AWIS
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ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE
Washington Wire
Edited by: Anna Durran
October 2010
Issue I

Greetings!       

There is a growing demand for scientists who can engage an audience both in and outside the lab and AWIS is on top of it!  Next week on October 23rd and October 24th, AWIS will be sharing our excitement for science with more than 100,000 young people at the USA Science and Engineering Festival. 

Also, check out all our upcoming chapter events around the country.

And, please remember to join the AWIS LinkedIn page to keep us posted on your activities and accomplishments.

Best Regards,

Janet
____________
Janet Bandows Koster
Executive Director


In This Issue
Education
Careers
Work-Life Satisfaction
Chapter News & Events
Opportunities
Education

Contributed by: Shay Harris

Gender Gap Report Rates Equality
The World Economic Forum this week released its 2010 Global Gender Gap Report which points to enduring gaps in women's economic power worldwide. While education and health have improved, they still lag behind their male counterparts in economic and political authority. The good news: The United States (19) closed its gender gap, rising 12 places to enter the top 20 for the first time in the report's five-year history.

Closing the gap

Large Study Shows Females the Equal of Males in Math Skills
UC Berkeley research team is again offering evidence that genders have equal abilities in math. While the findings were not that surprising to educational researchers, researchers found different perceptions among teachers and parents.

Reducing stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecies
Careers
Contributed by: Christine DiRienzo
 
The Leader Within
Building on findings in her book, How Remarkable Women Lead, Joanna Barsh of the consulting firm McKinsey, and colleagues, conducted further interviews which led to a description of five 'capabilities' behind centered leadership.  The research included interviews with over 140 leaders in a wide range of academic fields, from different geographical regions, cultures, and seniority levels. The five 'capabilities' were meaning, positive frame working, connecting, engaging, and managing energy. It was concluded that leaders who master all five areas tended to be content with their careers as well as their personal lives.
 
Five dimensions of a leader

Leader of the Pack
Larger laboratories need full time project managers to regulate activities from a high-level view. Scientists with a knack for controlling and organizing limited resources may be highly capable of a career in project management. Although most academics already manage their own experiments and grants, these skills can translate into careers in clinical research. If this does sound like you, then project management may be a good career choice.

Project management career
Science and Health
Contributed by: Jennifer MacArthur

Mouse Models Connect HRT and the Pill to Breast Cancer, and Suggest Possible Treatment
New research published in Nature points to why the synthetic sex hormones used in hormone replacement therapy and contraceptives increase the risk of breast cancer.  A protein called RANKL, which regulates bone mass, is also expressed in mammary cells.  Experiments in mice found that synthetic progestins bind to RANKL, triggering mammary cell division and inhibiting cell death, ultimately leading to breast tumors.  A second Nature study demonstrated a potential 'antidote' to reduce the cancer risk associated with synthetic hormone use.  Blocking RANKL with a monoclonal antibody, currently approved for treating osteoporosis, delayed mammary tumor formation and also reduced lung metastasis in mouse models.
 
Million women s
tudy
 


Men Perspire, While Women "Glow"
New research published in Experimental Physiology found that men are more efficient than women at sweating during intense exercise.  The sweating responses of men and women, with or without physical training, were compared during an hour of continuous cycling with increasing intensity intervals.  The study found that women have to work harder than men in order to start sweating, and that men have a higher sweat output than women.  Exercise training improves sweating in both sexes, but the degree of improvement is greater in men.  Beginning to sweat at a lower core body temperature is an advantage that allows an athlete to perform longer, and to better tolerate extremely hot weather.
 
Sex differences 

Work-Life Satisfaction
Contributed by: Shay Harris

New Rules: Less 'Me' and More 'We'
Researchers predict that as the world becomes more interconnected, it will be less important to consider what an individual can do by themselves. Experts in collective intelligence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh released a study in Science magazine suggesting that human societies may function better en masse, just like many animal species.  When gender was taken into account, groups with more women scored higher on tests of social sensitivity.  The groups with the most success contained people who were more "socially sensitive".


Collective intelligence

What Women in Transition to Senior Management Need to Know
Being a good manager isn't enough to catapult high-potential women into the ranks of senior business leadership according to Herminia Ibarra, faculty director of the INSEAD Leadership Initiative.  Among her advice for overcoming the odds: Don't cling too tightly to your technical job skills at the expense of strategic perspective, and learn how to create influence through coalitions and networks.

