| Greetings!
Best regards,
Janet Bandows Koster
Executive Director |
| Education |
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What Gender Analysis has to Offer Science and
Engineering
A new collection of essays, Gendered Innovations in Science and Engineering,
explores how taking gender into account in the areas of science, medicine, and
engineering can enhance human knowledge.
Gendered Innovations in S&E |
| Government |
How Recession Affects Women
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP) recently released a report, titled "Taking a Toll: The Effects
of Recession on Women," which addresses how the current U.S.
economic downturn is affecting women. Women
have suffered more job losses and a larger reduction in wages in recent months
than the general population. Click here to
read the full report.
PACT Act to Help Women and Families
Earlier this month, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (CA) introduced
the Pathways Advancing Career Training (PACT) Act, H.R.5774, in the U.S. House of
Representatives. The bill would provide States with funding to develop training
programs that prepare women for employment in occupations where they are often
underrepresented. It would also help States create programs that address
barriers to employment for single parents, displaced homemakers, and divorced and
widowed women re-entering the workforce after extended periods of time at home
caring for family members. Click here
for an overview of the PACT Act.
Study finds Political Interference at the EPA
A recent report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found
that nearly 60 percent of the staff scientists at the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) reported that they experienced political interference in their
work over the last five years.
To read the complete report, click here.
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| Science and Health |
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Study Shows There's a Price to Having Too Many Choices
Its eight o'clock
and you're rushing to finish that experiment but feel overwhelmed because you
can't decide which technique will give you the best results. A recent study
published in the Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology shows that facing too many choices can impair one's stamina,
ability to stay focused and even maintain self-control.
Too Many Choices
The Power of Stem Cells, in your Skin Cream?
Looking for that rejuvenating miracle cream? With the
growing consumer interest in the power of stem cells, skin care manufacturers
are releasing products claiming to have stem cell technology that will repair,
restore, renew, or rejuvenate one's skin. Scientists, however, caution that
such products don't even contain live stem cells but rather ingredients that stimulate
the skin's own stem cells.
Stem cells in a Jar
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| International |
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Funding Training Programs for African Researchers
A UK-based medical charity recently announced that it would
provide about US$40 million to support training programs for scientists in
Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, Sub-Saharan Africa spends only about one percent
on health and research, despite having about 25 percent of the global disease
burden. The new funding will allow institutions in these areas to better
prepare local researchers to tackle critical problems in their countries, such
as malaria and HIV.
Training the Next Generation of African Researchers
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| Careers |
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Case Study on Gender Bias at the Postdoc Level
A recent statistical study of a particle physics
experiment group explores how gender bias affects the career advancements of
women in physics at the postdoc level. The study shows that females are, on
average, significantly more productive than their male peers, but are given
only about a third the amount of conference presentations based on their
productivity. To view a pre-print of the study, click here.
Postdocs: Top Places to Work
The Scientist recently released a list of best places for postdocs
to work in 2008. Over three thousand responses to a web-based survey were
received from readers who self-identified as non-tenured life scientists employed
in academia and/or non-commercial research institutions. Click here for an overview of the findings or here to view the
full report.
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| National and Chapter Announcements |
AWIS Palo Alto Chapter
Event: "Protein
Kinase C in Heart Attack: From Bench to Bedside" by Dr. Daria Mochly-Rosen,
Senior Associate Dean for Research, Stanford
University School
of Medicine
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2008
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Light super will be served) Location: PARC Auditorium, 3333
Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto, CA
RSVP: http://www.acteva.com/go/pa-awis Members pay $4 and non-members pay $7 to offset the
cost of food.
AWIS East Bay Chapter
Event: "Career Opportunities in the Life Sciences Industry: Finding
your Niche." Toby Freedman, Ph.D., will discuss some of her findings from her
recently released book, Career
Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development, which is based on interviews
with over 200 industry professionals. She will provide information about the
hidden opportunities and areas currently experiencing high demand as well as job search strategies.
