A series of prints highlighting 30 women who have made extraordinary advances in math, science, and engineering.
We all know Marie Curie.
Born Maria Skłodowska, she was a Polish/French scientist who did pioneering research on radioactivity. The first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person ever to win it twice, and the only person to win it in two different sciences.
She was a badass, no doubt.
But there are many other women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who have made incredible advances in their respective fields, and never earned the recognition they deserve. I want to change that.
Beyond Curie is a celebration of badass women in STEM, including all 15 female winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine / Physiology, as well as another 15 lady bosses who have accomplished extraordinary things in these fields.
In this project, I will create a print for each one of the 30 women, connecting their faces with the work they’ve achieved into a unique collage. Every dollar this Kickstarter raises beyond my production costs will go toward the Association for Women in Science.
Our society was built on a foundation of scientific discovery. We should know the names of the women who have made these extraordinary contributions to move our societies forward. From discovering literally 70% of the universe (dark matter) to having to pretend to be a man in order to practice medicine, these ladies show us that there’s nothing that can be discovered by a man that can’t be done by a woman.
As the project progresses, beyondcurie.com will be updated with new collages and scientist profiles. Check out the ones that are up now.
Last year I started an illustration project called Creative Habit. I’d spend up to an hour every day to make a design and release it to Instagram. Check out the stories behind them at creativehab.it and a blog post I wrote about the project. I enjoyed it so much and got such a positive response I wanted to do something similar but with a cause.
My two loves are design and science.
Before I became a designer, I studied Neuroscience at Columbia and worked in an Alzheimer’s research lab. My last Kickstarter was for an initiative called The Leading Strand that brings scientists and designers together to co-create experiences that translate research. We reached our goal and put on an exhibit that was covered in Fast Company, The Verge, Smithsonian Magazine.
This time, I wanted to find a way to support women in science while incorporating design. Enter Beyond Curie.
Since about 2012, half of all science, math, and engineering undergraduate degrees have been awarded to women. But only 16 women have won Nobel Prizes in scientific fields, and that’s because for a very long time, there has been a tremendous bias against having women in these fields. They were barred from entry to institutions and from holding prestigious posts simply because they were women. And as a result, they’ve disappeared into anonymity.
This is the perfect way to support friends and family who work in STEM fields. Progress has been made but sexism still persists — one in three women in STEM say they’ve experienced sexual harassment.
And yet, there is a rich history of women kicking ass in STEM fields that we can’t ignore. And that’s what this project is all about.
There’s very little risk involved. I’ve spent a year creating illustrations and collages similar to the ones I will be making for Beyond Curie. And I’ve pre-sourced the materials and vendors required to create the rewards.