, she aims to bring the universe closer to the people through lectures, team building exercises and space training courses.
Watch some snippets below:
Quotes from our inspiring speakers
Replay of the full episode
What our participants had to say about it
“It felt like such a privilege to get to meet you ladies and hear your stories. Very inspiring, thank you very much!
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“Thank you so much for having this. It was so much fun and very insightful!”
“Thank you so much for everything! This has been a great help for me to continue chasing my dreams and surround myself with inspiring and motivating people.”
“Thank you for this. It’s has been very eye opening and motivational !”