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008
Time: 6:30 p.m. Light Dinner, 7 p.m. Talk, 8p.m.
Book signing
Location: Novartis*, 4560 Norton St, Emeryville, CA
* Novartis security procedure requires check in at the guard station on 53rd
St. at Chiron Way prior to parking; Meet in Building 4 (5300 Chiron Way), Room
104. Enter at the doors nearest the big
yellow stucco ball.
Receive a 10%
discount on the book at the chapter meeting.
One book will be raffled off to a lucky attendee!
A contribution of $5 (members) to $10 (non-members) to cover
cost of food is encouraged. Scientists, non-scientists, men, women are all welcome!
Have a chapter event you'd like to post?
Please send
information/fliers to chapters@awis.org
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New SACNAS Conference
Postdoc Poster Session
Postdocs are invited to submit an abstract for the inaugural
Postdoc Poster Session at the 2008 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and
Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Conference from October 9-12, 2008 in Salt
Lake City, Utah. The Poster
Session will occur at the Grad/Postdoc Networking Reception where recruiters
from academia and industry will be present. The conference also attracts over
150 academic institutions including the nation's top universities. Learn more about
the 2008 conference postdoc activities at the Postdoc Committee's website: http://www.minoritypostdoc.org
Click here for information about the abstract submission process or contact
Victor Solis, victor@sacnas.org.
Questions about the application process, contact Nick Mucha nick@sacnas.org.
Click here for information about conference travel
scholarships for postdocs.
Deadline for
abstract submission and applications: May 1st. 2008 National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants Program Cooperative
State Research, Education, and Extension Service announces the
availability of grant funds and requests applications for the Food and
Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate
Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program. NEW in 2008: CSREES and the USDA
Forest Service (FS) have undertaken a collaborative, long-term effort
focused on workforce development through graduate education (M.S. and
Ph.D. level). Emphasis will be placed on the four critical capacity
shortage areas (decision sciences; land use and landscape analysis;
ecosystem processes and forest health; and utilization technology),
identified by educators, employers, and the National Association of
University Forest Resources Programs (NAUFRP). Only electronic applications are acceptable: www.grants.gov
Soliciting applications for:
(1)
Fellowships to train students for Master of Science and doctoral
degrees in food and agricultural sciences in the Targeted Expertise
Shortage Areas (TESA), and
(2) for Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel
Allowances (IRTA) for eligible USDA National Needs Fellows.
Postgraduate training will not be funded under this announcement.
All attachments must be submitted in portable document format (.pdf) for proposals submitted under this program announcement.
Contacts:
1) Support (Electronic Application Process Issues) in Proposal Services Unit: CSREES - 202- 401- 5048 or electronic@csrees.usda.gov
2)
Program Office (Programmatic Technical Issues) in National Needs
Graduate Fellowship Grants Program - CSREES - 202-720-1973 or NNF@csrees.usda.gov.
See: Program Brochure, RFA, more information about the NNF Program, agency website, other CSREES Funding Opportunities
Application Closing Date: May 8, 2008
MentorNet is Seeking Mentors!
MentorNet, the E-Mentoring Network for Diversity in Engineering and Science, is seeking new mentors, particularly faculty e-mentors. At the present time, MentorNet has more than 100 proteges waiting for faculty mentors. Please encourage your faculty colleagues to sign up as a mentor. Being an e-mentor with MentorNet is convenient and can take as little time as 15 minutes per week! Since March 1st, AWIS has had 20 new proteges and 20 mentors join the program.
National Center for Women & Information Technology Meeting
NCWIT's upcoming meetings will take place May
14-15, 2008, at the University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The
theme is "Advancing Computing from Multiple Disciplines." Distinguished
researchers in science and engineering will tell us how their disciplines are
pushing the frontiers of computer science today, and how these exciting
research areas offer grand challenges with the potential to change the image of
computing and attract top talent to the field.
Confirmed speakers include: Mae Jemison, M.D., former NASA
Astronaut and Founder of The Jemison Group, Inc.; Richard M. Murray, Thomas E.
and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems, Division of
Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology; Lydia E.
