HESA alumna Lisa Nakahara wins CIES Best Dissertation Award
Published March 9th, 2026 (link here)

Growing up in Nara, Japan, Lisa Nakahara (PhD '25) was surrounded by history. Once the country’s ancient capital, her city is now home to eight World Heritage sites, fostering a connection to the past that Nakahara still feels. This year, that connection culminated in an award-winning dissertation.

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Nakahara’s dissertation, “And We Need You Now!’: Comparative Analysis of Women’s Science Education in the U.S. and Japan During World War II,” won the 2026 Best Dissertation Award from the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES).  

The dissertation explored how and to what extent World War II transformed women’s science education in the U.S. and Japan. Combining her interests in history, education, women’s studies, and the science and engineering fields, Nakahara’s final piece also reflects her own history in higher education. 

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While earning her Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, Nakahara became curious about the scarcity of women in the program. That curiosity, and its accompanying passion, led her to pursue a Master of Education from the university before moving to Iowa in 2021 to pursue her doctorate.  

She chose the UI College of Education’s Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) doctoral program for its “collaborative atmosphere.”  

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“When I was applying to PhD programs, I heard that students in HESA truly help and encourage one another, and I felt that I wanted to study in that kind of environment,” Nakahara says. “Both students and faculty were indeed very warm and supportive, which helped me navigate the challenges of a PhD.” 

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She also chose UI’s College of Education for Professor Christine Ogren’s scholarly reputation within the field of women’s education. Ogren went on to serve as Nakahara’s academic advisor and mentor through the dissertation process. 

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“Lisa assembled and analyzed an extensive array of primary sources through digital collections and in-person research at more than a dozen archives in the United States and Japan,” Ogren says. “Her dissertation fulfills a need in Japan for more scholarship on the history of women in science and sets a new standard for comparative historical work on women’s education.” 

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Nakahara’s abstract states that "previous scholarship often portrays [World War II] as an event that, at least temporarily, expanded opportunities for women in science education.” Through comparative analysis of wartime science education, Nakahara concluded that broadly speaking, this does not reflect reality. She found that, in truth, “wartime science education reinforced gender segregation by field and hierarchy.” 

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In both the United States and Japan, the access women gained to post-secondary-level science education still reflected traditional gender roles. “These programs emphasized practical skills — particularly in nutrition — while offering limited instruction in foundational subjects such as mathematics and the natural sciences,” Nakahara wrote in her dissertation. Long-term professional scientific careers remained out of reach for women despite the renewed need, she discovered. 

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It’s an unfortunate finding, but vital to understanding the history of women in STEM fields, Nakahara notes. 

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“This topic matters to me, and I believe it matters to the broader world as well, because it sheds light on the enduring Why So Few? question in science and engineering. Even during a national crisis such as a full-scale war, when severe labor shortages existed, women were not fully welcomed into academia or industry in scientific fields. I believe this historical perspective offers insight into the roots of where we are today.” 

Since graduating from the College of Education’s HESA doctoral program in May of 2025, Nakahara has moved back to Japan to work at the University of Osaka Institute for International Initiatives. In her role as assistant professor, she teaches, conducts research, and travels internationally for student recruitment. 

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As a student, Nakahara had questioned why so few women were in her engineering classes; as a scholar, she contributes to the growing field of research examining why. That understanding of history — its importance and its beauty — stuck with her from the historical sites of Nara to her award-winning research today.