Incredible Adventures of Women in Ultrafast Physics – SMART-electron Science Lab Day
Date: March 21, 2024
Location: Online – Hosted by the University of Milan – Bicocca and Maria Regina High School, New York
As part of its ongoing commitment to fostering gender inclusivity in STEM, SMART-electron co-organised a virtual science education event titled “Incredible Adventures of Women in Ultrafast Physics – SMART-electron Science Lab Day.” The event connected students from Maria Regina High School, an all-girls secondary school in Hartsdale, New York, with leading physicists from the University of Milan – Bicocca, offering a unique and interactive look into the field of ultrafast electron microscopy.
The initiative was led by SMART-electron in collaboration with Maria Regina High School and featured two guest scientists—Maria Giulia Bravi and Irene Ostroman—both affiliated with the Department of Materials Science at the University of Milan – Bicocca. The event formed part of a broader SMART-electron outreach strategy to promote scientific literacy, early engagement with research, and the visibility of women in advanced physics disciplines.
Over the course of the session, students participated in a virtual lab tour and engaged in real-time conversations with the researchers. Bravi and Ostroman shared insights into their day-to-day work with ultrafast electron beams, described the scientific questions driving their research, and reflected on their own academic and professional journeys. The discussion provided not only technical insights but also personal perspectives on what it means to be a woman in physics today.
Organised under the SMART-electron banner, and moderated locally by Mrs. Maria Carozza-McCaffrey (Principal), Dr. Laura Ponziani (Italian Language Faculty), and Ms. Reena Varma (Chair of the Science Department), the event also contributed to the activities of the school’s chapters of the National Italian Honor Society and the NYS Science Honor Society.
The session was moderated on behalf of SMART-electron by Raffaella Santucci (QED), who ensured alignment with the project’s broader goals of educational engagement and inclusion.
This Science Lab Day successfully blended technical content with storytelling and mentorship, delivering a hands-on, inspirational experience for young women interested in scientific careers. It reinforced the SMART-electron project’s role in making frontier research more accessible and inclusive, and in building a diverse future pipeline of talent in quantum and electron-based sciences.
