| Greetings!
Will you be attending the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston February 14-18, 2008?
If so, AWIS is hosting two special events and you're invited.
The annual AWIS Networking Breakfast and Panel Discussion will take place on Monday, February 18th in the Republic Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel Boston from 7:30 am to 11:30 am. Dr. Lydia Villa-Komaroff will keynote the event.
I look forward to meeting you in Boston!
Best,
Janet Bandows Koster
Executive Director
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| Education |
How to Fix a Leaky
Pipeline
No, we are not referring to the leaky pipeline under your
sink. We are talking about the leaky pipeline Phoebe Leboy, PhD.,
President of the Association for Women in Science, uses in this months' The Scientist to describe why so few women
scientists are in the top positions in our nation's leading research
institutions. At the end of 2006, Harvard
Medical School,
for example, had no women in tenure-track in the cell biology and biochemistry/
molecular pharmacology department. Dr. Leboy presents her recommendations for
"fixing the leaky pipeline."
Fixing the Leaky Pipeline
Girls Narrowing the
Gap in Science and Math
While the gender gaps in math and science standardized test
scores and career opportunities still exist, more girls and women are
participating - and excelling - in math and science than ever before. Dr.
Phoebe Leboy, President of the Association for Women in Science, suggests that
many young women worry about the hurdles to being successful in these fields,
including prevailing assumptions of women in these fields and inflexible
research schedules.
Narrowing the Gap
More Young Women
Earning Bachelor's Degrees
According to tabulations recently released by the U.S.
Census Bureau, 33 percent of U.S.
women between the ages of 25 to 29 had bachelor's degrees or higher in 2007, compared
with 26 percent of males. The tables also show how higher education can mean
higher earnings.
Women in Higher Education
What's Happening with
Math in Middle Schools?
Recent findings show that compared to middle school math
teachers in five other countries, U.S.
teachers scored poorly on measures of math preparation. The study addressed the
need for improved teacher preparation programs and other initiatives to ensure
that our nation maintains a competitive edge on the global market.
Math Teachers
Evolution Education a
"Must" According to Scientific and Teaching Organizations
A coalition of scientific societies, including the National
Academy of Sciences and the American Chemical Society, are calling on the
scientific community to promote science education, including evolution. A
national survey of 1,000 potential U.S.
voters revealed that teaching evolution is preferred over creationism or
intelligent design. More people are supporting teaching information based on evidence
rather than speculation and they prefer it come from scientists rather than
politicians, celebrities, or school board members.
Evolution Returning to Schools?
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| Government |
A Heavy Blow for the U.S. Science Community
In December 2007, the White House and Congress approved
legislation (H.R. 2764) that offers science research agencies only meager
budget increases for 2008. The NIH will only receive a 0.5% increase, while NASA
will receive 3%, increases too small to sustain the projects in their pipelines.
Meager Federal Budget Increases for Science
FDA OKs Food from Cloned Animals
The FDA recently announced that
food from cloned farm animals and their offspring are ready to hit the
supermarket shelves, a move that would defy recommendations from Congress
for further studies.
Cloned Hamburger Patty Anyone?
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| Science and Health |
Experience the Benefits of Naps
A recent study published in the
journal Nature Neuroscience showed that taking a 90 minute daytime nap can
speed up long term memory consolidation. Researchers recommend fitting in
afternoon naps to help with memorizing things quickly or activities that
require learning "how" to do things.
Memory and Sleep
New Biological Clock Test for Women
Repromedix Corp. has recently launched a new diagnostic
blood test, Plan Ahead™, which enables a woman to compare her estimated egg
supply with the normal range expected for women in her age group. Over 80% of women between 25-44 years of age think that the risk of fertility loss starts around the age
of 35, but according to experts, the risk may begin much earlier.
Plan Ahead
Pharmaceuticals Spending More on Ads than on R&D
A new analysis shows that the drug
industry is spending more on marketing and promotion than on research and
development, US$57.5 billion to US$31.5 billion respectively.
