Dr. Jessica Wade: Early Reader Edition

Dr. Jess WadeWikimedia Commons

Dr. Jessica Wade is a British scientist and activist. She has worked hard to make sure that more women and people of color are given jobs and get recognized for their work in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). She does this by writing Wikipedia pages on important women and people of color in STEM whose work has not been celebrated.

Growing Up and Education

Dr. Wade was born in October 1988. She grew up in a family of doctors – her mother, father, and grandfather were all doctors! She went to South Hampstead High School and later went to Chelsea College of Art to study art and design. However, she soon realized she loved physics and decided to study it at Imperial College London, where she got her PhD (a special degree for experts in science) in 2016.

Her Work as a Scientist

In her work, Dr. Wade looks at which special materials can be used to make lights. She works with Alasdair Campbell and Matthew Fuchter (other scientists at Imperial College London) to make tiny, flexible lights from plastic and other materials. These lights are used in devices like phone screens, TVs, and tablets. She has written over 50 science papers, and her work is very well-known in the world of physics!

Helping Others in Science 

As well as working as a scientist, Dr. Wade is an activist which she works hard to make the world better. As a scientist, she noticed that lots of women, black, Asian, Latino, and Native American (people of color) scientists were not getting credit for their work. Dr. Wade’s activism is focused on making sure that those scientists get recognized for their work. She has started writing Wikipedia pages about them so more people can learn about their amazing work!

Dr. Wade also works to make sure more people of color are able to get jobs in STEM. She visits lots of different schools to tell young people about science and encourage them to work in scientific jobs. She even wrote a book for children called "Nano: The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small", to show children what her work is all about.

Why Her Work Matters

Dr. Wade believes that everyone should feel welcome in science. She wants young people to know that they can become scientists no matter where they come from or what they look like. She also thinks it’s important celebrate all the different kinds of people working together in science. The hundreds of Wikipedia pages she has written have put lots of other scientists in the spotlight.

Through her work, Dr. Wade is making sure that everyone gets the recognition they deserve in STEM.