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Greetings!
 The election had come and gone, and now a historic
administration is beginning to form its transitional team. On Nov 7th,
President-elect Obama gave his first press conference after meeting with 17
economic advisors and announced the priorities of the early days of his
presidency. He stated that fixing our dire economy will not be easy or quick, but
that his goal will be to develop a rescue plan for the middle class to create
jobs, further extension of jobless benefits, a fiscal stimulus plan, address the spreading impact of the
financial crisis in the US and globally and the hardship of auto industry,
including auto suppliers and retooling assistance for small businesses, while asking
teams to explore what could be done under current law and what should be added.
Is this all? The press
conference was impressive and inspirational!
For those of you interested in the transitional process, I
found an excellent website with
a link to the General Services Administration transitional directory. It is an excellent resource with organizational
charts and information about changes within each branch of government.
This seems like old news now, but I attended a conference at the University of Minnesota in October, Innovation 2008: Renewing America through Smarter Science and
Technology Policy, the Center for Science and Technology, co-sponsored by the University
of Minnesota and ScienceDebate2008. Videos of the presentations atthe conference are now freely available on ScienceDebate2008's website.
Innovation 2008 was an excellent conference, bringing together scientists, policymakers
and the public, to move the United States toward policies that are better
informed by scientific realities, and to engage scientists, engineers and the
scientific community as a whole in the political process.
Ira Flatow, host of Talk of the Nation Science Friday on National Public Radio
and Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Peter Agree were highlights of the two-day
conference. In time, I'm hopeful that we will see the Obama administration promote science and technology efforts to stimulate our economy.
The call for GWIS Fellowship
Applications is now out. Deadline for submission is January 15, 2009. Visit
our newly designed website for information. Last year we awarded over $70,000 to 14 deserving young
women in scientific research and we encourage you to participate this year.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving season with family
and friends!
United in Friendship through Science,
Dee McManus, Executive Director
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National GWIS News
The National GWIS website has been recently updated and is organized for easy browsing!
 GWIS Honorary Membership Awardee:
Sylvia A. Earle, PhD.
Sylvia A. Earle is an oceanographer with a PhD. from Duke University and several honorary degrees. In 1979, Sylvia Earle walked untethered on the sea floor at a depth of 1,250 feet below the ocean's surface. She described her adventure in a 1980 book, Exploring the Deep Frontier. In the 1980's, she started the companies Deep Ocean Engineering and Deep Ocean technologies, which design undersea vehicles. In the 1990's, she served as Chief Scientist of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration. Currently, she is explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society. Read a complete account of Sylvia Earle's eventful life.
 New National Officer: Dr. Michelle Carter, Nominating Committee
Michelle Carter is the current President of Xi Chapter (2006-08). She
joined SDE-GWIS in
2004, and immediately jumped in as Membership Vice President of Xi Chapter
(2004-06). Her goals for GWIS include expanding the membership of Xi and raising
the local profile of GWIS through partnerships in academia and industry. Michelle earned a B.S. in Psychology from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in 1992, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota in 2000. Her scientific work has been concentrated in the field of Neurodevelopment, with a particular
interest in early errors of brain development. After three years of working as a post-doctoral
fellow in the U of M's Department of Neuroscience, Michelle left the bench to focus on raising
her children; she looks forward to returning to full-time scientific work when the youngest
begins school.
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National News Headlines
Heart Patients Don't Get Needed Tests, Studies Find
Joint
guidelines from three U.S. heart groups say a stress test, or similar
test that doesn't require an incision, should be used first to
determine if the arteries are so clogged that there is a severe
decrease in blood supply to the heart. Researchers found three groups
were less likely to get the stress test than others: women, those ages
85 and older and those who had another illness such as chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure. Read more.
Math Skills Suffer in U.S., New Study Finds
The
United States is failing to develop the math skills of both girls and
boys, especially among those who could excel at the highest levels, a
new study asserts, and girls who do succeed in the field are almost all
immigrants or the daughters of immigrants from countries where
mathematics is more highly valued. Read more
From
asthma and cancer treatments to vaccines, research on children saves
lives and improves their health and well-being. A new website from the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Children and Clinical Studies",
offers parents and health care providers an insider's guide to
children's medical research. The website combines information about
how clinical studies are conducted with award-winning video of
children, parents, and healthcare providers discussing the rewards and
challenges of participating in research.
The
National Women's
Studies Association Journal has a call for
special publication of papers with the theme: "Inclusive Science: Articulating Theory,
Practice, and Action".
We must teach all of our students in STEM fields,
particularly women and those in under-represented groups, that the process of
science is open to all and that, in fact, without a diversity of investigators
and approaches, our sciences are incomplete.
Submission Process: Papers should be
emailed to Cindy Norton
by January 15, 2008. Read more details at NWSAJ's website.
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Chapter News
Since graduate students often keep strange hours and can be found migrating to and from lab at all hours of the night, the Beta Chapter of GWIS hosted a women's self-defense class on Oct 18th at Villari's Martial Arts Center in Madison, WI. The two hour session covered various scenarios and how to escape an attack and they also talked about how to identify dangerous situations and even how to counter inappropriate comments and behavior that are not violent but may be demeaning or make someone uncomfortable.
