Breaking barriers in space science | The Final Word

Summary

Dr. Gay Jane Perez, Deputy Director General of the Philippine Space Agency, discusses her journey from physicist to space scientist, emphasizing the practical applications of space science that improve life on Earth. She addresses the underrepresentation of women in the field, highlighting the lack of role models and societal stereotypes as barriers. Perez encourages young women to pursue their dreams in STEM, sharing her work on landmark satellites and her current focus on building the Philippine Space Agency's research culture and satellite projects for environmental monitoring and disaster response.

Takeaways

• 🌌 Dr. Gay Jane Perez is a physicist and the Deputy Director General of the Philippine Space Agency, demonstrating women's significant contributions to space science.
• 🔬 Her training in physics equipped her with skills to analyze data and understand nature, which she applied to her work with Earth observation satellite data at NASA.
• 🌟 Dr. Perez emphasizes the practical applications of space science and technology that improve life on Earth, beyond just astronomical observations.
• 🚀 Despite being underrepresented, with only 15 out of 67 participants in major satellite projects being women, Dr. Perez is part of a global average where women make up one in five workers in the space sector.
• 👩‍🏫 The lack of role models and awareness about career opportunities in space science and engineering are identified as reasons for the low number of women in the field.
• 📢 The Philippine Space Agency is actively working to address these issues through social media campaigns and space education awareness programs.
• 💪 Dr. Perez challenges stereotypes that physics, engineering, and math are masculine or difficult subjects, urging the unlearning of these beliefs to support women and girls in these fields.
• 🛰️ She discusses the importance of building a highly skilled workforce to deal with complex, interdisciplinary problems in space technology.
• 🌱 Dr. Perez is currently focusing on administrative roles to build the foundation for research culture and the future of the Philippine Space Agency.
• 📡 The agency is developing projects like the Mula satellite for environmental monitoring, agriculture, and disaster response, showcasing the practical applications of space technology.
• 👩‍🚀 Her message to young women is to pursue their dreams and passions in space technology, and to consider advanced degrees to excel in the field.

Q & A

What inspired Dr. Gay Jane Perez to pursue a career in space science?

Dr. Perez was inspired by her training as a physicist and the opportunity to do postdoctoral studies at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she could analyze Earth observation satellite data and appreciate the practical applications of space science and technology.

How does Dr. Perez view the importance of space science and technology?

Dr. Perez sees space science and technology as having practical applications that improve life on Earth, beyond just looking at the stars or sending astronauts into orbit.

What is the global average of women working in the space sector according to Dr. Perez?

Dr. Perez states that the global average of women working in the space sector is one out of five workers.

What are some reasons for the low number of women in space science and engineering according to Dr. Perez?

Dr. Perez suggests that a lack of role models and a general lack of awareness about career opportunities in space science and engineering contribute to the low number of women in the field.

How does Dr. Perez think stereotypes affect women's performance in STEM fields?

Dr. Perez believes that stereotypes that suggest math, engineering, and physics are masculine or difficult subjects undermine women's performance by making them believe they can't excel in these fields.

What does Dr. Perez think is necessary to change the underrepresentation of women in STEM?

Dr. Perez emphasizes the need to unlearn stereotypes to help women and girls excel in STEM fields.

What are the key skills required to work in satellite development according to Dr. Perez?

Dr. Perez mentions that in addition to depth of expertise, skills such as teamwork, project management, collaboration, and good communication are essential in satellite development.

What is Dr. Perez's current role at the Philippine Space Agency?

Dr. Perez is taking on more of an administrative role, focusing on building the research culture and foundation of the Philippine Space Agency.

What projects is Dr. Perez currently working on at the Philippine Space Agency?

Dr. Perez is involved in projects like the development of the Mula satellite and using space data for monitoring the environment, agriculture, and disaster response.

What message does Dr. Perez have for young girls interested in space technology?

Dr. Perez encourages young girls to pursue their dreams and passions, explore opportunities, and consider pursuing advanced degrees like a Master's or a doctorate.

How does Dr. Perez view her contribution to the Philippines' space program?

