5 Female scientists you should follow on Twitter

If you feel like you’re sick of Twitter after all these years and just logging on for a few seconds wears you down, then maybe it’s about time you followed less people, brands or publications that entertain and aggravate you and more that inspire and motivate you.

We’ve collected together five of our favourite female scientists, who just so happen to be actively using Twitter too.

1. Joanne Manaster: @sciencegoddess

Joanne Manaster, aka Science Goddess, is first and foremost a lecturer and teacher and currently holds a position at the University of Illinois where she teaches students who are studying the Masters in Science Teaching Program at the School of Integrative Biology,

But over the years she’s been involved in a number of different projects, including writing for Scientific American, hosting a number of science shows (most recently Read Science!), and becoming an advocate for STEM.

Over the years she’s taken her expert knowledge of many science subjects and created a huge social media following. She’s got 55,000 followers on Twtter – and counting – and as a testament to her online social media credentials Mashable once named her “one of 25 Twitter accounts to make you smarter” and “one of 15 Twitter accounts for amazing science facts.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about Joanne, you should visit her website Joanne Loves Science. 

2. Dr. Heather Williams: @alrightPET Dr. Heather Williams is a UK-based scientist and currently works at the University of Manchester as a Senior Medical Physicist and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) specialist. She’s also a STEM ambassador and the director of Science Grrl, a UK-based organisation and network that’s dedicated to celebrating and supporting women in science by running events and programmes to help young girls pursue careers in science and technology.

3. Karen James: @kejames 

Karen James is a scientists at the MDI Biological Lab, a not-for-profit research facility focus on improving human health through “research, education, and ventures that transform discoveries into cures.” She focuses on DNA-assisted species identification and often involves public participation in her scientific research.

She’s also co-founder of the UK-based charity, called the Beagle Project, named after the ship that carried Darwin on his famous voyage, the project is designed to make science a fun discovery again by holding events and ultimately recreating the Beagle.

4. Carolyn Porco: @carolynporco Carolyn leads the science imaging team on the Cassini mission, which is currently orbiting around Saturn. She was the imaging scientists of the Voyager mission that went to the outer realms of the solar system in the 1980s. Over the years, she has co-authored more than 120 scientific papers on astronomy and planetary science and is a regular speaker and commentator on science, planetary exploration and astronomy. She’s written for the Sunday Times, New York Times, The Guardian and American Scientist among many others. She’s interestingly transferred her planetary knowledge to the big screen too. In the 1997 movie Contact she served as a consultant and was also asked to join the film production crew for J.J. Abrams’ 2009 movie Star Trek.

5. Pamela L. Gray: @starstryder

Pamela is an astronomer, writer and podcaster who is passionate about using social media, videos and podcasts to get people interested in science and technology subjects.

She runs  CosmoQuest.org, which engages people in the fascinating, discovery element of science and is build to excite people about astronomy and planetary science – not bore them. Her weekly podcast, called Astronomy Cast, takes listeners on journeys through the stars explaining interesting facts about the universe – as well as how we know them.

[Image via GrrlScientist]
Becca Caddy