Episode 233: Dr. Carlotta A. Berry on Diversity in STEM

Guest Dr. Carlotta A. Berry Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In
this episode, host Richard Littauer engages in a conversation with
Dr. Carlotta Berry, a Professor in the Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and a
passionate advocate for diversity in STEM. Carlotta shares her
journey from an undergraduate student rarely seeing diversity in
her field to becoming an engineering professor determined to change
that narrative. She discusses her work at the Children's Museum of
Indianapolis, emphasizing the importance of making STEM accessible
and exciting for all, especially girls and underrepresented
minorities. She also dives into her motivations behind founding two
nonprofits, Black in Engineering and Black in Robotics,
highlighting their roles during the racial reckoning and the
importance of maintaining momentum in diversity efforts amidst
societal backlashes. Additionally, Carlotta touches upon her
engagement with open source communities, particularly in robotics,
to further democratize STEM education. The discussion also covers
her unique approaches to connecting with younger audiences through
hip hop slam poetry on TikTok and the significance of
representation in every aspect of STEM, from academia to community
initiatives. Press download now to hear more! [00:01:05] Carlotta
tells us about the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and describes
it as one of the largest children’s museums in the world, detailing
its features and her role there in STEM and robotics activities.
[00:02:00] Richard comments on Carlotta’s extensive education and
asks about her journey from PHD to her current position. She
explains her motivation for pursuing a PhD was to become an
engineering professor and to represent diversity in the field.
[00:02:59] Carlotta recounts that her PhD experience was relatively
smooth compared to her undergrad challenges, highlighting the focus
on subjects she loved. [00:04:57] The conversation turns to
Carlotta’s involvement with nonprofits, particularly ‘Black in
Engineering’ and ‘Black in Robotics’, and she shares the origin of
these groups. She talks about the purpose of ‘Black in Engineering’
and its relevance in the current political climate. [00:08:26]
Richard inquires how Carlotta stays motivated amid setbacks in
civil rights progress. Carlotta cites the resilience of past civil
rights leaders as inspiration and emphasizes the role of true
allies. [00:10:41] The discussion shifts to open source, and
Carlotta outlines her work in STEM communication and her
involvement with open source hardware through her robots, the
‘flower bots’. Also, she acknowledges she has built a community
primarily through social media engagement. [00:15:16] Carlotta
explains Rose Bot’s origin, related to her school’s mascot, and its
connection with various STEM outreach and education initiatives,
such as Rosie, Lily, and Daisy bots. She celebrates the success of
her program in increasing enrollment and diversity in computer
science and software engineering, as well as her own department.
[00:17:50] Richard inquires about Carlotta’s day-to-day activities
and how she manages everything. She clarifies she’s a workaholic
with a high teaching lead at a teaching-focused school and does not
balance well, yet she is passionate about her work, and she details
her daily schedule. [00:20:25] What is Carlotta’s mentoring
approach for young women in STEM? She emphasizes honesty and
support for her students, sharing her own struggles and the
importance of community and resources to navigate the difficulties
in engineering education. [00:23:46] Richard asks Carlotta what
changes she would suggest for the broader open source community to
increase diversity and representation in STEM. Carlotta advises
against working in silos, stressing the importance of education
about open source, reaching beyond typical recruitment spaces, and
creating diverse testing groups. [00:26:35] Carlotta shares her
strategy of code-switching and the importance of connecting with
people and listening to them. She encourages students to pursue
what is authentic to them and to avoid forcing themselves into
careers they are not passionate about. [00:29:21] Richard inquires
about hip hop slam poetry, and Carlotta shares that she used hip
hop slam poetry as a method to connect with younger audiences and
teach them about STEM on TikTok. [00:31:03] Carlotta talks about
her books and describes her passion for romance novels and her
decision to write black STEM romance novels to represent black
women in science and engineering positively. [00:33:19] How does
Carlotta balance her mission with her personal aspirations? She
explains her mission serves her internal validation, aiming to
improve the STEM experience for black and female students and thus
contributing to a more diverse and inclusive future. [00:35:18]
Find out where you can read more about Carlotta and her work.
Quotes [00:09:57] “Yeah, and is that supposed to be a problem? So,
I got my PhD because of affirmative action. Is that better than
your Twitter scholarship? I say yes!” Spotlight [00:36:15]
Richards’s spotlight is Corina Newsome. [00:36:42] Carlotta’s
spotlight is Dr. Brandeis Marshall. Links SustainOSS
(https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter
(https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/)
podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS
Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open
Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute)
(https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Socials
(https://www.burntfen.com/2023-05-30/socials) Dr. Carlotta A. Berry
X/Twitter (https://twitter.com/noiresteminist) Dr. Carlotta A.
Berry LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlotta-berry-phd/)
Dr. Carlotta A. Berry Website (https://www.noiresteminist.com/) Dr.
Carlotta A. Berry Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/drcaberry)
Dr. Carlotta A. Berry TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@drcaberry)
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
(https://www.childrensmuseum.org/) Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology (https://www.rose-hulman.edu/) Black in Engineering
(https://blackinengineering.org/) Black in Robotics
(https://blackinrobotics.org/) Corina Newsome
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corina_Newsome) Dr. Brandeis
Marshall (https://www.brandeismarshall.com/) Credits Produced by
Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr
at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by
DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/)
Special Guest: Dr. Carlotta A. Berry.