Purpose
In 2019, USNC-URSI voted to create the first Women in Radio Science (WIRS) Chapter for any National Committee of URSI. The focus of the WIRS Chapter is to create a community where women and men with interests in Radio Science can meet to encourage and mentor early-career women as well as enable women at all stages in their radio science careers to collaborate and learn from shared experiences.
WIRS is the first women-led chapter of USNC-URSI, with goals of promoting the work and leadership of women in radio science, providing earlier career members resources and networking, and off ering mentorship for members at all states of their careers. The WIRS chapter is not only valuable for better representation of women, but also crucial in narrowing the gender gap in the radio-science community, and greater motivation for all genders and underrepresented groups. From its fi rst mentoring panel and reception, WIRS received a great amount of positive response and inquiry from students and early career members of all genders. It provides a unique forum for members to fi nd support and to voice their concerns. As the WIRS includes members from all USNC-URSI Commissions, it is intrinsically diverse, and therefore assures that activities organized by WIRS has broader representation and vivid subjects that are of interest to a larger audience. WIRS is there instrumental in uniting all Commissions of USNC-URSI and promotes the Internet of knowledge
