Women's History Month: What female inspired Professor Perena Gouma?
The month of March is nationally recognized as a time for honoring women who occupy a respectable place in American history. What began as a weeklong celebration in 1978 grew into a four-week span as politicians and activists elevated its importance.
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering has 13 female faculty members (19%). Each is a role model to young women aspiring to be an engineer or scientist or researcher, just as they had female role models who inspired them.
Throughout March and beyond, may we collectively celebrate the women in our lives who help us be better and honor the women who bravely blazed trails on which we walk.
Who inspired Professor Perena Gouma?
MSE professor Pelagia-Irene (Perena) Gouma chose to study a STEM field after reading the biography of Marie Curie in high school.
Madame Marie Curie is known for discovering the elements radium and polonium as well as advancing the use of radioactivity and radioactive materials for which she found applications in the medical field. Radium was very effective at treating pain in humans, which was credited to Marie's laborious research around the time of World War I.1
Of Polish descent, Madame Curie captured the interest of Americans. "...in 1921, President [Warren] Harding of the United States, on behalf of the women of America, presented her with one gram of radium in recognition of her service to science." And U.S. President Herbert Hoover donated $50,000 to Madame Curie in 1921 so she could procure radium for use in her research.1 Curie's scientific discoveries were the keystone of many medical advancements to come. Her life-saving work earned her two Nobel Prizes and inspired career choices like that of Dr. Gouma, who tirelessly works to develop new diagnostic technologies used in medicine.
What does Professor Gouma share with young women today who are considering studying engineering?
"I tell them that engineering drives the technological advances and materials have set the milestones in the growth of our civilization: e.g. Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age; more recently "Silicon age" defining our time. The future will be defined by the materials we invent today.
I also share with them that engineering products keep us safe and healthy, increase productivity while reducing manual labor, and overall raise the standards of living. Being an engineer means you can transform the world to make it an even better place than the one you found."
Dr. Gouma is the Edward Orton Jr., Chair in Ceramic Engineering at Ohio State. She is a professor for both the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Her research focuses on synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials for bio-/chemical sensors and biotechnology as well as the development of artificial olfaction systems (breath analyzers, electronic noses and tongues). She is the primary investigator of a team developing a breathalyzer device that samples breath for key biomarkers of the COVID-19 infection. Dr. Gouma has been with The Ohio State University since 2017.
1 Marie Curie – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Tue. 15 Mar 2022. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1903/marie-curie/facts/
