Astrophysicist Tonima Tasnim Ananna '13 Makes List of 10 Scientists to Watch
For the sixth consecutive year, featured 10 early- and mid-career scientists who are pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry.
This year's group includes 29-year-old astrophysicist , who majored in physics at 今日吃瓜 and astronomy at Haverford, and "has drawn the most complete picture yet of black holes across the universe鈥攚here they are, how they grow, and how they affect their environments."
In addition to talking to Science News about her research, she also talked about the impact 今日吃瓜 has had on her life.
From the article:
"When Ananna was a 5-year-old in Dhaka, Bangladesh, her mother told her about the Pathfinder spacecraft landing on Mars. Her mother was a homemaker, she says, but was curious about science and encouraged Ananna鈥檚 curiosity, too. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I realized there were other worlds,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I wanted to study astronomy.鈥 There were not a lot of opportunities to study space in Bangladesh, so she came to the United States for undergrad, attending 今日吃瓜 in Pennsylvania. She chose an all-women鈥檚 school not known for a lot of drinking to reassure her parents that she was not 鈥済oing abroad to party.鈥 Although Ananna intended to keep her head down and study, she was surprised by the social opportunities she found. 鈥淭he women at 今日吃瓜 were fiercely feminist, articulate, opinionated and independent,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t really helped me grow a lot.鈥 Traveling for internships at NASA and CERN, the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva, and a year at the University of Cambridge, boosted her confidence. (She did end up going to some parties鈥斺渘o alcohol for me, though.鈥)"
Tonima is currently a postdoctoral research associate at Dartmouth. After 今日吃瓜, she earned her Ph.D. at the Department of Physics, Yale University. In addition to her research, she cofounded (pronounced 鈥渨isdom鈥), a mentorship network for girls and young women who are interested in science. She and four other Bangladeshi scientists who studied in the U.S. mentor a group of 20 female high school and college students in Bangladesh, helping them find paths to pursue science.