AWIS
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ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE
Washington Wire
June 2009
Issue I
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Janet
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AWIS Executive Director
In This Issue
Education
Government
International
Careers
Science and Health
Lifestyle
Chapter News & Events
Opportunities
Education
Minorities Underrepresented in Tech Fields
The Anita Borg Institute (ABI) works to promote the development of women and minority leaders in high-tech fields in industry, academia, and government. A recent study conducted by ABI found that underrepresented minorities in technology (African-Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans/Hawaiians) make up only 6.1 percent of male workers and 8.6 percent of female workers in Silicon Valley.  The study included 1,800 employees at seven unnamed  companies and implies that schools are to blame for not encouraging young people to pursue higher education in math and science.

Need to build representation in high-tech


Study: Girls Do Understand Math, but We Don't Want Them To
In 2005, former Harvard University president and current economic adviser to President Obama, Lawrence Summers, stated that males are naturally smarter than females in the fields of science and engineering. This comment and others like it encouraged Janet Hyde and Janet Mertz, professors of psychology and oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to collect and analyze global data on math performance and gender inequality, as measured by the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and demonstrated that girls' math scores display the same level of variability as boys' in some countries and in some ethnic groups in the United States (e.g. Asian Americans). Hyde and Mertz attribute a number of cultural factors to the prevention of female success and interest in mathematics, including teachers paying more attention to males than females in math classes and a lack of female role models in math-related fields.

It all adds up


Sliding Scale for Paying Student Loans
Starting July 1, people with federal student loans will have the option to pay off those loans based on their salary instead of the amount of loan debt acquired. Monthly payments will be calculated and capped at fifteen percent of income above the national poverty rate. Debt not paid within twenty-five years will be forgiven by the government, but the remainder will be counted as taxable income. For public servants any debt not paid after ten years will be forgiven.

Get out of debt


Engaging Students in Research
A new book recently released by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), "Broadening Participation in Undergraduate Research," details what can be done to increase
opportunities for non-traditional students and faculty and facilitate relationships between mentors and guides. It discusses moving from individual and isolated research activities towards integrated and expanded efforts capable of engaging and challenging many more participants.

Mentoring undergraduates
Government
Paid Parental Leave for Federal Workers One Step Closer to Reality
The House passed the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (H.R. 626) by a vote of 258-154, fending off criticism of its price tag. The bill would give federal employees four weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child, and would let the Office of Personnel Management grant an additional four weeks of paid leave through regulations. Those weeks would be within the 12 weeks of unpaid leave mandated by the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act.

AWIS applauds efforts to secure paid parental leave
International
UK Peer Review System Strained
The United Kingdom's peer review system for allocating research grants is under severe stress as research councils struggle to find enough academics willing to review applications, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Physical Sciences Research Council say there has been a rise in the number of academics refusing to take part in peer review. Similar reports have come from the Medical Research Council. There has also been a rise in the number of grant applications at a time when many experts say they are unable to take time away from their own research and teaching to do peer review.
Careers
Would Your Peers Vote for You?
Managers do not pay enough attention to the opinions, approval, and importance of their peers according to leadership guru Dan McCarthy. Using data collected from over one thousand 360 degree leadership assessments that analyze leadership from the perspectives of one's manager, direct reports, and peers, McCarthy suggests that the most significant predictor of promotability is the peer review aspect of the analysis. Based on the results of his analysis, he offers ten tips to improve peer relations in the workplace.

Popularity contest


Appearing to Be Family Friendlier
The University of Michigan Center for the Education of Women conducted a survey to gauge "family friendly" practices in both 2002 and 2007. Though statistically more likely to adopt policies that help balance work-life challenges, institutions are only marginally implementing these policies. In 2002 a four-year institution would have utilized, on average, 1.64 of 7 policies then available. As of 2007 that number only raised to 1.9 of the possible 7 policies. Even those policies adopted within the five year time span were policies posing the least burden on university costs and essentially not whirlwind improvements.

