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Freedom

to be a 

Woman in Science

CHIARA MINGARELLI

BORN: 1982

"I am Chiara Mingarelli and I am scientist who studies ripples in the fabric of space-time, made by black holes about a billion times the mass of the sun."

Chiara knew she wanted to be a scientist at a very young age. She grew up in the country where it was very dark at night and the sky was filled with stars.

“We would dream about what was out there: planets with other forms of life, races of intelligent aliens who were looking back down at us and best of all, black holes!”

Her fascination with black holes increased as she got older and learned more about them. As a teenager, she would buy magazines with stories about space and astronomy and fill her bedroom walls with astronomy artwork dreaming of the day that her own discoveries would be reported in the same magazines. Not far from the truth, Chiara has.

"It was not always popular for me to be interested in math, physics and science... I want to change the world by being myself. I got to where I am through determination and hard work, and most importantly, by ignoring the people who told me that I couldn’t do it, that I wasn’t any good, and who claimed that I asked stupid questions. I want you all to know that you too can change the world by being yourself."

Amy and her team often interview SmartGirls, asking deeply revealing, poignantly relevant and critically important questions....

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Favorite mad scientist? Dr. Evil.

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Would you rather have a dragon or be a dragon? BE a dragon.

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Coolest use of science you’ve ever seen? Magnetic levitation with superconductors. It’s awesome.

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What words do you live by? Science, coffee, girl power!

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What question besides “what is the meaning of life?” would you want to know the answer to? What do black holes look like inside the event horizon?

Free to be curious, Chiara Mingarelli is a SmartGirl!

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