*This program has been cancelled for 2021 due to low enrollment. Please check back for updates regarding 2022.*
Attention: all BYU students who are interested in women’s contributions to science!
Join us for our Summer 2021 inaugural study of the history of women in science. If you are interested in the history of science, women’s contributions, or in supporting women in their ambitions, this study abroad is for you! Join us in a European exploration into how politics, customs, and society shaped the lives of early female scientists and how these individuals worked to overcome obstacles and break the barriers of scientific thought. Along the way, we will discuss dynamics of Latter-day Saint families with either spouse in science. We encourage men, women, and couples to apply!
Brief overview: This study abroad will focus on the historical contributions of women to science with a special emphasis on Marie Curie and her life contributions to Chemistry and Biology. Topics will include everything from her discovery of novel elements and characterization of radioactivity to her role running twenty hospitals and developing radiation for X-ray imaging and chemotherapy. In addition, we will investigate the contributions of Florence Nightingale, Lady Montague, Rosalind Franklin, Jeanette Villepreux-power, Barbara McClintock, Evelyn Cheesman, Mary Anning, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ester Lederberg, Maria Merian, Ethyl Wallace, Eleanor Ormerod, Chein-Shiung Wu, Dame Rothschild, Maria Goeppert Mayer, Laura Bassi, and many more. We will also explore the culture and history of six countries. Additionally, we will hear from outstanding modern-day female scientists and champions of women in science, their advice for success, and the challenges they have overcome.
London, UK: In London we will enjoy museums and local sights including the Women in Science exhibits at the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, the Florence Nightingale museum, Oxford University, the Tower of London, Westminster, and Blenheim Castle.
Paris, France: In Paris we will visit the Musee Curie, Pasteur Institute, and Bibliotheque de nationale, which houses ancient texts of female scientists. We will also do local sight-seeing at the Louvre museum and Montemarte.
Zurich, Switzerland: We will visit Zurich University and head to the Swiss Alps for the famous Jungfraujoch train.
Berlin, Germany: In Berlin we will visit famous Museumsinsel, the Lise Meitner memorial, the Berlin wall, and will head to Max Planck Institute in Madgeburg for a look into current science and Noble Prize-winning female scientists.
Warsaw and Krakow, Poland: In Warsaw we will visit the birthplace of Marie Curie, the Marie Curie Museum, and world-renowned Copernicus Science Museum. We will then head to Krakow to visit the Maria Goeppert Mayer memorial, Schindler’s factory, and Auschwitz.
Florence and Rome, Italy: Florence will be a focus on the arts, indulging in the Duomo, Statue of David, and Basilica de San Lorenzo. We will then head to Rome to visit Marie Curie’s final resting place in the Pantheon as well as the Rita Levi- Montalcini Research Center. We will also enjoy the local history of the Colosseum, Forum, and Sistine Chapel.
