This March, PROGRESS celebrates Women’s History Month!

Do you know the real story behind the woman in the polka dot bandana? 

Check out the inspiration behind the images of “Rosie the Riveter”. 

Learn more at:  http://www.history.com/news/rosie-the-riveter-inspiration

Naomi Parker, more famously known as Rosie the Riveter, working in heels at the Alameda Naval Air station during WWII. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Naomi Parker’s iconic image was plastered everywhere in this famous poster.  The poster was created by the artist J. Howard Miller, and it featured a woman (inspired by Naomi) in a red-and-white polka-dot headscarf and blue shirt, flexing her bicep beneath the phrase “We Can Do It!”

The poster originally was a way to encourage women to take wartime jobs in defense industries.  And from this, they became a celebrated symbol of female patriotism. But when the war ended, many industries forced women to relinquish their skilled jobs to returning veterans. Today the “We” is understood to mean “We Women”, uniting all women in a sisterhood fighting against gender inequality. 

Today, this iconic image also resonates with many women in science.  In fact, it is the logo for a 2018 scientific field campaign lead by PROGRESS PI, Dr. Emily Fischer.  The project is called the Western wildfire Experiment for Cloud chemistry, Aerosol absorption and Nitrogen (WE-CAN), and is aimed at understanding the impact of western wildfire smoke on air quality, nutrient cycles, weather and climate. This project will systematically characterize the emissions and first day of evolution of western U.S. wildfire plumes. Scientific questions focus on fixed nitrogen, absorbing aerosols, cloud activation and chemistry in wildfire plumes. The data will be collected from the NCAR/NSF C-130 research aircraft.  Learn more about the WE-CAN project here.