Russian engineer talks about place of women in science

Over pizza and Pepsi, a group of Engineering students and a researcher from Russia discussed the role of Russian women in engineering yesterday.

"Behind every discovery is a good solid contribution by a Russian woman," said Irene Podnozova, an engineer based in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Podnozova, who is also head of foreign relations at the St. Petersburg Institute for Informatics and Automation Sciences, is visiting the United States as part the U.S. Air Force's Windows on Science program, an effort to promote cooperation and exchange ideas between Russian and American scientists.

Podnozova is part of a Russian envoy travelling in different parts of the United States through Wednesday.

According to Podnozova, 56 percent of Russia's engineers are women. This came as a surprise to many in the group last night, who remarked that fewer women apply to science and engineering in the United States than other nations.

"When we were looking for our careers, we wanted to support ourselves in life, and engineering gave us the opportunity to do that," Podnozova said.

The group of students who met with Podnozova formed a month ago. Led by Patty Kelly, a graduate student in aerospace engineering, the group works to give female students more contact and hands-on experiences with women involved in engineering. The group does not yet have a name.

"The people who actually get their hands dirty - we want these people to tell us how they get to do what they do," Kelly said.

Future projects for the group include taking apart a car engine, and possibly building a plane modeled after one of the Wright Brothers' creations.

Podnozova was asked why there were so few prominent females associated with engineering in Russia if women are so abundant in the field.

"I think that in many cases men are more career driven," Podnozova said. She added that in Russian society, women are more inclined to work as a means to support their family. "It is not a desire but a necessity to work," Podnozova said.

Topics also included differences in the U.S. and Russian education systems for engineering fields and whether sexual harrassment is as prevalent in Russia as it is in the United States.

Podnozova said Russia has incidents of sexual harrasment, but added that "it's not a custom to go to court yet."

Podnozova also noted that would-be scientists should make sure they keep their horizons broad.

"Life is broader than science. Don't stop on science only," Podnozova said.

Kelly said the atmosphere at last night's meeting was constructive.

"I thought it was great that we could be so intimate," Kelly said. "We could be more comfortable asking questions."

Bill Kaufman, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University, said the exchange program shows the way foreign relations have evolved in recent years.

"It's a big change since the Cold War ended," Kaufman said, adding that U.S. and Russian researchers work together on issues including supersonic transport, the greenhouse effect and problems involving nuclear waste.

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