Dr. Sladjana Maric
Photo: Dr. Sladjana Maric.
February, 2023: Interviewed by Prachi Garella.
Who is she?
Sladjana Maric is an Instructional Assistant Professor at Physics Department, UH. She teaches intro Physics courses and runs and organizes all Undergraduate Physics Laboratories for the department. She believes that intro physics and math courses are not only a fundamental portion of academic excellence but also building blocks for critical thinking for all STEM and pre-med students. In addition to teaching, she mentors and trains Departmental TAs, serves in different University committees and participates in panels for faculty engagement and development. She has been one of the three faculties from the Physics department involved in the UH- DMU institute. She was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award and 2007 at UH and won with a group of professors from the Physics Department for their work on inquiry-based laboratories. Sladjana holds a doctorate and master’s degree in Physics from the University of Houston. She is a theoretical and computational biophysicist with extensive experimental biophysics training. In her free time, Sladjana likes spending time with her family (she is a mother of two beautiful girls), reading, listening to murder mysteries podcasts, cooking, and hosting dinner parties. She is also an enormous coffee enthusiast.
Fun Fact:Her wedding ring is a replica of the Lord of the Rings ring, and she loves to wear asymmetrical custom-made shoes. You would rarely see her left and right shoe match P.S she also doesn’t recognise the difference between left and right at the first attempt.
Prachi: How would you describe your job as the instructional assistant professor in one word?Exciting!
Prachi: Do you think being a woman in Physics/STEM is harder than being a man?I choose to believe it is not. We can achieve whatever we set our goals to be, regardless of gender. Success is 5% talent and 95% hard work. As women in STEM and any other field, we must balance our personal and professional lives. We are professionals, wives, and mothers. Success in any field takes hard work and sacrifice, but it is all worth it if you have the passion and desire to do it. Unfortunately, there is that other not-so-pretty side of being a woman in STEM as well. Do we, as women, sometimes feel that we have to work harder than men to be accepted and recognized in STEM? Unfortunately, yes. We constantly hear comments: “she is a woman; she is not a good researcher,” “look at her outfit “look at her makeup,” “instead of worrying about her aesthetics, she could focus on research.” These comments hurt if we choose to let them. Unfortunately, sometimes after hearing these and similar comments from some smallminded sad individuals, we do feel discouraged. We do need to continue to pave the road for the generations to come and be their inspiration. In the same way, Marie Currie, Katherine Jhonson, Rosalind Franklin, and many others did for us.
Prachi: How much do you prioritise your mental and physical health?It took me a long time to learn to prioritize my mental and physical health. After becoming a mother for the second time, I believe I finally learned to slow down and unwind. However, I have to admit that sometimes this is last on my list of priorities. Work-life balance is one of the biggest misconceptions people have. Sometimes I have to spend more hours working, sometimes more time with my family. Time with my girls is the best time to unwind and forget about lectures, emails, and work in general. I always wake up at 4:45 am regardless of when I go to sleep. In the past, I would use my mornings to answer emails and respond to work messages. For the last year, my routine has changed; I do some light exercise and enjoy my morning coffee until 6 am, when I start making breakfast for my family.
Prachi: What is the hardest part of your job?Dealing with some difficult people, I am still learning.
Prachi: Do you feel that the STEM world is welcoming towards women?I do believe so.
Prachi: Lastly, I know you have two beautiful daughters, what advice would you give them if they too want to pursue a creer in STEM?STEM is the only option if they want to access their college funds, hahahahha… Petra and Katja can choose whichever career they wish, and we will unconditionally support them. Nebojsa and I are both in science, and we hope they choose STEM. The only advice I would give them is, “Be authentic, do not let anyone tell you you cannot achieve something just because you are of a particular gender. Anything you set your mind on, you can achieve”.