Physicists From Cameroon

"The mere fact of talking about it is important. When I saw the video [of Floyd’s killing], I was upset. And it changes my views of my white colleagues even if I don’t want it to. It was good for me to vent my frustrations. And discussing the issue with my colleagues helped me not feel like it was me versus them. It supports good professional relations."

"Just the fact that it exists makes the collaboration more welcoming. We invite professionals to give talks on equity and inclusion issues. We have discussions about issues such as implicit bias, the gender gap, systemic racism, and about what actions we can take to help."

"Go for your goal! Your race doesn’t matter. Your gender doesn’t matter. What people say doesn’t matter. If you put in passion, professionalism, and determination, people will recognize that you deserve to be where you are, and most importantly, you will succeed.”"

"Students today want to have an impact in the world, to take science a step further and create usable solutions for society."

"I encourage students to think of themselves first as scientists that are equipped with problem-solving skills."

"Today’s problems are complex and require a variety of viewpoints to innovate new solutions. Diversity can be seen in different ways: gender, race, disability, but also in discipline and thought process."

"The geosciences are of growing importance to addressing societal concerns about climate change, natural resources, geohealth, ocean security, and food and water security, among other things."

"We don’t know what the problems of tomorrow are going to be, but I’m convinced that analytical and problem-solving skills will be key to solving tomorrow’s grand challenges."

"I see myself as a scientist. When you think about the scientific method, whether your discipline is environmental science, marine science, geology, or something else… it doesn’t really matter."