Empowering Women in Science
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Greetings!
 
 

How many of you have watched NCIS on television? It's been one of the top programs for nine years with a great cast of characters: Forensic Specialist Abby Sciuto is played by Paula Perrette and boss Special Agent Jethro Gibes is played by Mark Harmon (of Star Wars fame.) It's one of my "must see" programs each week! Abby is an incredibly bright forensic scientist and she can do anything Jethro asks of her, from analyzing mtDNA to running mass spec. What is unique is that Abby is a goth forensic scientist...wearing pigtails, black, piercings and tattoos! She is a unique geek and proud of it!

 

Ironically, Paula Perrette is an incredible bright woman in her own right. She has degrees in sociology, psychology, and criminal science and makes the NCIS story line flow with its meticulous scientific detail. She oozes with "geek coolness" and has become a popular character among young girls wanting to pursue careers in science. Girls started watching the show when they were young, and now they're in college. Paula gets letters from people all the time from all over the world-parents, grandparents, and kids themselves-saying Abby has influence them to pursue math and science. Paula is quick to respond that, "Abby's the solid role model, empowering girls into careers in science, not me!"

 

Thank goodness the world is changing and there are many bright women on television today with Ph.D.'s in a scientific discipline. But never under estimate your ability to be a role model also! Some young woman may be watching you and want to be just like you 'cuz you made science "cool!"

 

United in friendship through "cool" science!

 DM Sign

 

 

 

 

Dee McManus 

National GWIS Executive Director 
 National GWIS News  

National Activities:

  

******Save The DATE: The Beta Chapter will be hosting this year's National Meeting in Madison WI, June 14-17, 2012. Events will include the National Council meeting, the Grand Chapter meeting, a scientific meeting, and social and networking activities. More details will be posted soon to our web site, http://www.gwis.org/******  

2012 National Fellowships

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 

  

The SDE/GWIS National Fellowships Program is proud to offer fellowships in 2012 to help increase knowledge in the fundamental sciences and to encourage research careers in the sciences by women. Endowment funds, mostly generated from bequests, provide the annual income that supports scientific research done by SDE/GWIS award winners.  For the 2011-2012 academic year, we distributed just under $60,000 in fellowships funds to ten deserving women scientists.

  

This year's application deadline was January 15, 2012 with awards being announced on or before July 1, 2012 for funding in the 2012-2013 academic year.  The SDE/GWIS National Council will determine exact fellowships amounts with the maximum allowable award being $10,000.

  

To apply please go to http://www.gwis.org/programs.html#checklist and click on "2011-2012 Application Form".    


Nominating Committee  
 

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

 

The Nominating Committee of Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) invites all members to participate in nominating candidates for elective offices. This may be done individually or collectively through the chapter in which you hold membership. Do not overlook nominating yourself. The Nominating Committee is interested in receiving the names of everyone who is interested in serving in a national office.

 

A Nomination form outline follows this Call for Nominations. Simply cut and paste the form into your own document and print out (or e-mail) to share with other members you know who may not be receiving this newsletter by forwarding this e-mail.

 

The list of nominees, along with brief biographies, will be printed in the Bulletin and in the April GWIS E-news.

 

The deadline for nominations has been extended until February 29, 2012.

 

Nominees are needed for the following GWIS National Offices:

  

 

President-Elect

  

 

Serves one year and automatically advances to President

 

Vice-President

 

 

Serves one year and advances by election to President-Elect

 

Member of the Board of Directors

 

Serves a 5 year term and is usually a past Officer of National GWIS

 

Treasurer

 

Two year term

 

Corresponding and Recording Secretary

 

Two year term

 

 

Omega Chapter Committee

 

Three year term with third year as Chair

 

Member of the Nominating Committee

Three year term with third year as Chair  

 

 

Nominees must be in good standing (dues paid) and must subscribe to the mission of GWIS found online at http://www.gwis.org/about.html#mission

 

Please return Nominations to the Nominating Committee: Chair, Melissa Wilson Sayres (mwilsonsayres@gmail.com), Alexis Rudd (abrudd@gmail.com), and Jason Young (jyoung@astro.psu.edu). Please contact Melissa Wilson Sayres (mwilsonsayres@gmail.com) if you have further questions about the position responsibilities of the GWIS National Leadership.