Dr. Perez sees her current contribution as laying the groundwork for the Philippine Space Agency to thrive in space science, technology, and its applications.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Journey into Space Science

Dr. Gay Jane Perez, Deputy Director General of the Philippine Space Agency, discusses her career path in space science. She emphasizes her background as a physicist and how her postdoctoral studies at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center allowed her to analyze Earth observation satellite data. Dr. Perez highlights the practical applications of space science and technology that improve life on Earth. She acknowledges the underrepresentation of women in the field, noting that only 15 out of 67 participants in major satellite projects are women, which aligns with the global average of women in the space sector. She attributes this to a lack of role models and awareness about career opportunities in space science and engineering. Dr. Perez also addresses stereotypes that discourage women and girls from pursuing careers in STEM fields, advocating for the unlearning of these stereotypes.

05:02

💪 Empowering Women in Space Technology

Dr. Gay Jane Perez shares her message to young women aspiring to excel in space technology. She encourages them to pursue their dreams and passions without hesitation, to explore opportunities, and to consider advanced degrees such as Masters or Doctorates. Dr. Perez, as a role model herself, inspires the Filipino people with her achievements and contributions to the Philippine Space Agency. She is currently focused on administrative roles, aiming to build a research culture and lay the groundwork for the agency's future in space science, technology, and applications. She mentions ongoing projects like the Mula satellite and the use of space data for environmental monitoring, agriculture, and disaster response.

Keywords

💡Space Science

Space Science refers to the study of the physical and natural sciences of the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. It encompasses astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. In the video, Dr. Perez discusses her career in space science, highlighting its practical applications that improve life on Earth, such as analyzing Earth observation satellite data.

💡Innovation

Innovation is the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. Dr. Perez is noted for her role in breakthrough projects in space science, indicating her contribution to innovative advancements in the field.

💡Postdoctoral Studies

Postdoctoral studies are research positions taken after obtaining a doctorate, often to gain further experience in a field. Dr. Perez mentions her postdoctoral studies at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center as a pivotal point in her career where she analyzed satellite data.

💡Earth Observation Satellite

Earth observation satellites are used to monitor the Earth's surface, atmosphere, and natural phenomena. Dr. Perez's work analyzing such data is an example of how space science can have practical applications for understanding and managing Earth's resources.

💡Role Models

A role model is a person whose behavior, example, or success is emulated by others. Dr. Perez discusses the lack of female role models in the space sector, which may contribute to the underrepresentation of women in the field.

💡Stereotypes

Stereotypes are widely held but fixed and oversimplified ideas or images of particular types of people or things. Dr. Perez addresses the stereotype that physics, engineering, and math are masculine fields, which can undermine women's performance in these areas.

💡Interdisciplinary Solutions

Interdisciplinary solutions involve combining insights from multiple disciplines to solve complex problems. Dr. Perez emphasizes that building satellites requires not only depth of expertise but also a breadth of skills, including teamwork and project management.

💡Workforce Development

Workforce development refers to the process of equipping, training, and developing employees to meet the needs of businesses and organizations. In the context of the video, Dr. Perez discusses building a highly skilled workforce in the Philippine space agency.

💡Research Culture

Research culture is the environment and practices that support and encourage research activities. Dr. Perez mentions her role in building a research culture within the Philippine space agency, which is crucial for the development of space science and technology.

💡Satellite Projects

Satellite projects involve designing, building, and launching satellites for various purposes such as communication, navigation, and scientific research. Dr. Perez mentions several Philippine satellite projects, like the Mula satellite, which monitor the environment and agriculture.

💡Disaster Response

Disaster response is the effort to save lives and property in the immediate aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster. Dr. Perez discusses the use of space data for disaster response, illustrating how space technology can have practical benefits for society.

Highlights

Gay Jane Perez, a physicist, leads breakthrough projects in space science.

Perez's training as a physicist taught her to interrogate data and understand nature.

Opportunity at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enhanced Perez's skills.

Perez focused on analyzing Earth observation satellite data.

Space Science and Technology has practical applications that improve life on Earth.

Only 15 out of 67 participants in major satellite projects are women.

Global average of women in the space sector is one out of five workers.

Lack of role models and awareness are reasons for few women in space science.

