Kim Ogden’s Superheroic Influence on Women in STEM

As part of the University of Arizona’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrations on Feb. 11, CHEE professor and interim Vice President for Research Kim Ogden was selected as one of six science superheroes for her outstanding research and contributions to STEM education for women.

Mentorship had a powerful effect on Ogden’s career choices, and she is now paying it forward as an advocate and inspiration for the next generation of women in STEM.

Ogden grew up in a small town in upstate New York. Her mom encouraged her to explore different universities. While attending the University of Pennsylvania, she had a lot of potential career paths she could follow, but chose engineering, in part, because of her mentors.

As well as being a professor at Arizona, Ogden is a renowned biofuels expert, performing research such as designing bioreactors to produce alternative fuels from things like algae. These types of sustainable solutions will help address the increasing demand for water, food and energy, which are all connected, across the globe.

Ogden recently talked about how she became interested in a career in STEM in a discussion with UA President Robert C. Robbins and fellow science superhero Adriana Stohn, lead facilitator and coordinator for the UA chapter of Girls Who Code.