{"id":1974,"date":"2025-02-19T22:05:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T22:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/?p=1974"},"modified":"2025-02-20T17:42:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T17:42:27","slug":"patricia-vega-on-the-wood-based-composites-center-and-getting-women-involved-in-wood-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/2025\/02\/19\/patricia-vega-on-the-wood-based-composites-center-and-getting-women-involved-in-wood-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Patricia Vega on The Wood-Based Composites Center and Getting Women Involved in Wood Science\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Patricia Vega<\/a> has studied and worked in the field of forest science and engineering for over 20 years. Today, she works as the managing director of the Wood-Based Composites Center<\/a> with the director, Arijit Sinha<\/a> and co-director, Chip Frazier. The WBC is an industry supported cooperative research center devoted to researching wood-based composites and renewable materials that comprises Oregon State University, Virginia Tech University, Auburn University and Michigan State University. At the center, Vega spends most of her time supervising the research program and facilitating what she calls the \u201cresearch life cycle,\u201d including the yearlong process and collaboration between industry and researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to this cycle, she asks questions of the center itself, such as where it should go, how it\u2019s evolving and what the industry trends or changes are that the WBC wants to be one step ahead of. In 2024 the WBC celebrated its 25th anniversary, centered on celebrating the collaboration of industry and academia. Over 120 students have been a part of the center since its creation in 1999 and nearly all are currently working in the wood industry and academia. In the past three years, 100% of WBC\u2019s students have been hired by WBC industry members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of Vega\u2019s role, along with the other directors, is to help facilitate and connect companies with WBC students. As a result, students receive mentorship and connections to industry professionals. In addition to direct support, the WBC offers webinars and workshops to all four WBC university partners on how to effectively present research and communicate to industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn industry, you often only can present one to three slides, and you usually have five minutes max,\u201d Vega said, explaining how this type of presentation differs from academia. \u201cYou need to be impactful\u2026and convince and communicate to people who are not familiar with the technicalities of what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to working at the WBC, Vega is passionate about getting kids, especially girls, involved in wood science. She noticed that girls, especially those that look like her, do not always see themselves in science. Vega, in collaboration with other faculty across campus, has participated in Juntos<\/a> \u2014 an OSU program that works to provide pathways to higher education for Latinx students \u2014 to give workshops to elementary, middle and high school students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were playing with fungi and microscopes, I was wearing my lab coat, and a girl speaking Spanish asked me if I was a scientist and I said yes,\u201d Vega said, recalling one workshop with middle schoolers. \u201cShe said \u2018no that\u2019s not possible, because you speak Spanish.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That interaction had a profound impact on Vega, revealing the significance of her work and inspiring her to teach kids about the field of wood science and its potential as a career. As woodworking programs are increasingly being removed from high schools, Vega noted her emphasis on incorporating STEM principles into the workshops to show the importance and contribution it can have to education goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe incorporated biology, chemistry and math,\u201d Vega said. \u201cWe talked about the wood\u2019s physical and mechanical properties and related it to whatever they were learning in class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vega explains that when kids and teens have the opportunity to engage with wood science, it leaves a lasting impression. They begin to see it not just as a subject, but as a viable career path. She emphasized the importance of this, noting that many perceptions of the industry are often far from reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you say wood industry, immediately people think of bearded men carrying giant axes,\u201d said Vega. \u201cThat\u2019s part of it, but what they don\u2019t think about is sophisticated robotic systems, advanced scientific research and the amazing women who are foresters and wood scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She highlighted the ongoing efforts to promote the WBC to women, including sharing GRA position announcements with Women in STEM clubs. Despite these initiatives, however, men continue to apply in much higher numbers than women. Drawing from 25 years of data at the center, Vega pointed out the fluctuating trends in female applicants. In the past two years, only men have applied, which she sees as the \u201cdown\u201d phase of the cycle, with these shifts typically occurring in three-year intervals. Based on this pattern, she predicts that the center will see an increase in female applicants in 2025. They are already starting to see this, with three new female students this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA majority male student population completely reflects the industry,\u201d she said. \u201cBut that is something we are striving to change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With support from faculty and industry professionals at the WBC, she is planning new activities empowering women in the industry. She hopes that this will help create a space at the center where women, specifically those in the wood products industry, can talk about challenges they face and how to create positive change. This space to create change at the WBC, and through working at OSU, is one of the things she loves most about her job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is among the best colleges in forestry\u2026so that means that the world is looking at us,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that has also given me an important platform to have my voice heard in my home country of Peru.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through her work with WBC partner universities, she aims to inspire students from her home country of Peru and across the globe and demonstrate that wood science is a rewarding and accessible career in science. Just as her mother inspired her to pursue science and always strive for more, Vega hopes to inspire the next generation of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes they think it’s out of reach,\u201d she said. \u201cBut you never let anything stop you. You just find a way and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patricia Vega has studied and worked in the field of forest science and engineering for over 20 years. Today, she works as the managing director of the Wood-Based Composites Center with the director, Arijit Sinha and co-director, Chip Frazier. The WBC is an industry supported cooperative research center devoted to researching wood-based composites and renewable… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3455,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[603042],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faculty-staff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1974"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1978,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974\/revisions\/1978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}