4 tips for moving up the career ladder
AWIS News and Events
   
AWIS Metropolitan New York Chapter
Event:
Careers in Environmental Science
Date:
Saturday, October 16     
Time: 8:30AM - 12:00PM     

AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event:
2010 ACS ChemExpo
Date: Sunday, October 17   
Time:
10:00AM - 3:00PM

AWIS Central Jersey Chapter
Event: Pharma's Ties with Academic Medicine: Ethical Concerns?
Date: Tuesday, October 19
Time: 6:00PM - 8:30PM


AWIS Central Arizona Chapter
Event:
Guest Speaker Marcia Reynolds
Date:
Thursday,October 21     
Time: 5:30PM - 7:30PM     

AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event:
Mid-Career Coffee Club
Date: Thursday, October 21
Time: 7:45AM - 12:00PM

AWIS National & AWIS Bethesda Chapter
Event:
USA Science & Engineering Festival on the Mall
Date:
Saturday, October 23 - Sunday, October 24   
Time: 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM each day

AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event: Exploring Careers in Science and Engineering - An Date: Evening for Undergraduate Women
Date: Saturday, October 27
Time:
6:00PM - 9:00PM

Opportunities


AAAS Invites Nominations for the New AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
Deadline:
October 15, 2010
Nominations are invited for the new AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. Nominations may be made by AAAS affiliate organizations, universities, government agencies, media, research organizations, and individuals. 

 
NIH National Graduate Student Research Festival
Date:
October 25, 2010
An annual two-day event held on the main NIH campus in Bethesda, MD. This year's Festival will introduce 200 advanced graduate students in the sciences to the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) with the aim of recruiting them to do postdoctoral training at the NIH. Learn more


2011 Alan T. Waterman Award
Deadline:
October 30, 2010
Each year, the Foundation bestows the Waterman Award to recognize the talent, creativity, and influence of a singular young researcher. Nominations must be submitted electronically using NSF's FastLane system

2011 National Science Board Public Service Award
Deadline:
November 3, 2010
The National Science Board (NSB) Public Service Award honors individuals who and groups that have made substantial contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering in the United States. These contributions may be in a wide variety of areas that have the potential of contributing to public understanding of and appreciation for science and engineering - including mass media, education and/or training programs, entertainment, etc.  Recipients of the NSB Public Service Award include NUMB3RS, the CBS television drama series; Ira Flatow, Host and Executive Producer of NPR's "Science Friday"; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; Bill Nye The Science Guy; and NOVA, the PBS television series.

View 2011 Nomination Flyer
To nominate
, visit http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/awards/public.jsp.

2011 Vannevar Bush Award
Deadline:
November 3, 2010
The Vannevar Bush Award is awarded annually to truly exceptional lifelong leaders in science and technology who have made substantial contributions to the welfare of the Nation through public service activities in science, technology, and public policy.  Recent recipients include: Bruce Alberts, Editor-in-Chief, Science Magazine; Mildred Dresselhaus, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Norman Augustine, former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Lockheed Martin Corporation.

View 2011 Nomination Flyer
To nominate
, visit www.nsf.gov/nsb/awards/bush.jsp.

Announcing the 2010 University Physics Competition
Deadline: November 7, 2010 at 5PM
The University Physics Competition is a new contest for undergraduate students, who will work in teams of three at their home colleges and universities, and spend the weekend of November 6/7 (48 hours) analyzing an applied scenario using the principles of physics, and writing a formal paper describing their work. At the start of the contest, each team will select one of two problems to work on during the weekend. Teams must perform a theoretical analysis of the scenario presented, and write a formal paper detailing their work.  During the contest, teams may use books, journals, computers, the Internet, programs that they write, or any other nonliving resources, but they may not consult with any people outside of their team.


Research Funding Without the Post-Doc
Deadline:
January 21, 2011
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will grant research funding to a select number of new PhD and MD graduates with secured research positions.  The NIH Director Early Independence Award (EIA) program consists of approximately $60 million to be distributed over the next five years.  The EIA does not require post-doctoral training, and academic institutions can actively recruit talented candidates into these positions.  Each institution can apply for up to two awards.
No post-doc needed


The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)

Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
 
This program has a rolling admission.
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. Click here for more 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. 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.
Click here for application materials and detailed information.
QUICK LINKS

AWIS in Action Join Now!
JOIN AWIS
ON THE NATIONAL MALL
USA Science
AWIS is an Official Partner of the USA Science & Engineering Festival. Join us at Booth #522 on the National Mall in Washington DC on October 23rd and 24th.
AWIS STAFF SPOTLIGHT 

Shay Harris joins AWIS as Director of Marketing & Communications

FEATURED JOBS


Tenure Track Faculty Position, Cornell University

 

Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Statistics, University of Ilinois at Chicago

 

Vice President - Quality, Eisai Inc.

 
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