L’Oreal USA’s 2019 For Women in Science Awards at Carnegie Institution for Science on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 in Washington. Left to right: Christine Roden, Lisa Poulikakos, Laurie Bizimana, Samantha Bova, Aparna Bhaduri, and Norah O’Donnell (CBS New Anchor). Photo: Paul Morigi/AP Images for LOréal USA.
Bova was one of five women in STEM that was awarded $60,000 by the beauty leader to advance important postdoctoral research
L’Oréal USA announced the recipients of the 2019 For Women in Science (FWIS) Fellowship, which annually awards five female postdoctoral scientists grants of $60,000 each to advance their research. This is the 16th year of the program, which to date has recognized 80 postdoctoral female scientists with over $4 million since 2003.
Samantha Bova, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, was honored for her research in paleoceanography which studies past changes to Earth’s climate in order to improve our current knowledge of how Earth will respond to future climate perturbations. The fellowship will provide Bova with funding for laboratory analyses and student lab assistance, allowing her to produce higher-resolution records of climate and icefield variability.
Samantha Bova accepting her award. Photo: Paul Morigi/AP Images for LOréal USA.
“It is an honor to accept this award and I look forward to putting the funds into action,” said Bova. “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the L’Oreal Foundation as well as the many people who have supported me and my career along the way. Science provides a framework for interrogating the world around you, for testing your ideas and those of others, and deciphering what is true and what is false. And the scientific method is not just for the lab. It’s for everyday life, for things as seemingly trivial as what you should eat for lunch to what beliefs you stand for. And with the challenges we face today, we need to employ this method more broadly. We need everyone to start thinking like scientists. It’s more than a slogan: the world needs science and science needs women.”
The 2019 For Women in Science fellowship candidates were evaluated based on their intellectual merit, research potential, scientific excellence and their commitment to supporting women and girls in science. The L’Oréal USA fellowship program includes a requirement to ensure recipients are committed to serving as role models for younger generations. Applications were reviewed by experienced scientists in the candidates’ respective fields through a partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which manages the application process.
“The meaningful scientific progress being made by this inspiring group of researchers reminds us how important it is to promote female representation in STEM fields,” said Frédéric Rozé, Executive Vice President, L’Oréal Americas. “We are proud to help support the staying power of scientists who are not only changing the world through their work, but are serving as role models for the next generation of women.”
The L’Oréal USA For Women in Science program is the U.S. component of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards, a global program created in 1998 that recognizes and rewards women scientists around the world. Through the international program and the nearly 50 national and regional programs—which includes the For Women in Science program—more than 3,100 female scientists from more than 110 countries have received fellowships to pursue promising research projects.
About For Women In Science
The L’Oréal USA For Women in Science (FWIS) fellowship program awards five women postdoctoral scientists annually with grants of $60,000 each for their contributions in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields and commitment to serving as role models for younger generations. Since 2003, L’Oréal USA’s FWIS program has supported 75 outstanding female postdoctoral scientists from across the country, awarding them nearly $4 million in grants. L’Oréal USA partners with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to manage the program’s application and peer-review process. The program is the U.S. component of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards, a global philanthropy created in 1998 that has recognized and rewarded over 3,100 women scientists from more than 110 countries.
About AAAS
Founded in 1848, the American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science, engineering and innovation for the benefit of all people. With more than 120,000 individual members in more than 91 countries, AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through the Science family of journals. As one of the top voices for science worldwide, AAAS spearheads initiatives in policy, international cooperation and diplomacy, STEM education, public engagement, and more. AAAS strives to promote and defend the integrity of science and its use, provide a voice for science on societal issues, and strengthen and diversify the science and technology workforce. More information is available at AAAS.