More Research and Less Promotion
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| International |
A "Roadmap" to
Address Global Climate Change
The 187 countries that participated in the UN Framework on
Climate Change conference held in Bali in December 2007,
agreed on a two-year "roadmap" that will lead to a new climate treaty to
succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. After two weeks of negotiations, several
strategies were accepted, including reducing emissions by at least half in
developed nations, including the U.S.,
by 2050.
Paving the Way
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| Careers |
Other Career Paths
Looking for that viable and cutting-edge career? Good news,
US News & World Report recently identified six areas within the job market that
are recently expanding due to growing demands and a changing economy. Find out
which careers are emerging due to key megatrends in our nation's economy.
From Wellness Coaches to Computational Biologists
How a Belgian Woman Scientist Rose to the Top
Christine Van Broeckhoven has worked hard to become one of
the top scientists studying the genetics of neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer's while battling tight times, the challenges of single-parenthood,
and depression.
A Role Model for Women in Science
Diversifying the Workplace
Case studies and a mathematical model created by Scott E.
Page, a professor of complex systems, political science and economics at the University
of Michigan, show how diversity in
staffing produces organizational strength. Dr. Page also points out how breakthroughs
in science have come from teams of diverse people - a reason why
interdisciplinary work is a huge trend in scientific research.
Diversity = Productivity
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| National and Chapter Announcements |
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2008 AWIS Annual Events
The following events will be held in conjunction with the AWIS Winter Board
Meeting and AAAS Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.
Date: February 17, 2008
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Location: Grand Ballroom, Sheraton Boston Hotel
Event: AWIS Fellows Reception
Date: February 18, 2008
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Republic Ballroom, Sheraton Hotel Boston
Event: AWIS Networking Breakfast and Panel Discussion For more information. Register using the online form or contact Meredith Gibson at gibson@awis.org by Monday, February 11, 2008.
DC AWIS Chapter Symposium
Date: March 29, 2008
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Conference Center,
NSF Event: "Managing Your Career in Science" at
Capital Science 2008
Register or for more information on Capital Science 2008. If you or someone you know has ever worked with a career
coach, please contact Jennifer ( jhobin@gmail.com) by Friday January 18, 2008 for the
opportunity to participate as a panelist in this symposium.
Bethesda AWIS Chapter
Date: January 17, 2008
Time: 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Visitor Center, National Library of Medicine, NIH
Event: "Diving Boards and Mars Landers: Career Paths for the Adventurous" Speaker: Laurel Haak, Ph.D., Science Director,
Discovery Logic For more information2008 AWIS Annual
Award for Excellence in Mentoring
Who Can Be Nominated: Any man or woman who has made
significant contributions to mentoring scientists. A mentor can be an
adviser, a teacher, a role model, or a friend. A good mentor helps young
scientists to develop personally and professionally. The person nominated
need not be a member of AWIS, but cannot be a
member of the AWIS Bethesda Board or leadership.
How to Nominate: Any member of the Bethesda Chapter of AWIS
or National AWIS can nominate a candidate. Please submit one succinct and
persuasive paragraph (max. 250 words) that outlines the candidate's position
and contributions to mentoring. Nominators should include their own name,
address, and email address as well as those of the nominee; this information
will not be made public.
Deadline for Receipt of Nominations: February 8, 2008
Send Nominations to: Crina Frincu-Mallos, crina.mallos@gmail.com |
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Opportunities |
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2008 Maria Mitchell Women in Science Award
This award will recognize an individual who has
worked to increase the participation and advancement of girls and/or women in
science and mathematics.
To be considered for the Maria Mitchell Women in Science Award an individual must:
* Demonstrate consistent leadership and support for the
advancement of girls and women in the fields of natural and
physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, computer science or
technology or
* Be someone who served as a mentor, role model or key player in a program designed specifically to encourage and advance
girls and women in the fields of science, mathematics and
technology
* Be a United States citizen
For more information, visit our website Nomination forms must be postmarked by March 15, 2008.
