Brandeis alum Deborah Berebichez ’96 is being honored for her work as an ambassador for women in STEM fields and in her prominent role in science media through a new Smithsonian exhibit called #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit. The exhibit will be installed at the National Mall and features 120 life-size, 3D-printed statues of female STEM leaders. Founded by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the goal of the exhibit was to empower middle school and high school girls inclined towards STEM careers.
The IF/THEN initiative led by Lyda Hill Philanthropies sought to empower women through statues specifically because of the profound lack of female representation in public structures: out of all the statues in 10 of the largest cities in the U.S., a half dozen statues were of women. Additionally, the founders noted the large discrepancy between the percent of females that make up the workforce and the percent of women that make up STEM related fields: While half of the workforce is made up from women, under 30 percent of all STEM fields are composed of female workers.
3D-printing statues allowed the exhibit designers to merge the representation of women with their respective accomplishments in scientific careers. Using 89 cameras and 25 projectors, the designers were able to instruct the 3D-printer to develop incremental layers of acrylic gel layers, ultimately taking the form of each of the women ten or more hours later.
Berebichez’s profile in the #IfTheSheCan exhibit describes her strong passion for science education and outreach and her acclaimed work towards empowering under-represented science students. She holds a prominent role in numerous science media projects, including being a co-host for the Discovery Channel’s program called Outrageous Acts of Science, and serving as an expert on the Travel Channel, NOVA, CNN, FOX, MSNBC and other international media outlets. Currently, Berebichez is the head data scientist at the company Metis in New York, where she is working to create data science training programs for students.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Berebichez holds numerous academic qualifications. As an undergraduate student at Brandeis, she double-majored in physics and philosophy. Afterwards, she went on to be the first Mexican woman to earn a PhD in physics from Stanford University under the mentorship of Nobel Prize winner Stephen Chu. Furthermore, Berebichez completed one postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University in the Applied Math and Physics Department and another postdoctoral fellowship from New York University’s Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences.
A recent article published in the Brandeis Alumni network web page describes Berebichez’s inspirations during her undergraduate career. Astronomer Janet Mettei, one of the first Wien scholars of Brandeis University fueled Berebizhez’s passion for physics and nurtured her ability conducting physics research. The article includes a quote of Berebichez sharing how Mettei influenced her, saying, “[Mettei] said I should communicate my expertise as a woman in science and inspire other women like me, who were attracted to science but for some reason felt they couldn’t fulfill their dreams.”
