With an eye toward inspiring the next generation of female scientists, La Jolla oceanographer Amber Sparks has been immortalized in a 3D-printed statue.

The statue, part of the If/Then initiative, which seeks to advance women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), will be permanently displayed at the Fleet Science Center in San Diego's Balboa Park. The exhibition features Sparks and five other San Diego-based female scientists.

Sparks is half the founding team, along with Emily Hazelwood, of Blue Latitudes, a marine and environmental consulting firm launched in 2014 that works with offshore energy companies and government agencies to help understand the ecological impacts of placing or removing offshore infrastructure such as oil-drilling platforms.

In 2018, Sparks and Hazelwood launched the nonprofit Blue Latitudes Foundation, which focuses on research, education, outreach and pursuing grants for projects.

One such project, Rigs to Reef, adapts decommissioned oil rigs into artificial reefs.

Sparks and Hazelwood met at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla while they were getting their master's degrees.

At the time, "we did a capstone thesis project on the feasibility of repurposing California's 27 offshore oil and gas platforms into artificial reefs," Sparks said. "We looked at it from an ecological, economic and social perspective. These [converted] platforms are some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet. These structures are thriving and incredible reefs. One of the things our foundation is working on now is to understand how certain species are using those habitats."

Specifically, the foundation is looking for the presence of sea stars, given the sea star wasting disease that has been present the past few years.

"When you go to tide pools, you don't see sea stars anymore," Sparks said. "This is a dramatic change in our local ecosystem. ... Scientists have been looking at the source of that and identifying why it's happening. But we are finding sea stars living and thriving on these ... offshore platforms. ...

"So one of our goals is to continue our research to understand the value of these platforms as reef habitats and inform future decommissioning decisions. Right now in California, decommissioning is on the forefront ... so now is the time to be doing this research and bring it to the general public."

With offshore platforms "in just about every ocean on the planet" and with energy companies moving toward more renewable sources, Hazelwood said "we have expanded the reach of our consulting work internationally ... which is really exciting because every time we visit one of these places, you are looking at a unique ecosystem, and nine times out of 10, it's a fantastic ecosystem."

In 2020, Blue Latitudes received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop software known as FishLAT, or Fisheries Location Assessment Technology. It was rolled out commercially this year and enables users to project the impact of placing, repurposing or removing offshore structures. It also looks at the impact on things such as fisheries.

"If we can accurately map those impacts using this software, we are going to make great strides in terms of making offshore renewable energy a reality," Hazelwood said.

The two said progress is being made in having women's voices in these conversations.

"Being women in sciences, specifically women in the energy industry, they are often the only women in the room," Hazelwood said. "That can be intimidating, but we have also found there is a lot of power in being the only female voice in the room because people pay attention. You are able to have an impact because you stand out. ...

"We encourage a lot of young women to enter the sciences, especially the energy sciences, because ... there is a lot of opportunity for women to shine."

Sparks said there has been "a dramatic shift" in that more and more women are involved.

"Almost every year we attend different conferences in the Texas region, and they have always been predominantly male," she said. "But this past year, there was the first all-female panel and more women than I have ever seen at a conference."

"I'm excited for young women to pursue these fields," Sparks added. "For the next generation it could be a smoother ride because there will be more acceptance and more female faces and voices that make it easier to step into the STEM fields. ... It makes me hopeful for the women that want to pursue that." ♦