girl like you doing Physics?”. And I didn’t
even tell them I was doing Astrophysics!
I was the only woman in the doctoral
programme. Other women dropped out
either to get married, or because they
found the programme too tough. I was
the first woman ever in the University of
Otago’s 120-year history to get a PhD
in Physics!
As the only girl in a department full
of guys, I didn’t feel I had to work harder
but, of course, I had to impress my supervisor. That was the most difficult part of
the programme but eventually, I got my
PhD. Until the Angkasawan programme
came along, I thought getting the PhD
was the most difficult part of my life!
Q: Has the landscape changed
for women when it comes to
Pure Sciences in general, and
Astrophysics in particular?
There are more women in universities,
and many of them are getting into the
sciences. Women are less intimidated
by the Sciences, thanks to increased
exposure in schools and within society
as well as the availability of role models.
So I would say yes, the landscape has
changed and there are more women in
science and in astrophysics. You’re an
astrophysicist if you have Masters or
PhD. With a degree, you are a physicist. I
don’t know the exact number of women
astrophysicists in Malaysia but I have
supervised a few and I know there are
women lecturers teaching astrophysics
We need more
creative thinkers
and we need to
inculcate in our
young this love to
create new things
and the passion for
new ideas.
in Universiti Malaya. It’s not an easy subject, regardless of gender. I supervised
a woman who received her PhD a few
years ago. Unfortunately, she found the
subject so tough that after her PhD, she
didn’t want to have anything to do with
astrophysics!
Q: So, if you are an astrophysicist who doesn’t want to do astrophysics, what other careers
can you go into?
Well, the thing about astrophysics is that
the skillsets you pick up are so wide, you
can apply them to many other sectors.
As an astrophysicist, or a physicist for
that matter, you would have experience
in data analysis, data manipulation, and
mathematical modelling. I know a few of
my peers who received job offers from
computer companies even before they
graduated. Physicists are also sought
after in banking as their research departments need people who are