A lot has been said over the past several years about the lack of access girls and women have to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). According to one statistic, only 28 percent of researchers worldwide are female and it is often stated that women have less access to funding, networks and senior positions. Perhaps it is time to place the facts in context.
It takes many years to develop into an established researcher. The typical career path of any engineering researcher starts with a four-year bachelor degree, followed by a two-year master's degree and a PhD that takes at least three more years to complete. After graduating, a researcher needs to spend some time working as post-doctoral researcher under an experienced supervisor before truly starting out on his or her own research career. Researchers are rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and in order to be rated by peers as an established researcher, one typically needs a proven track record of independent post-doctoral research output over a period of five to ten years. This means that a researcher will only become visible 15 to 20 years after leaving school. With a lack of role models and support, it takes even longer. Many women take a career break to have children and look after them while they are small, which further delays this process.
During the last couple of decades there has been a steady and significant increase in the number of female engineering graduates. Gone are the days when there were years in which no female engineers graduated. The low number of established female researchers in STEM is a result of the low number of female graduates in STEM more than 20 years ago.
Perhaps we just need to be patient. Current graduates do have role models and support and in the near future we will reap the rewards of recent investments motivating females to enter careers in STEM. It is exciting to see a growing number of females actively participating in STEM-related research and the positive energy and creativity these girls and women bring to their research teams will significantly contribute towards our ability to meet the science, technology, engineering and mathematics needs of our society.
Prof Elsabe Kearsley is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Pretoria.
Prof Elsabe Kearsley
February 13, 2017
Professor Elsabe Kearsley graduated with a BEng (Civil) degree from the University of Pretoria (UP) in 1984 and has been doing research at UP for the past 31 years. “At university level, it is important that the teaching staff are up to date with the current level of knowledge and trends in their fields of expertise,” she says.
As an engineer, she believes it is not possible to understand how something works if you cannot take it apart – which is what she has been doing to concrete and cement for the past three decades.
Her research focuses on reducing the environmental impact of the cement and concrete industry. As this industry is one of the largest greenhouse-gas producers in the world, it is important to find ways of reducing its carbon footprint through improving our understanding of materials, optimising the use of raw materials, and maximising the reuse and recycling of waste materials.
Prof Kearsley and her research team are working on a variety of projects to improve our understanding of the behaviour of cement and concrete as it is used in infrastructure, with the aim of reducing environmental impact and wastage. These projects include:
• Structural health monitoring, where infrastructure like bridges, pavements and piled footings of large wind masts are instrumented to determine the short- and long-term reaction to loads and environmental effects such as temperature, humidity and wind speed variation on the stresses that develop. These results indicate that climate change could have a significant effect on infrastructure behaviour.
• The use of ultra-high-performance concrete, where high strength and ductility can be used to reduce the volume of concrete required in infrastructure projects. This can also reduce the volume of raw materials and water required in infrastructure projects.
• The use of industrial waste and recycled materials in concrete to reduce the volume of raw materials required for infrastructure development.
• Optimising concrete mix compositions to reduce the financial and environmental cost, while improving the short- and long-term properties of the material.
• Improving concrete behaviour such as low tensile strength and brittle failure mechanisms to expand the use of this relatively cheap building material into areas where concrete was historically not useable.
Prof Kearsley has been working across faculties, with Prof Liezel van der Merwe of the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences on projects aimed at using different waste streams to make cement with low environmental impact.
She singles out UP’s new Concrete Laboratory as a recent highlight. “The new Concrete Laboratory at Engineering 4.0 has made it possible to increase the number of full-time research students that can conduct experimental work without being interrupted by the practicals of undergraduate students,” she says.
Modern measurement techniques and equipment now make it possible to remotely record data at regular time intervals, without leaving expensive equipment out in the field. This has made it possible to instrument the piled footing of a large wind turbine and measure the load distribution throughout the footing without having to travel to the construction site.
Prof Kearsley’s research matters, she says, because if we keep doing the same thing in the same way, we will never improve the quality of life of the increasing number of people on Earth. “Through research, we need to focus on improving our understanding of how things work to make it possible to minimise our impact on the environment around us,” she says.
Her advice to school learners or undergraduates who are interested in her field is this: “Regardless of how ‘old’ and ‘established’ a research field is, you can make a difference.”
In her spare time, she likes cycling, gardening, baking and reading.
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