Story highlights Several people with STEM backgrounds are looking to get more involved in politics

President Donald Trump's ascent to the White House has galvanized many in the scientific community

(CNN) Geologist Jess Phoenix says she doesn't mind being an underdog.

"The work I do, working on volcanoes, you're always an underdog when you're in a dangerous situation like that. You're working with and sometimes against a force of nature," Phoenix said. "I don't mind long odds."

But the force of nature Phoenix is currently up against is unlike her past scientific endeavors. She's facing a new kind of unpredictability: voters.

Phoenix is running to represent California's 25th district, and she's just one of several people with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) backgrounds who have raised their hands looking to get more involved in politics.

President Donald Trump's ascent to the White House has galvanized many in the scientific community who oppose his administration's policies on health care, climate change and research funding. The sentiment was on display on April 22, when people in more than 600 cities around the world gathered for The March for Science

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