3M - Female Thought Leader of the Year
Company: 3M, Maplewood, MN
Company Description: 3M is a global diversified technology company with products used in a wide range of industries including healthcare, automotive and manufacturing. With corporate operations in 70 countries and sales in 200, 3M is committed to creating the technology and products that advance every company, enhance every home and improve every life.
Nomination Category: Thought Leadership Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Thought Leader of the Year - Business Products
Nomination Title: Jayshree Seth, Corporate Scientist and Chief Science Advocate
Jayshree Seth is a Corporate Scientist at 3M, which is the highest technical designation for a scientist and leads Applied Technology Development for Industrial Adhesives and Tapes Division. She joined 3M in 1993 after MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University, New York, and she currently holds 72 patents. Jayshree was appointed 3M’s first ever Chief Science Advocate in 2018 and is using her scientific knowledge, technical expertise and professional experience to advance science and communicate the importance and benefits of science in everyday life. She is also a member of Carlton Society which is 3M's Science and Engineering ‘hall of fame.’ Jayshree is the 4th woman and 1st female engineer to be inducted. In 2020, she was awarded the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) highest Achievement Award. Jayshree is the author of the book, The Heart of Science – Engineering Footprints, Fingerprints, & Imprints, published by the Society of Women Engineers, and all the sales proceeds go to a scholarship for underrepresented minority women in STEM. She also featured in a docuseries “Not the Science Type” that premiered during the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. Jayshree has two adult children, and her husband is also a 3Mer.
Appointed 3M’s first-ever Chief Science Advocate not only did she define what the role entails, given that it doesn’t exist in any corporation, she carved out a strategy that has been very impactful in advocating for STEM. Jayshree calls it the A-B-C - the strategy of raising awareness and appreciation, breaking barriers and biases and communication and championing with a human context. She is extremely active in various forums, globally, to speak about results of 3M State of Science Index, a global survey to understand public perception of science. She is instrumental in working with the 3M team to determine specific communication strategies and tactical projects once the results are available every year. Among other activities, Jayshree hosted a podcast called ‘Science Champions’ to discuss key results, introduced a series called ‘Beyond the Beaker’ to portray scientists as “regular people” and was integral to ‘Science at Home’ to engage and encourage students. She was most recently featured in the docuseries “Not the Science Type” to inspire more women and girls in STEM. Jayshree is very active in her advocacy role and has taken the message around the world to communicate extensively, and as she says, to “inform, influence and inspire.” Her functional role as a successful scientist, her background and career journey, and her powerful communication style make her an ideal thought leader. She is leading not just with thought, sales proceeds from her book “The Heart of Science,” support a scholarship for women of color in STEM.
Link to Jayshree’s book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/
Recent events:
Advancing All Women, podcast hosted by Sarah Alter, president and CEO of Network of Executive Women https://www.
Featured guest on Brian Solis and John Kao’s show Intersections https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Featured guest on Rita McGrath Friday Fireside Chat https://www.youtube.com/
Women Leading in Tech (WLiT) panel hosted by Minnesota Technology Association : https://mntech.org/wlit-
11th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Integrated STEM Education Conference. https://ieeetv.ieee.org/
Discovery education https://videos.
StemConnector Keynote https://www.youtube.
American Chemical Society Webinar https://www.acs.org/
Other links/press/media featuring Jayshree:
3M National ads: showcase that science is about helping people, building upon ideas and not a single ‘a-ha’ moment but a journey
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/o4Wf/
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/Zd78/
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/o4W4/
https://www.globalindian.com/
https://www.gadgetsnow.com/
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/
https://www.
https://alltogether.swe.org/
https://www.indiawest.com/
https://amysmartgirls.com/
https://www.stemmagazine.com/
https://www.audible.com/pd/
https://www.smorescience.com/
https://economictimes.
https://conversations.
https://thriveglobal.com/
https://www.stemconnector.com/
https://www.stemconnector.com/
https://www.stemconnector.com/
https://worldskillsconference.
http://www.clarksonuniversity.
https://openinnovations.ru/en/
https://www.womentech.eu/
https://www.1mwis.com/
https://eventory.cc/event/
https://www.girlscoutsrv.org/
https://www.bbs.unibo.eu/
https://news.d.umn.edu/news-
https://bciu.zohobackstage.
https://tomorrowzone.io/how-
https://www.listennotes.com/
https://minnesota.
Supporting evidence:
3M State of Science Index: global survey to understand public perception of science and motivation behind creating role of chief science advocate https://www.3m.com/
3M Science Champions: podcast to discuss with thought-leaders the results of survey and implications for all stakeholders
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/
3M Beyond the Beaker: vignettes to highlight scientists as ‘regular people’ since survey results indicate people do not see scientists through that lens
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/
3M Science at Home: experiments to engage and encourage hands on learning while reinforcing core scientific principles given transition to remote learning
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/
3M Not the Science Type: docuseries to inspire more women and girls in STEM since results indicate that the public believes it is very important to encourage diversity in STEM
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/
3M Scientists as storytellers: guide to help scientists communicate better given the survey results that people do not appreciate the way scientists communicate
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/
3M Young Innovator Challenge: competition to foster innovation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Recent media:
Yahoo: https://ca.finance.
Cheddar: https://cheddar.com/
Fox: https://www.fox5atlanta.
Local: https://www.kstp.com/
Recent article: https://www.acs.org/
Recent podcast: Bill Sherman: https://
Recent International events:
Aspen Institute Germany panel https://www.
In Science we Trust – Public Perception of Science” Russia Plenary session keynote : https://startupvillage.ru/