Tamara Pico was born in Berkeley, California and grew up playing lots of jump rope and hand-clapping games. Tamara always loved learning: she liked writing and math! Now, in graduate school, Tamara does research to earn a Ph.D in Earth Science (or Geology!) at Harvard University. Earth scientists can use almost any science to understand the world around us. Some geologists go hiking and camp near rocks over a million years old. They use their rock hammers to take samples that can be tested in laboratories in order to find out the age of the rock or what kind of chemistry it is made up of. These tests tell us about the environment a rock formed in, which allows geologists to learn what the climate was like millions of years ago! Some Earth scientists use their computers to understand how the planet formed 4.6 billions years ago. They use physics to simulate particles and pieces of dust colliding with each other and sticking together to create planet Earth!

My Scientific Name is a children's picture storybook developed in collaboration with female and minority scientists across many science fields. Each book is personalized using the letters of their name as a way of introducing them to many different STEM careers.