Small victories


Evaluating Science or Evaluating Gender?
On the surface it seems women are receiving awards at increasing rates due to women-only awards. However, women are 65 percent less likely to win an award if the reviewing committee chair is a man. Between 1997 and 2009 the American Physical Society gave out 464 individual awards that were first reviewed by a committee. Only 20 awards were given to women physicists.

Women don't get the prize
Science and Health
Calling All Women-To Clinical Trials
Recent findings reported in the journal Cancer highlight the issue of under-representation of women in clinical trials for cancer therapies.  Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed the enrollment of men and women in clinical trials for several common cancers.  They observed that women were under-represented in 75% of the studies. This discrepancy confirms earlier trends, in spite of efforts by the National Institutes of Health to promote gender equality in its funded clinical trials.  These alarming results suggested that cancer clinical trials are not as accessible to women as they are to men, and the influence of gender on trial outcomes is not being understood completely.

Fewer women in clinical trials


Gossip is Good for Women's Health, Scientists Claim
Professor Stephanie Brown and a team of researchers at the University of Michigan conducted a study on 160 female students to identify a correlation between gossip and increased progesterone levels. Progesterone is a hormone produced by the ovaries that prepares the womb for pregnancy, fights infection, and is involved in bonding behavior. The presence of elevated levels of progesterone has also been shown to reduce levels of stress and anxiety in women. The U of M research team conducted saliva samples to test progesterone levels and found that research subjects who engaged in "chatty conversations" demonstrated elevated or maintained levels of progesterone, while subjects who reviewed a research paper together demonstrated decreased levels of progesterone.

Gossip girl
Lifestyle
An Office Where Work is a Family Affair
More and more companies are offering a unique employee benefit: bringing newborn children into the workplace.  While some employers argue that allowing parents to bring their babies to work creates distractions and discomfort for other employees, some business owners say that the policy builds loyalty and helps parents shift back into work mode.
  We're trying it at the AWIS National Office and will let you know how it goes.

Bring on the babies
AWIS News and Events
AWIS Massachusetts Chapter
Event:       Choosing A Lab
Date:        Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Time:        5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Location:   Harvard School of Dental Medicine
                190 Longwood Avenue
                Boston, MA
Featured speakers:
Joanne Kamens, PhD - Director of Discovery, RXi Pharmaceuticals, Worcester, MA
Sharotka Simon, PhD - Post-doctoral fellow, Brandeis University, MA
Register at: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=182421
Please join MASS-AWIS and GWIS for a discussion on choosing a graduate and post-doctoral lab. Choosing the right research lab can be one of the most important decisions of a scientist's professional life. Come to learn about the simple rules for selecting the perfect lab and how to get what you want (and need) from Graduate School once you join a lab. Feel free to bring questions for the Q&A session after the presentations.


AWIS Palo Alto Chapter
Event: Summer Networking Social Interviewing for Industry: How we do it at Genencor
Date:       Monday, June 22, 2009
Time:       7:00-7:30 pm Networking and light supper
               7:30-7:45 pm Announcements
               7:45-8:45 pm Program
               8:45-9:00 pm Discussion
Location:  PARC Auditorium
               3333 Coyote Hill Road
               Palo Alto, CA
RSVP:       http://www.acteva.com/go/pa-awis
Cost:       Members pay $4 and non-members pay $7 to offset
               the cost of food.
Directions from 280: Take Hwy 280 and exit at Page Mill Rd and go East towards Palo Alto (if coming from the South, turn right, if coming from the north, turn left onto Page Mill. Turn RIGHT onto Coyote Hill Rd. Turn LEFT into PARC (formerly Xerox PARC). Follow signs to the Auditorium on your left at end of parking area, down flight of outdoor stairs.
Directions from Stanford: Take Foothill SOUTH towards Los Altos. Turn RIGHT on Hill view and PARC is 2nd driveway on the right. Park and follow signs to the Auditorium (walk uphill through parking lot then down a flight of outdoor stairs).

