Jedidah Isler: The untapped genius that could change science for the better
Jedidah Isler: O génio inexplorado que pode melhorar a ciência
Jedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies. Full bio
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that some of the most interesting things
das coisas mais interessantes
occur at the intersections,
acontecem nas intersecções,
I mean the space in-between.
no espaço que há no meio.
of not-quite-here, not-quite-there,
a partir da indefinição,
of the world come to mind,
das grandes intersecções do mundo,
of a seemingly endless stream of people.
do quase imparável vai-vem de gente.
in Selma, Alabama,
em Selma, no Alabama,
in Ferguson, Missouri, also come to mind
em Ferguson, no Missouri,
at the intersection of human beings,
na intersecção dos seres humanos,
struggle for justice.
luta pela justiça.
landscape of our planet,
do nosso planeta,
are of intersections.
são de intersecções.
intersection of gas and dust,
de gás e poeira,
da gravidade.
this time flung outward
desta vez lançadas para o exterior
de átomos mais pequenos
into altogether new and heavier things.
em coisas novas e mais pesadas.
that have special meaning to us.
que têm um sentido especial para nós.
at an intersection.
in the in-between,
no espaço que há no meio,
between dreams and reality,
entre os sonhos e a realidade,
no espaço celestial,
results in a shining example
resulta num exemplo brilhante
hyperactive black holes
supermassivos e hiperativos
of massive galaxies
das enormes galáxias
nearby those black holes
muito perto desses buracos negros
da velocidade da luz
to completely understand.
a tentar compreender plenamente.
of becoming an astrophysicist
do Dr. Jamie Alexander
of African-American women in physics,
had ever earned a PhD
tinham conseguido um doutoramento
with a PhD in an astronomy-related field
que se doutorou em astronomía
of life at an intersection:
da minha vida numa intersecção:
and experience,
of victorious breakthroughs
just after my family had fallen apart.
depois da destruição da minha família.
departure from our lives.
ter saído da nossa vida.
of middle-class life
da vida da classe média
to make ends meet.
para conseguirmos sobreviver.
60 percent of women of color
de mulheres de cor
to their educational goals.
são uma grande barreira
provided me with full funding,
proporcionou-me um financiamento completo
my bachelor's in physics.
a licenciatura em Física.
that I wanted a PhD in astrophysics,
o doutoramento em Astrofísica,
people and programs.
had this beautiful poster
havia um bonito póster
to become physicists.
a tornarem-se físicos.
because it featured a young black girl,
porque lembrei-me daquela miúda negra,
at some physics equations.
para umas equações de Física.
at the little girl
diretamente para aquela miúda
se atrevera a ter esse sonho.
copy of the poster,
still hangs in my office.
no meu escritório.
my educational path,
o meu percurso académico
in pursuit of the PhD.
a concretizar o meu doutoramento.
University Bridge Program,
Bridge das universidades Fisk-Vanderbilt,
of the master's and PhD degrees
de mestrado e doutoramento
they accepted me into the program,
on the path to the PhD.
a caminho do doutoramento.
o doutoramento.
the space that would ultimately give way
que me abriria o caminho
para o doutoramento.
to have that degree of liminality
o mesmo grau de liminaridade
to "do what I really came here to do"
from our meal in front of me to clean up.
para eu lavar a loiça.
and mathematics, or STEM,
engenharia e matemática (STEM)
of the 60 women of color
by Joan C. Williams at UC Hastings
de Joan C. Williams na UC Hastings
uma tendência racista e sexual,
for the janitorial staff.
com o pessoal da limpeza.
interviewed for this study,
entrevistadas no mesmo estudo,
with a janitorial position,
em fazer parte do pessoal de limpeza.
were able to attend college
puderam frequentar a universidade,
worked these jobs,
desempenharam essas tarefas.
to put me in my place.
para pôr-me no meu lugar.
the acute pain of the encounter,
das minhas capacidades.
do not experience the same set of barriers
não sofrem as mesmas barreiras
or just people of color face.
women of color in STEM,
as mulheres de cor no STEM,
sum of identities.
cannot be appreciated
não pode ser apreciada
the liminal space between disciplines.
o espaço liminar entre disciplinas.
of understanding the physical world
do mundo físico
in the absence of mathematics.
of basic science and math
das ciências básicas e da matemática
on the foundation of math,
nos fundamentos da matemática,
the critical role of Rosetta Stone,
de Pedra de Roseta,
the physical principles of the world.
os princípios físicos do mundo.
without each individual piece.
sem cada uma das suas peças individuais.
of the enrichment that is realized
que se obtém
with other disciplines.