News from around the World       

   

Arab Women Make Inroads in Higher Education but Often Find Dead Ends

 

The Chronicle of Higher Education ran the article titled above by Ursula Lindsey, on the 29th of January about the hurdles the women in Arab face as they pursue undergraduate and graduate studies. To read more click here.        

 

 

India's University Regulator Proposes Hundreds of New Women's Colleges

 

This is also from the Chronicle of Higher Education and was published on the 30th of January 2012. To read more click here.  

 

'Women worse at math than men' explanation scientifically incorrect, MU researchers say 

 

A University of Missouri researcher and his colleague have conducted a review that casts doubt on the accuracy of a popular theory that attempted to explain why there are more men than women in top levels of mathematic fields. To read more click here.

 

Fallout From a Lab Tragedy 

 

A new development in the case of Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji, a 23-year-old University of California at Los Angeles staff research assistant, who died three years ago after suffering massive second- and third-degree burns is likely to reinvigorate the training and safety discussion. Prosecutors last week filed felony charges against the UC regents and the chemistry professor who oversaw the lab, Patrick Harran, marking what researchers believe is the first criminal indictment stemming from an accident in the history of American academe.To read more click here.  

 




Book Review       

The Chicago Guide to Landing a Job in Academic Biology

   

Book Review The below description is from the Amazon website:

 

The Chicago Guide to Landing a Job in Academic Biology is an indispensable guide for graduate students and post-docs as they enter that domain red in tooth and claw: the job market.

An academic career in the biological sciences typically demands well over a decade of technical training. So it's ironic that when a scholar reaches the most critical stage in that career-the search for a job following graduate work-he or she receives little or no formal preparation. Instead, students are thrown into the job market with only cursory guidance on how to search for and land a position.

Now there's help. Carefully, clearly, and with a welcome sense of humor, The Chicago Guide to Landing a Job in Academic Biology leads graduate students and postdoctoral fellows through the perils and rewards of their first job search. The authors-who collectively have for decades mentored students and served on hiring committees-have honed their advice in workshops at biology meetings across the country. The resulting guide covers everything from how to pack an overnight bag without wrinkling a suit to selecting the right job to apply for in the first place. The authors have taken care to make their advice useful to all areas of academic biology-from cell biology and molecular genetics to evolution and ecology-and they give tips  on how applicants can tailor their approaches to different institutions from major research universities to small private colleges.

With jobs in the sciences ever more difficult to come by, The Chicago Guide to Landing a Job in Academic Biology is designed to help students and post-docs navigate the tricky terrain of an academic job search-from the first year of a graduate program to the final negotiations of a job offer.

More about the authors and book as well as workshop can be found at:

http://www.landingabiologyjob.com/
   

 




Career Advancement Advice for Academic Researchers 

  

Below is a list of good resources to learn more about the academic life.

 

The original list was compiled by Alain-Philippe Durand, SILLC, at University of Arizona in February 2011.  

  

Aguirre, Jr., 2000. Women and Minority Faculty in the Academic Workplace: Recruitment, Retention, and Academic Culture.

 

Argues that the recruitment of women and members of racial/ethnic minorities into faculty positions has proceeded without an understanding of how white-male-dominated academic culture affects their professional socialization and workplace satisfaction. To read more click here. 


Blaxter, Hughes, and Tight, 1998. The Academic Career Handbook.  

 

A guide to career strategies for those pursuing a profession in academia, with a focus on Great Britain. For the Amazon book description click here. 


Caplan, 1994. Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide to Surviving in the Academic World.  

 

A book of "strategic information and survival skills" for women in academia, prepared by a Canadian professor. Includes a chapter of suggestions for specific situations (graduate school, the job search, the tenure process) and an  

extensive bibliography. For the Amazon book description click here.

 

Dews and Law, 1995. This Fine Place So Far From Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class. To read more click here. For the Amazon book description click here.

A book of essays by and for academics from working-class backgrounds. 


Feibelman, 1993. A Ph.D. Is Not Enough! A Guide to Survival in Science.  