Philippine space agency addresses the issue through social media and education.

Stereotypes about difficulty of STEM subjects are a hurdle for women.

Perez emphasizes the importance of unlearning stereotypes in STEM.

Building satellites involves interdisciplinary solutions and a skilled workforce.

Perez's current role involves administrative tasks to build up the space agency.

Projects like Mula satellite use space data for environmental monitoring and disaster response.

Perez's contribution is laying the groundwork for the Philippine space agency.

Message to young women: Pursue your dreams and passions in space technology.

Perez encourages women to pursue advanced degrees in their fields.

Perez is an inspiration to the Filipino people.

Transcripts

at the lead of some breakthrough

projects in space science gay Jane Perez

proves women's capabilities to innovate

and make achievements that reach far

beyond Earth We're joined now by the

Philippine space agencies deputy

director General Dr Perez thank you so

much for joining us share with us how

you got into a career in space

hi good evening Rico well um first of

all my training as a physicist taught me

how to interrogate data or measurements

use models to understand how nature

works and synthesize findings to come up

with actionable information

so when I was given the opportunity to

do my postdoctoral studies at Nasa

Goddard space flight center I saw how I

could further enhance what I learned as

a student but this time analyzing huge

amount of Earth observation satellite

data

at the same time while I was there I

gained better appreciation of the value

of Space Science and Technology right

and exploration so more than looking at

the stars or uh say sending astronauts

in orbit there are very practical

applications of space that improves our

lives here on Earth um so for those

reasons I decided to pursue space

science and technology by focusing on

each other and we are indeed very proud

of you uh Dr Perez but if you take a

look at the numbers there are very few

women physicists and Engineers who have

worked with uh with the Department in

developing satellites only 15 out of 67

who participated in seven major

satellite projects of the agency are

women why so few women

um well actually these numbers are are

close to the global average of

um one out of five workers in space

sector are women

um part of the reason

um could be a lap of Role Models but

actually uh aside from not having enough

women Role Models I can say that um

generally there's a lack of awareness

um in career opportunities in space

science and engineering and actually

that's uh what we're trying to address

here at the Philippine space agency

um through our active social media

campaigns and space education awareness

program is it also possible yes doctors

is it also possible because of the

difficulty of the subjects physics

science technology engineering math

I mean it's a hurdle

well unfortunately uh girls are raised

to believe that math engineering physics

are

masculine feels or are difficult

subjects but this is not true this

actually is a stereotype which

undermines the performance of women's

and girls in these fields because they

believe that they can't excel in it but

we need to unlearn these stereotypes to

help women and girls become better at

these fields and you have made a big

difference Dr Perez in your chosen

career through Landmark satellites the

water one the Water 2 and the Maya

satellites what does it take to

accomplish all of these

well you know Rico when we build

satellites and related space

Technologies we also build people highly

skilled Workforce so in space we deal

with complex problems that entail

interdisciplinary Solutions so we rely

not just on the depth of expertise but

also on the direct on the breadth of

skills such as teamwork project

management collaboration and good

communication among others and what are

you working at the moment uh Dr Perez uh

new breakthroughs uh for our kababayans

for the country

well in my current position at the

Philippine space agency I'm taking more

of that administrative role and I think

this is an excellent opportunity for me

to contribute to the build up of the

Philippine space agency particularly on

building a research culture uh building

the foundation of the agency so we can

Thrive uh we can pursue a space science

uh technology and its applications uh so

this is the foundation so uh I can

mention several projects like uh the

Mula satellite which we are developing

and the different applications where we

mobilize uh space data for monitoring

our environment our Agriculture and for

Disaster Response but really right now

um I guess my contribution is on laying

down the groundwork correct um as one of

the officials of the Philippines and

what is your message uh Dr Perez to

women who also want to make a name for

themselves in the field of space

technology

well to the young girls out there don't

hesitate pursue your dreams and your

passions uh go out explore and embrace

opportunities and if there's a chance

pursue Advanced degrees uh take your

Masters or even doctorate

thank you so much for joining us on the

final word you are indeed an inspiration

to the Filipino people Philippines space

agency deputy director General Dr Gay

Jane Perez