Kavraki, Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science and Bioengineering, Rice
University; Graduate Program in Structural and Computational Biology and
Molecular Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine; and Freada Kapor Klein, PhD,
Founder and Co-chair, the Level Playing Field Institute.
Click here for more information.
Joan's Legacy Research Grant
Joan's Legacy invites grant applications for institutional research that studies lung cancer. The Foundation is particularly interested in the genetic basis and biology of bronchioalveolar carcinoma as well as novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of this disease.
For more information, click here.
Application Deadline: May 15, 2008
Society for Neuroscience Awards
Career Development Award - This achievement award is for early career professionals who demonstrate achievement and promise in fields within the purview and interest of SfN.
Application Deadline: May 12, 2008
Click here for more information.
Louise Hanson Marshall Special Recognition Award-This award recognizes individuals working outside the field of neuroscience who have significantly promoted the professional advancement of women in neuroscience.
Application Deadline: May 12, 2008
Click here for more information.
Summer School on GPUs and Multicore for S&E Grad Students
The Great Lake Consortium for Petascale Computation's Virtual School of Computational Science and Engineering is pleased to announce its first annual Summer School, Accelerators for Science and Engineering Applications: GPUs and Multicore to be held at NCSA August 18-22, 2008
Applications deadline: May 19,2008
Visit the website for more info.
M. Hildred Blewett Scholarship
To enable early-career women to
return to physics research careers after having had to interrupt those careers
for family reasons. The applicant must currently be a legal resident or
resident alien of the United States or Canada. She must be currently in Canada or the United States and must have an affiliation with a research-active
educational institution or national lab. She must have completed work toward a
Ph.D. Amount: up to $45,000/year.Visit the website for more
information.
Deadline: June 2, 2008
NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund
The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund awards members of NCWIT's Academic
Alliance with start-up funds (up to
$15,000 per project) to develop and implement initiatives for recruiting and
retaining women in computing and information technology. Startup funding is
provided by Microsoft.
Information about the Seed Fund program, including proposal
requirements, the review process, and how to become an eligible Academic
Alliance member, is available at www.ncwit.org.
Proposal deadline: June 1,
2008.
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. Click here
for a copy of the postdoc
application)
or apply here.
Deadline: July 15,
2008, announcement is made on August 15, 2008.
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| Featured Article |
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The AWIS Advocacy Committee is pleased to
welcome its' newest member, Kathryn E. Peek, Ph.D. Kathryn is an associate
professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UT M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center and an instructor in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice
University. She is the former president of the AWIS-Gulf Coast/Houston Chapter.
Click here for a complete biography.
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Three AWIS members have been elected into the 2008 Class of AAAS Fellows:
Marsha I. Lester Chemistry,
University
of Pennsylvania
Megan C. Urry Astronomy,
Yale University
France A. Córdova Physics/Administration, Purdue University
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| AWIS Advocacy |
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AWIS Contributes to Equal Pay Day Press Conference on
Capitol Hill
April 23, 2008 - AWIS attended
a national press conference on Capitol Hill to urge Senate members to pass the
Fair Pay Act of 2007, also known as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R.
2831). AWIS provided a report on the Pay Gap in the STEM Professions.
To learn more about the legislation, click H.R. 2831. (NOTE: The Senate failed to pass the bill that evening, with 4 votes short of the 60 needed to move it forward. Click here to read more).
AWIS Supports
Increased Funding for STEM Programs
AWIS joined the STEM Education Coalition and supporting organizations in letters urging congressional members of the Senate and House
LHHS and CJS Appropriations Subcommittees to increase funding for STEM programs
for FY2009.
Appropriations for Math & Science Partnerships & Math Now:
To the Senate
To the House
Appropriations for education programs in America COMPETES:
To the Senate
To the House
AWIS Contributes to Diversity &
Innovation Caucus Briefing
AWIS statement
on diversity.
AWIS Advocacy documents
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