Research
Associateship Program
The National Academies Research Associateship awards
are open to doctoral level scientists and engineers (U.S and Foreign Nationals)
who can apply their special knowledge and talents to research areas that are of
interest to them and to the participating host labs and centers. Awards are available for Postdoctoral Associates (within 5
years of the doctorate) and Senior Associates (normally 5 years or more beyond
the doctorate). For more information on
how to apply, visit their website.Deadline: Feb. 1, 2008. The next review will be in May.
Mary Fieser Postdoctoral
Program for Women and Minorities
Harvard University will award 12 new postdoc fellowships in chemistry
this spring that are aimed at increasing the number of women and minority
Ph.D.'s who become professors. Fellows will study for a year in Harvard's
department of chemistry and chemical biology, and will have the opportunity to
apply for a second year of fellowship money. For a copy of the postdoc application.
To apply.
Deadline for the first award: February 15 and for
the second award: July 15, 2008.
Support Sciencedebate
2008
Wonder why the U.S. Presidential debates have not been devoted to policy
surrounding science and technology? We all know that science and technology lie
at the center of a very large number of the policy issues facing our nation and
the world. Join scientists and concerned citizens around the nation who are
signing on to Sciencedebate 2008 to
support a call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the
issues of The Environment, Medicine and Health, and Science and Technology
Policy. Click here to support Sciencedebate 2008.
Christine Mirzayan
Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship
The National Academies Christine Mirzayan Science and
Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship is available to graduate students pursing
a graduate degree in a field of science, engineering, medicine, veterinary
medicine, business, law or education. During the course of the fellowship, each
fellow will be assigned to a senior staff member who will assist and guide the
fellow to engage in the analysis that informs the creation of science and
technology and familiarize them with the interactions of science, technology
and government. For more information.
Deadline for Summer Session: March 1, 2008.
28th
Annual Women's Legislative Briefing
Participate in the 28th
annual Women's Legislative Briefing to be held on January 27, 2008. Co-sponsored by more than 50 women's and community
organizations and coordinated by the Montgomery County Commission for Women, this
free event will address legislative proposals being considered in the upcoming
sessions of the Maryland General Assembly and U.S. Congress. Click here
to pre-register or call 240-777-8330, TDD 301-279-1034.
Onsite registration will also be available from 12:30-1 p.m on the day of the conference.
Nominations for the National
Science Foundation PAEMST Now Being Accepted
Nominate exemplary K-12 teachers for the Presidential Award
for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). This year the
award will honor elementary school teachers for their contributions to improve
teaching and learning in the areas of science and mathematics (secondary
teachers will be honored next year).
Deadline: May 1, 2008.
For information about the online nomination and application,
visit www.paemst.org
or e-mail info@paemst.org.
MontclairStateUniversity Fellowship Opportunity
A fellowship opportunity is available for science and
mathematics graduate students at Montclair
State University
in Montclair, NJ.
This NSF-funded program awards qualified research graduate students with the
opportunity to work in middle schools, participate in training activities,
research projects, field trips, and other activities while they pursue a
master's degree at Montclair State University. For more information about the grant.
Deadline: January 15, 2008.
MentorNet Call for Mentors
E-mentoring
opportunity--just 20 minutes per week. MentorNet seeks science and
engineering professionals in industry and government to mentor
engineering and science community college, undergraduate, and graduate
students, particularly women and underrepresented minorities, who are
interested in pursuing a professional future in the fields of
engineering and science. MentorNet also seeks tenured faculty members
to mentor graduate students, postdocs, and untenured faculty pursuing
faculty careers. Mentoring relationships last eight months. Mentors and
students communicate entirely by email.
How can you volunteer to be a mentor?
1) Join the MentorNet community: http://www.mentornet.net/join
2) Follow the One-on-One Mentoring Programs links to create a
mentor profile.
Quality Education for Minorities Opportunity
INFLOW, developed with support from the National Science Foundation
(NSF), is an on-line database containing information on individuals
with Ph.D. degrees who are from groups underrepresented in STEM fields.
