AAUW San Francisco

02/22/2026

02/22/2026

😊

"On March 23, 2015, inside the storied East Wing of the White House, six first-graders from Tulsa, Oklahoma did something that stopped the most powerful man in the world in his tracks — and the world has never quite forgotten it. The 'Supergirls' of Girl Scout Daisy Troop 4047, all just six years old and draped in their iconic blue uniforms and red superhero capes, had traveled from Oklahoma to Washington D.C. to present their invention at President Barack Obama's annual White House Science Fair, an initiative he launched in 2010 specifically to prove, in his own words, that 'if you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young scientist or engineer, you should come to the White House too.' These remarkable little engineers had designed and built a battery-powered, motorized page-turner — a beautifully simple device conceived to help elderly people and those living with arthritis or limited mobility enjoy reading books independently, with dignity. What made their project extraordinary wasn't just the empathy behind it — it was the fact that they identified a real-world problem affecting real people in their community and engineered a working solution at an age when most kids are still learning to tie their shoes. When Obama knelt down to meet them at eye level in that magnificent Red Room, his genuine awe was unmistakable and unscripted. Their project display board, proudly bearing a Superman-style logo, stood behind them like a monument to possibility. These girls didn't just impress a president — they quietly rewrote the story of who gets to be called an inventor, who gets to wear the cape, and who gets to change the world. Sometimes the most powerful engineering comes wrapped in the smallest, bravest hearts."

01/17/2026

We are being honored next Monday for our work in the community and our commitment to equity and equality for all. Please join us and help us celebrate this recognition. San Ramon Valley Diversity Coalition AAUW AAUW California Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek AAUW

01/17/2026

12/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1836540990400231&set=a.1196106041110399&type=3&mibextid=wwXIfr

MIT almost missed her. And she became one of the most brilliant young physicists of her generation.

At 14, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski built a working airplane in her garage by herself. She taught herself to fly it. She documented every step. She was one of only 23 young women among 300 Physics Team semifinalists. A first-generation Cuban-American from Chicago Public Schools. Twice as good just to be seen.

MIT waitlisted her anyway. It felt like a door closing on everything she had worked for.

Then two MIT professors watched her airplane video. Their reaction was simple. This girl is extraordinary. They fought for her. Admissions reconsidered. Sabrina got in.

And then she proved exactly why that decision mattered.

She became the first woman to win MIT’s Orloff Scholarship. She graduated in three years with a perfect 5.0 GPA. Her research paper was accepted within 24 hours. NASA wanted her. Blue Origin wanted her. She turned them down because she wanted to understand the universe, not build wealth for billionaires.

She carried that determination to Harvard for her PhD, studying the deepest questions in physics. Black holes. Quantum gravity. Celestial holography. Work so advanced that Stephen Hawking cited her research in one of his final papers.

But her journey was never only about talent. It was about pushing through a world where women, Latinas, first-generation students, and kids from public schools rarely see themselves represented. She felt the pressure. She refused distractions. She focused on the work. She told the media she did not deserve the hype because she had so much more to learn.

After her doctorate, she moved on to Princeton, then the Perimeter Institute, where she now leads an initiative tackling one of physics’ biggest unanswered questions. She is not just contributing to the field. She is redefining who belongs in it.

MIT waitlisted her because they could not imagine what potential looked like outside their usual mold. She showed them what they almost missed. She built an airplane before she could drive. She earned perfect GPAs at the world’s hardest institutions. She was cited by Hawking. She turned down billionaires. She now works to understand the structure of the universe while opening doors for the next generation.

Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski proved something important. Brilliance does not wait for permission. And sometimes the people institutions overlook become the ones who change everything.

Fun Fact
Sabrina’s personal website, PhysicsGirl, includes almost nothing about her life outside science. She has always believed the work should speak for itself.

What do you think her story says about who gets recognized and who gets underestimated?



Sources
Chicago Tribune
Harvard Gazette
Scientific American