Celebrate All Scientists: Joseph Romano
November 18 is LGBTQ+ STEM Day!
Today, we’re celebrating Joseph Romano, who was named the 2021 LGBTQ+ Scientist of the Year by “Out to Innovate.”
Romano is a professor of statistics at Stanford University. A diverse array of fields—including climate science, genetics, clinical trials, finance, econometrics, and education—have all benefited from Romano’s research involving the analysis of large sets of data.
“I grew up loving math, and focused on statistics while a student at Princeton because statistics may be seen as the gatekeeper of the sciences,” says Romano. “Or, as [statistician] John Turkey said, you get to ‘play in other people’s backyards.’”
As an openly gay man, Romano has been described as “an inspiration to many LGBTQ+ students at Stanford.”
Romano is a member of the 500 Queer Scientists visibility campaign, which works to ensure the next STEM generation has LGBTQ+ role models, and creates opportunities for community connections within STEM.
His advice for the next generation of LGBTQ+ scientists? “Enjoy the process, life is continually learning, and you are always evolving. Be authentic, patient and stay in the moment.”
Click here to learn more about LGBTQ+ STEM Day.
