February 11th is the International Day of Girls and Women in Science a a day that advocates for the full and equal access and participation for women and girls in science and celebrates the contribution women have made to STEM fields.

In 2019, Yamini Vijayan and Anjali Alappat who were then editors at Pratham Books reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in writing a picture book that would come under a careers in STEM category. "Kind of like a day in the life of a specialist. We were thinking of a microbiologist, less known, no?" the email said.

I said yes immediately.

A month later, Yamini, Anjali and I visited the NCBS campus here in Bengaluru and met Dr Savita Chib, a microbiologist. Dr. Chib graciously allowed us to follow her around her lab, showed us the various equipment she used, talked to us about her research and candidly spoke about her journey in STEM, after which she treated us to a lovely lunch at the canteen.

I then spoke to my own sister, Dr. Malavika Raman who now runs her own research lab at Tufts University about her work, her struggles and what she enjoyed most about being a research scientist.

Armed with all my interview notes, my own research about microbiologists and microbes and photographs, I sat down to write about what a microbiologist really does do all day.

One thing I learned while writing this STEM book for young readers is that while I had to explain complex topics to them in a way they understood, that didn't mean I could talk down to them.

I decided to write the book in the first person, with our microbiologist talking directly to the reader and showing them around their lab and explaining their work to them. I thought that might make her story and work seem less remote and removed from the reader's life.

Pratham Books, who published of Ira Investigates the Invisible is a multi-lingual non-profit publishing house, and their books go in to schools and libraries across the country. It was important for Yamini, Anjali and me that the children who read Ira understood that there were options other than medicine or engineering they could pursue. And more importantly that they felt they too could aspire to a future in science. We also wanted to let the children know that being a scientist has it's own set of challenges - experiments that go wrong, hypotheses that don't pan out - and that grit and perseverance were key to the work.

Here, Dr. Chib's own life story informed Ira's narrative. Dr. Chib was the first girl in her family to pursue higher studies and she felt a tremendous pressure to succeed. She struggled when she started her post graduate course and admitted to wanting to quit many times in her first and second year. But her friends and love of science are what kept her going. All of this made there way into the story, as did my own sister's admission that 'a lot of the experiments I do fail. What keeps me going is when things work. But even when things don’t work out, it’s alright. It helps me ask the next question."

The book was illustrated by Anjora Noronha who did a stellar job in conveying Ira's personality, and bringing to life the lab and its millions of invisible inhabitant.

You can read 'Ira Investigates the Invisible' here.

Though not a scientist, young Mary in my picture book 'Topi Rockets from Thumba' published by Penguin Random House last year, is terribly inquisitive and she doesn't shy away from asking anyone questions - even if that someone is renowned scientist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.

The year is 1963 and India is about to embark on an audacious adventure - launching its first ever rocket into space. After much searching, a team of scientists led by the visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai zero in on Thumba, a tiny fishing village off the coast of Kerala as the place to launch the rocket and India's dreams of space exploration. Mary is all of 10 years old and bored of life in sleepy Thumba. Nothing ever happens here but fishing. That is, of course, until Dr Sarabhai and team arrive!

Throughout the book Mary is constantly asking questions, a quality all scientists must possess.

I found out after I had written the book, that Dr Tessy Thomas Director General - Aeronautical Systems (AS) and the former Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation grew up near Thumba and that said that 'her fascination with rockets and missiles began then.'

Women make up only 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and it's crucial that young girls see themselves reflected in the books they read pursuing a wide range of career choices. (It's equally important that young boys see this too.) You can read more about why representation in STEM picture books matters here.

Here's to all the curious young girls out there. Never stop asking questions.

#STEM #GirlsinSTEM #WomeninStEM #PictureBooks