Female Disruptors: Dr. Emily Fischer of Colorado State University On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Harvard University Professor Dan Schrag is one of my mentors. When I was about to take my current faculty position, he gave me the best piece of advice. He told me to stop thinking of myself as just an atmospheric scientist, and to just think of myself as a scientist. I think of those words often, and they give me the freedom to work on problems that I see as important. I build teams to directly attack challenging problems, and this lets me work on so many interesting challenges.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Emily Fischer.

Dr. Emily Fischer is an Atmospheric Chemist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. She is also a founding member of the Science Moms campaign.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I have been passionate about air quality from a young age. I guess you could say that I was destined to be an atmospheric scientist. All the work that I do has some link to climate change because as an atmospheric scientist, it is impossible to avoid the topic of climate change.

I have two elementary-age daughters. When my oldest (currently in 3rd grade) learned about climate change, she asked me if it was real. When I told her that it was real, she started crying. I said “that is the right reaction, and I’ll work on it.” I have always been worried about climate change and feel that scientists should help everyone understand the issue. I volunteered with a non-partisan science-based organization that focused on climate change while I was a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire, and I routinely worked to educate the public about climate change while working as a staff scientist at the Mount Washington Observatory. Once my kids were born, life was a blur, but now that I’m no longer changing diapers, it is important for me to continue to work for a safer and more just world. I view climate change as one of the largest threats to my children and our way of life.

My latest endeavor is joining a new initiative called Science Moms, a nonpartisan group of climate scientists and mothers who aim to break down climate change in simple and engaging ways that arm mothers with the knowledge they need to take action. What I love most about the Science Moms campaign is that we are trying to meet moms where they are and provide information that is accurate, entertaining, and relatable. Science Moms is also helping mothers understand why it is important for them to advocate for the solutions they want for their communities.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

My work with Science Moms is the essence of disruptive work and is critical to the fight for climate change. Usually, conversations around climate change often leave out the voices of those most affected — kids and their parents. Science Moms is filling this void and helping mothers find their voices in this fight and positioning mothers as thought leaders in this space. The number one question moms ask when talking about climate change is “what can I do?” and the answer is to take action and raise their voices for collective change.

Additionally, I study the chemical composition of wildfire smoke, where wildfire smoke moves, and how it impacts health. I’ve also worked on the impact of fossil fuel extraction and use on air quality, both locally here in Colorado in more remote parts of the atmosphere. Climate change is a common thread throughout this research.

On a personal level, my family ran from the Cameron Peak Fire in August during a hiking trip. The Cameron Peak Fire burned for two months, it became the largest fire in Colorado recorded history, caused poor air quality all summer for my family, and burned much of the area that I love to take my kids hiking. It was like seeing my research come to life in a really scary way.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Life is full of mistakes and mishaps, I’m not sure where to start. As an undergraduate researcher, I got lost in the woods in British Columbia heading back from a field site. I have paid much closer attention to navigation since then. I broke my right wrist (I’m right-handed) at a field site and then spent the entire field season writing left-handed in my notebook. Those notebooks are funny because they look like a kindergartener took over. I learned to just keep rolling and that sometimes you have to ask for help.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

There have been so many individuals that have influenced me. Alex Pszenny, Jack Dibb, and Bob Talbot taught me how to write. Jennie Moody was the first female faculty member to mentor me; I should have thanked her sooner for showing me how to combine meteorology and chemistry. Dan Jaffe made my PhD fun — thanks for setting a high bar. Daniel Jacob and Dan Schrag provided some of the best scientific and career advice. I also learned so much from Jennifer Logan. There are many colleagues that I continue to be grateful for on a weekly basis. These women include Melissa Burt, Abby Swann, Rebecca Barnes, and Sheryl Magzamen.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disruptions that are a net benefit to social good are positive. Disruptions that do not fall in this category are less positive or not positive at all. On another front, I don’t think that action on climate change will be that disruptive to most people. Not acting on climate change will disrupt our way of life much more.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Harvard University Professor Dan Schrag is one of my mentors. When I was about to take my current faculty position, he gave me the best piece of advice. He told me to stop thinking of myself as just an atmospheric scientist, and to just think of myself as a scientist. I think of those words often, and they give me the freedom to work on problems that I see as important. I build teams to directly attack challenging problems, and this lets me work on so many interesting challenges.

I’ve been with my husband for 20+ years since I was 18. When we were younger, I remember him telling me that his mom once told him “stop thinking in hundreds and start thinking in thousands.” Sometimes when I am working on proposals, I tell myself “stop thinking in thousands and start thinking in millions.” You can solve bigger problems that way, and that is inspiring.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I’ll be working with other scientists and moms to inspire and mobilize mothers across the country to ensure their political leaders support finding sensible climate change solutions. We need to ensure that moms are educated on the issue, while polling and data show that they care, we need to ensure that our campaign educates them on climate change. Science Moms will help mothers across the country raise their voices and insist on science-based and timely action on climate change. We need a full switch to renewable energy in the next 10 years. We need to ignore and marginalize misinformation from fossil fuel interests, and de-politicize this issue.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I think we are unnecessarily plagued by self-doubt because girls in the U.S. are often expected to be perfect. I also think that women surprise society when they are aggressive or bold, and there is realistically always a personal risk when we push these gender expectations.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I love podcasts. My world has become full of Zoom lately, and it is so nice to just listen rather than watch a screen. I’ve recently listened to Dare to Lead by Brene Brown. I love her interview with Aiko Bethea. I loved the Michelle Obama podcast. I had to listen to the 1619 podcast. I’m starting to work my way through How to Save a Planet. I also love the Splendid Table.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be galvanizing demand for sensible climate solutions. In essence, it would be Science Moms.

Let’s look at 2020. Many U.S. cities endured relentless stretches of heat waves with temperatures > 100 F. As the temperature warmed, more of the year became a fire season. Look, 17,000 homes were destroyed across the west, and three states, including Colorado, Oregon, and California, experienced the largest wildfires in history. The scale of change just can’t be ignored.

Science Moms is a positive and uplifting community of moms whose mission is to provide resources, digestible information, and trustworthiness needed to help moms see climate change not as a political issue but an opportunity to mobilize and act. Moms urgently need the government to use all the resources it has to address the climate crisis to protect families and our children’s futures.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

From my maternal grandmother in reference to raising kids: “I made it, you will make it.”

From my paternal grandfather in reference to work: “Don’t work yourself to death. I have been retired longer than you have been alive.”

How can our readers follow you online?

Your readers can follow me on Twitter @ScienceEmily and follow Science Moms on all social platforms including Facebook: @joinsciencemoms Twitter: @joinsciencemoms, and Instagram: science_mom and the Science Moms website here: https://sciencemoms.com

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!