Latina, indigenous, First Nation
negras, latinas, indígenas, índias
at the blessed intersection
that you'll become an astrophysicist,
a ser astrofísicas,
qualquer coisa que quiserem.
who you imagine yourself to be.
quem imaginam querer vir a ser.
into a world you can't even imagine.
que nunca imaginaram.
pressing issues of our time,
mais importantes do nosso tempo,
their intersection with STEM.
issues of our time.
dos problemas simples da nossa época.
require a thorough investigation
uma investigação minuciosa
solutions of tomorrow.
para o amanhã.
estes problemas liminares
their whole lives at the intersections.
a sua vida nas intersecções?
e tomadoras de decisões
the first steps of diversity
os primeiros passos de diversidade
and more robust territory
mais rico e mais robusto
e de igualdade de oportunidades.
of liminal excellence
da excelência liminar
after a 10-year bout with breast cancer.
depois de 10 anos com cancro do pulmão,
who spearheaded the NASA side
que liderou a equipa da NASA
for landing a rover on a comet,
num cometa
Galileo mission to Jupiter,
de 1500 milhões de dólares,
and the world.
entre duas culturas.
to states of understanding
aos estados de compreensão
that you can't do every day."
que não podemos fazer todos os dias."
the power of a liminal person.
o poder duma pessoa liminar.
space missions of our time,
dos nossos tempos,
in any place she was.
em qualquer sitio onde estivesse.
of the SOCCKET line of sports products,
de produtos de desporto SOCCKET,
renewable energy as you play with them,
renovável, enquanto jogamos com elas,
isn't just creating things,
não é só criar coisas,
that make this world."
que formam o mundo."
and Jessica Matthews
e de Jessica Matthews
intersectional stories,
histórias interseccionais,
of race, gender and innovation.
de raça, de sexo e de inovação.
of my right to be in an elite space,
que, quando me graduei,
to earn a PhD in astrophysics
a ter o doutoramento em astrofísica
of women of color in STEM
pequeno mas crescente,
and new ideas to life
e novas ideias
dos nossos tempos:
climate change, genetic editing,
a alteração climática e a engenharia genética,
and Mars exploration.
we haven't even thought of yet.
que ainda nem começámos a pensar.
occupy some of the toughest
de alguns dos temas sociotecnológicos
issues of our time.
dos nossos tempos.
de forma especial
and drive these conversations
of a wider variety of lived experience.
duma maior variedade de experiências.
to the many intersectional people
às muitas pessoas interseccionais
in ways that outmatch
de um modo nunca pensado
com melhores recursos.
born out of a desire to fit in.
to the best possible outcomes
que não atingiremos os melhores resultados
distinctly experienced
experimentado de modo distinto
the most excellent expression
a expressão mais excelente
of humanity brought to bear.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jedidah Isler - AstrophysicistJedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies.
Why you should listen
Jedidah Isler has been staring at the stars since she was 11 or 12. But because neither her undergraduate college or the university where she got her first master’s degree offered astronomy majors, she threw herself wholeheartedly into physics. It wasn’t until she entered a doctoral program that she was able to dedicate her time to the studying the night sky. In 2014, she became the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D in Astrophysics from Yale.
Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes at the center of galaxies, some of which emit powerful streams of particles. Sometimes these are oriented toward Earth, offering us a unique perspective on the physics of the universe. Isler is a Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow in Physics at Syracuse University. She participates in the Future Faculty Leader program at Harvard's Center for Astrophysics and was named a 2015 TED Fellow.
Isler is also interested in breaking down barriers that prevent many students — especially women of color — from becoming scienists. She works to make STEM accessible to new communities.
Jedidah Isler | Speaker | TED.com