Opportunities

AUTM Foundation Announces the 2009-10 Graduate Student Literature Review Prize Competition
A cash award will be given by the AUTM Foundation for top graduate student literature reviews of scholarly literature on some aspect of academic technology transfer and commercialization. Resources will also be available for winners to present their work at a special AUTM annual conference session.

Details can be found at this AUTM weblink: http://www.autm.net/litrevprize.
Initial application and review abstracts due September 15. For additional information, please contact the Chair of the Review Committee, Dr. Joshua Powers (jopowers@indstate.edu; 812-237-2900)
.


Call for Nominations:  8th Annual Janet L Norwood Award For Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Statistical Sciences

The award will be conferred on Wed 9/16/2009. The award recipient will be invited to deliver a lecture at the UAB award ceremony, and will receive all expenses paid to deliver this lecture, a plaque, and a $5,000 prize.

Eligible individuals are women who have completed their terminal degree, have made outstanding contributions to the statistical sciences, and, if selected, are willing to deliver a lecture at the award ceremony. Deadline for receipt of nominations is Mon 6/29/2009. For additional details about the award, please feel invited to visit our website at http://www.soph.uab.edu/ssg/norwoodaward/aboutaward.

 


AAAS now seeking nominations for the 2009 AAAS Mentor Awards
All nominations are due by Friday, July 31st, 2009. The two categories of the AAAS Mentor Awards, the Lifetime Mentor Award and the Mentor Award, both honor individuals who during their careers demonstrate extraordinary leadership to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the science and engineering PhD workforce. These groups include: women of all racial or ethnic groups; African American, Native American, and Hispanic men; and people with disabilities.

For more information on these awards please visit the website at: http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/mentor/index.shtml. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Jessica Kunkler at jkunkler@aaas.org or by phone at (202) 326-6671.



The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 
This program is open to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and offers a competitive stipend as well as insurance, relocation, and travel allowances.  This program offers one to three year postdoctoral fellowships designed to increase the involvement of scientists and engineers from academia and industry to scientific and technical areas of interest and relevance to the Navy.  This program has a rolling admission. 

Go to: http://www.asee.org/resources/nrl/ for detailed program information. 


The Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP) NREIP is a ten week summer research opportunity for undergraduate Juniors & Seniors, and Graduate students, under the guidance of a mentor, at a participating Navy Laboratory. The stipend amounts for the program are $5,500 for undergraduate students and $6,500 for graduate students. U.S. citizenship required; Permanent residents accepted at certain labs.
Go to: http://www.asee.org/nreip for application deadlines and detailed program information. 


Humboldt Research Fellowship

Fellowships for Postdoctoral Researchers are for postdoctoral scientists and scholars who have completed a doctoral degree within four years prior to the application submission date are eligible. This fellowship allows for a stay of 6-24 months in Germany and provides a monthly stipend of 2,250 EUR. Click here for application materials and detailed information.
Fellowships for Experienced Researchers are for scientists and scholars who have completed a doctoral degree within twelve years prior to the application submission date are eligible.
This fellowship allows for a stay of 6-18 months in Germany which may be divided into a maximum of three visits of at least three months each and provides a monthly stipend of 2,450 EUR.
Click here for application materials and detailed information.
Quick Links
 
SPOTLIGHT on AWIS MEMBERS

Wendy Freedman

Wendy Freedman, PhD
Dr. Wendy Freedman, Director of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Pasadena, California, is a recipient of the 2009 Cosmology Prize of the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation.  AWIS congratulates Dr. Freedman's efforts and advancements in observational cosmology, galactic evolution, and the evolution of stellar populations.


Click here to read more about Dr. Freedman

NEW MENTORING RESOURCE
 
  ALL NEW!
 
 
Getting the Most out of Your Mentoring Relationships:  A Handbook for Women in STEM
  • Provides a quick yet structured guide to mentoring
  • Includes a handy resource guide for quick reference
  • Is the most comprehensive handbook catered to women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
Featured  Job Opportunities
Marine Fisheries Specialist
University of California, Davis

Research Associate
The Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator Sciences and Education (CLASSE)

Founding Director
The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (VTCRI)
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