 

Advice from a research physicist on establishing a successful post-doctoral career in the sciences. Both academic & nonacademic career paths. For Google book description click here.  

 

Ferber and Loeb, 1997. Academic Couples: Problems and Promises.  

 

An edited volume of essays on topics affecting dual-career couples in academia. Includes chapters on unmarried partners (whether of the same or opposite sex) and African American couples. For a book review in  Teachers College Record click here. For Amazon book description click here. 


Frost and Taylor, 1996. Rhythms of Academic Life: Personal Accounts of Careers in Academia.  

 

First-person accounts of different aspects of academic life, by professors of management and organizational behavior. For a book review in Academy of Management Learning and Education click here. For Amazon book description click here. 

 

Goldsmith, Komlos and Gold, 2001. The Chicago Guide To Your Academic Career: A Portable Mentor for Scholars from Graduate School Through Tenure.

 

Inside information on finding a mentor, getting a job, obtaining tenure and more.  

Gregory, 1995. Black Women in the Academy: The Secrets to Success and Achievement. A study of the reasons black women choose "to remain in, return to, or voluntarily leave the academy," and of the factors promoting their success and achievement. For Amazon book description click here.

 

Jones, 2000. Brothers of the Academy: Up and Coming Black Scholars Earning our Way in Higher Education.  

 

A collection of historical, social scientific, and autobiographical accounts of black mens' experiences in higher education and the academic workplace. For Amazon book description click here. 


Menges and associates, 1999. Faculty in New Jobs: A Guide to Settling In, Becoming Established, and Building Institutional Support.  

 

A guide to the first few years. Includes data from the "New Faculty Project" study of young academics. For Amazon book description click here.  

 

Toth, 1997. Ms. Mentor's Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia.

Ms. Mentor, the creation of English professor Emily Toth, offers her sage and sometimes hilarious advice to young woman scholars, from graduate school through tenure. (More recent columns from Ms. Mentor are available in the Career Talk section of the Chronicle website.) For Amazon book description  click here.

 

Wenninger and Conroy, 2001. Gender Equity or Bust! On the Road to Campus Leadership with Women in Higher Education.

The best of the monthly newsletter Women in Higher Education. Includes advice and first-person accounts relating to all areas of academic life - especially women's experiences as leaders. For Amazon book description click here.
    


 

Resources from former E-news Publications

Career Opportunities in Academia and Industry - Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics  

  

Visit archived December 2011 GWIS E-news for more information and links to job search sites. Click here.    

 

Funding and Grants Opportunities - Science Technology Mathematics and Engineering    

 

Visit archived December 2011 GWIS E-news for more information and links to job search sites. Click here.  

 

Getting Ready for a Postdoctoral Position? Here are this Years Best Places to Prepare for the Challenge of Setting up Your Own Laboratory

 

Today Postdoctoral positions are required training for a scientific career. The 2011 list for best places to gain the training necessary to prepare for the challenge of setting up your own laboratory is here: http://www.the-scientist.com/2011/03/1/45/1/
 
Advice on Applying for an Academic Position

Dr. Eliza Woolf gives advice on applying for an academic position in her posting on October 13th 2010 on the Inside Higher Ed website. Her ten point advice can be found at: http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/on_the_fence/woolf7

Advice on Negotiating for an Academic Position

An associate professor in the humanities in a sate university in the south offers seven succinct rules for negotiation like a professional in your first academic position in the March 14th Inside Higher Ed website. The link to the article is: http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2011/03/14/essay_on_how_to_negotiate_during_the_academic_job_process

Women and Underrepresented Groups Links

Northeastern University Page

Preparing for a Dual Career

The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at the Carlleton College - This is a great collection of case studies of dual career couples in geoscience as well as other disciplines on the SERC website. This collection illustrates a number of different solutions to the "two-body" problem, based on a variety of job search strategies. The web page also includes a number of other resources for dual career couples.

 

Dual Career Search Engine from Inside Higher Ed - Inside Higher Ed has a search engine that help search and map for jobs that helps keep dual career couples together. The link to the web page is: http://www.insidehighered.com/career/seekers?page=dualsearch.php#dual