It serves as a one-stop source of professional information on doctoral
engineers and computer scientists in academia, industry, and government
that can be regularly updated by participants via QEM's website.
INFLOW will provide NSF with a source of information on potential proposal review panelists, advisory committee members, and rotators. Additionally, the participants will be provided: information on a variety of professional development opportunities; and a mechanism to access limited contact information on other participants to facilitate potential collaborations. Information on financial support, research, career, and other professional opportunities will be provided to registered individuals to encourage and support the completion of their degree programs. For more information: http://qemnetwork.qem.org/cise_eng
2008 NOAA Earnest Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship
Sophomore students majoring in
disciplines related to oceanic and atmospheric science, research,
technology, or education, and supportive of the purposes of NOAA's
programs and mission, e.g., biological, social and physical sciences;
mathematics; engineering; computer and information sciences; and teacher
education are encouraged to apply. The two-year scholarship supplies up to $8,000 per year in tuition assistance and a paid summer internship.
For more information
Deadline: February 8, 2008
2008 Grants for Women and Mathematics Projects
The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) plans to award grants for projects
designed to encourage college and university women or high school and
middle school girls to study mathematics. The Tensor Foundation,
working
through the MAA, is soliciting college, university and secondary
mathematics faculty (in conjunction with college or university faculty)
and their departments and institutions to submit proposals. Projects
may replicate existing successful projects, adapt components of such
projects, or be innovative.
For more information
Deadline: February 12, 2008
Women in Biomedical Research: Best Practices for Sustaining Career Success
The NIH is sponsoring a "Women in Biomedical Research: Best Practices for Sustaining Career Success," workshop on March 4-5, 2008, to highlight practices that are successfully addressing the major barriers in the career development of women in biomedical sciences. The workshop will consider "best practices" from a range of organizatoins, including academic health centers, pharmaceutical companies, and other branches of governments.
For more information: http://womeninscience.nih.gov/bestpractices
Travel Fellowships: Integrative Physiology - May 14-16, 2008, The New York Academy of Sciences
The
New York Academy of Sciences is proud to offer travel fellowships to
their international symposium "Integrative Physiology." This 2.5-day
conference has been designed to explore the genetic basis of the known
functions of many organs, the identification of novel physiological
functions for various organs and the definition of genetic cascades
leading to frequent degenerative diseases such as metabolic syndrome,
heart failure and osteoporosis.
Individuals applying for a
fellowship will be expected to author a poster presentation (sole or
first authorship is not required). Please refer to our site for further information.
Deadline: March 14, 2008.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks qualified candidates for the following positions:
#07--142
- POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW - (Washington, DC) Working with the Research
Fellow and Senior Scientist leading the Global Change research theme of
IFPRI, the successful candidate will conduct research and analysis on
land use patterns and shifts under alternative scenarios of global
environmental and economic change.
#07-148 -
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW - (Washington DC) - the successful candidate will
conduct cross-country analysis on development strategy for higher
agricultural and rural growth, cutting hunger and malnutrition, and
reducing vulnerability of poor, and develop typology to target donor
and national investment across different countries and sub-national
regions to achieve greater poverty reduction.
FOR FULL DESCRIPTION & TO APPLY:
Go to www.ifpri.org .
Click on "Careers" and "Research" to link you to the above positions.
Please complete on-line application, including a complete resume and
cover letter.
American Physiological Society Research Enhancement AwardThe
APS Research Career Enhancement Award is designed to enhance the career
potential of its regular members. The award can be used to support
short-term visits to other laboratories to acquire new specific skills
and to support attendance at special courses devoted primarily to
methodologies appropriate for both a new investigator and a more senior
investigator entering a new field of research. The award of up to
$4,000 allows an individual in the early phases of his/her career to
obtain special training; the award also allows an individual in the
later phases of his/her career to develop new skills and to retrain in
areas of developing interests. The award does not include any indirect
cost reimbursement. For More Information on This Award...Deadline: April 16, 2008 |
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