 Xi Chapter had a great turnout for their October dinner meeting at the Old
Spaghetti Factory in Minneapolis. The speaker was biotech entrepreneur
Dr. Bonnie Baskin. In an inspiring presentation, Dr. Baskin discussed
how she founded, grew, and sold two multimillion-dollar life science
companies, ViroMed Laboratories and AppTec Laboratory Services. Beta members learn self defense
At their October meeting, Psi Chapter held a fundraising dinner with traditional Nepalese food for a family friend of their Liaison Officer, Pasang Sherpa, who has been waiting for kidney stone removal surgery for several years.On October 12th, 2008, Nu Chapter held a Girl Scout Workshop. Graduate
students from disciplines across the university worked to put together
an afternoon of interactive activities for middle-school aged girls to
help them earn the "From Shore to Sea" Girl Scout badge. The activities
included discussing Modern Technology, testing Water Quality, designing
a Crossword to teach younger girls, investigating Freshwater and Sea
Creatures, creating Ocean-inspired Art, Distilling Freshwater from
Saltwater and talking about Career Possibilities with a panel of
current graduate students. View Photos on Nu's website. Top of page
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MentorNet News
GWIS Membership Benefit
GWIS members are eligible to join and fully participate in MenterNet, as mentors or proteges. Visit MentorNet's new mentor portal. Visit MentorNet's website for their recommended reading list.
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Funding and Job Opportunities
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts is expanding. They seek faculty members in many disciplines. Please click here for details and how to apply.
Engineers! Volunteers are needed to review resources for the new Society of Women Engineers Assessing Women & Men in Engineering Program (AWE) and National
Academy of Engineering "Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education". AWE provides
assessment tools for people involved in K-16 formal and informal
educational outreach activities. AWE assessment tools provide
researchers and evaluators with high quality data based on comparisons of responses to consistent
quantitative surveys from a variety of organizations or activities.This is a great opportunity to update your knowledge on
research that impacts the development and delivery of STEM education
and outreach. Read more about the AWE Project.
To volunteer fill out this brief form and read more about the call for proposals.
Sign up for a free electronic newsletter describing grant opportunities in Life Sciences from ScienceInfo.
Biomedical research positions are available at the National Institutes of Health
NIH scientific jobs. Search USAJobs for Senior Scientific positions.
Current postdoctoral openings
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Fellowships and Symposia
Applications and information for GWIS Fellowships are available now. You do not need to be a member of GWIS to apply. The deadline is Jan 15th, 2009 for grants awarded by July 1st for the 2008-2009 academic year. Click the button to send this newsletter to interested potential applicants. 
IAS-STS Fellowship Programme 2009-2010. The
IAS-STS in Graz, Austria, promotes the interdisciplinary investigation
of the links and interactions between science, technology and society
as well as technology assessment and research into the development and
implementation of socially and environmentally sound technologies. The IAS-STS invites researchers to apply for a stay between 1 October 2009 and 30 June 2010 with stays of up to nine months as a Research Fellow (up to nine months) or a one month stay as a Visiting Scholar. The IAS-STS program offers up to five grants (up to EUR 1,000 per month) for Research Fellows. Visit the IAS-STS website for more information and applications.
Leadership Symposium: It's Your Responsibility! How to Lead and Impact Policy: Enhancing the Role of Women in Medical and Biological Engineering
Date: December 4-5, 2008
Place: Chicago Airport Hilton, Chicago, Ill.
Deadline: Nov 21, 2008
The
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering's (AIMBE)
Women in Medical and Biological Engineering Committee presents a
symposium on how to positively influence change for women in medical
and biological engineering. The symposium is open to all AIMBE fellows
as well as senior women and a limited number of graduate students and
post-doctoral fellows in medical and biological engineering. For more
information about the meeting and student registration, visit theAIMBE websiteor contact the AIMBE office at (202) 496-9660 or tjohnson@aimbe.org.
The Florida A&M University (FAMU) Computer Information Sciences
(CIS) Program is the
recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant valued at
$552,000 dedicated to recruiting minority women to computer science and
information technology disciplines.Women who apply to the program will be accepted based on financial need, and
will be awarded a scholarship of between $3,000 and $5,000 per
semester. In addition to the funding, the women will participate in
CIS departmental clubs and organizations. The AAWCS program will start on July 1 and will run until June
30, 2012. Applications for the program can be requested by contacting
Black at jblack@cis.famu.edu or (850) 412-7354.
Read the whole article
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Websites of interest
The
Women Writing Science Project: Feminist Press and IBM have launched a new social networking site to increase the numbers of young women in science: Underthemicroscope.com
The Women In Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics On the Air! website is an audio resource for young girls,
young women, parents, middle and high school teachers, college
professors, guidance counselors, researchers, organizational leaders,
and anyone interested in learning more about the past, present, and
future role of women in science and technology education, fields, and
careers.
Visit WAMC Public Radio online
Book review of "MOTHERHOOD, THE ELEPHANT IN THE LABORATORY: Women Scientists Speak Out", edited by Emily Monosson. Women scientists describe their career paths and the unique difficulties of balancing a professional life in highly competitive fields with motherhood.
Learn all about your favorite element at the Periodic Table of Videos- they are short videos describing the properties and uses of chemical elements.
The mission of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) is to encourage
Chicano/Latino and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees
necessary for science research, leadership, and teaching careers at all levels.
For more information, visit the website
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