Mattel Inc.'s release of astrophysicist Barbie this fall is another in long line of high-profile efforts to inspire children to pursue science, technology, engineering and math. In anop-ed in USA Today, Silvia Blemker, professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia, argues that the doll, although well-intentioned, reinforces the biggest obstacle for attracting women to engineering: the “cultural message of unattainable perfection.†In this Q&A with Elizabeth Mather, the UVA Engineering School's executive director of communications , Blemker shares her perspectives on why women students may be discouraged from considering faculty careers and what she is doing to change the conversation.