ACE EDI – Social Justice and My Work as a Physicist

Kevin Hewitt is NSERC Chair for Inclusion in Science and Engineering, Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion and  Professor of Physics at Dalhousie University

Kevin Hewitt, Speaker

Numerous studies have found that those underrepresented in STEM are more motivated by service to community than those from the dominant community, that they are pushed out when there is not a strong connection between STEM and society and are disenchanted by the lack of opportunities to pursue work related to social justice and activism in their STEM environments (see a great summary in Black, Brown, Bruised by Ebony Omotola McGee, 2020). In this book Dr. McGee shared the results of research which demonstrated that scientists from underrepresented groups are driven more by goals such as mentoring students like themselves and addressing health problems in their community, whereas scientists from dominant group cited freedom to choose their own research topics as a main reason to pursue a faculty career. Undergraduates from underrepresented communities across all disciplines expressed altruistic work goals, such as jobs that offer the chance to help others. Until we make the connection between Physics and the goals that drive their interests, we will continue to see few underrepresented students enter and remain in the field.

In my research and life work, I feel that great sense of responsibility to my community. I will describe how I have tried to tackle topics that impact underrepresented communities, co-created organizations to impact the next generation of scientists and brought science to public venues to raise awareness. International collaborations of mine are structured around serving a global citizenry. Beyond my responsibility to the public writ large, my career has focused on two responsibilities with respect to the Black community: to bring those currently underrepresented in the field to become major contributors (CBSN, ILA, Science Fair), not only as a matter of social justice, but also to accelerate the field’s advance.

Secondly, my most recent work has been focused on research which aids disadvantaged communities – e.g. sickle cell disease in Black communities, the high prevalence of fibroids among Black women. It’s no coincidence that some of this is occurring later in my career, and I will discuss why during the talk.