Hering Delivers Civil Empowerment Seminar

The University of Maryland Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, chaired by Professor Birthe Kjellerup, hosted National Academy of Engineering member Janet Hering, whose distinguished career has spanned continents and helped achieve breakthroughs in ensuring clean water.

Hering, who has also been a dedicated advocate for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), spoke to an enthusiastic audience of students and faculty at the A. James Clark School of Engineering’s Zupnik Forum on Oct. 2.

Her seminar, “Change the System, Not the Women,” focused on the systemic barriers to women’s advancement in STEM fields and how they can be overcome.

Hering, who has held positions at the University of California, Los Angeles and the California Institute of Technology, made a major contribution to solving the problem of arsenic in water supply systems by identifying the processes that lead to its generation, as well as by developing effective extraction methods.

She was later appointed director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology—becoming the first woman ever to lead a federal scientific institute in Switzerland. She is also Professor Emerita at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich and Lausanne.

In addition to her Civil Empowerment seminar, Hering delivered this year’s Kirlin Lecture, held on Oct. 1 and organized by Professor Alba Torrents.

Published October 15, 2024