AWIS
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ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

Washington Wire
Edited by: Sarah Rhodes

January 2011
Issue II

Greetings!   

 

AWIS was founded in 1971 at the annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), after a series of champagne brunches organized by an informal women's caucus.


This February, we're kicking off our 40th Anniversary with celebrations in Washington DC. Join us for our 40th Anniversary Reception on Sunday, February 20 and our National Networking Breakfast and Mentoring Workshop on Monday, February 21.


I look forward to seeing you next month!

 

Janet
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Janet Bandows Koster
AWIS Executive Director

In This Issue
Education
Careers
Science and Health
Work Life Satisfaction
Events
Opportunities
Education

Contributed by Christine DiRienzo     

 

Contingent Faculty Members Barely Earn a Living Wage

A new report compares the status of contingent instructors at 14 state-funded four-year schools in Pennsylvania to national trends and reveals some disturbing findings.  About 70 percent of the people teaching in U.S. colleges today hold these temporary jobs, which lack tenure or a chance to become tenured. Contingent faculty members earn lower wages per course than full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members and part-time/adjunct faculty earn particularly low compensation.


Starving adjunts 

 

Gender Gap on Non-Research Duties
So much to do, so little time!  Both men and women academics report feeling like there is not enough time to do both their research and perform other non-research duties such as teaching and administration.  However, a new report indicates that, while both genders report working similar hours, the distribution of the time spent doing research versus non-research tasks is not equal.  Women report spending a larger percentage of their time performing non-research related duties than their male counterparts do.  


Just here to serve

Careers

Contributed by Beth Rose   

 

Survey Notes Innovation Divide Between Men and Women
Women have all the key attributes needed to become corporate innovators except confidence in their ability to make a contribution, researchers at MIT say. Almost three-quarters of women consider themselves "creative," but barely a quarter consider themselves "inventive," a survey found, suggesting that women need extra encouragement to realize their potential to innovate.

Inventors required
 

 

PhD Chemists:  Supply vs. Demand

Is the US graduating too many PhD chemists?  A new report in the January 31, 2011 issue of C&EN News weighs the data.  While the outcome is inconclusive, it seems there may not be jobs for every graduating PhD.  According to the American Chemical Society salary and employment status report for 2009, unemployment among chemists is up about 2% in non-pharma jobs and 4% in the pharmceutical industry.

 

Where the jobs are

Science and Health

Contributed by Anahita Hamidi

 
Vitamin D and Calcium
 
For women, the advice "make sure to take your calcium supplements" is familiar.  After all, most women know that they are especially vulnerable to osteoporosis, especially as estrogen levels drop in their post-menopausal years.  Yet, the recommendations on what vitamins to combine with calcium supplements and what dosages are most appropriate have been anything but straightforward.  The recent report put out by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), provides some guidelines for children, women and men of varying ages.  While the recommendations that the report provides are not one-size-fits-all, the report can serve as a useful set of guidelines for many.
 

Take your vitamins 
 

Why Drinking Coffee During Negotiations Could be Useful

Caffeine may actually help women in stressful situations, but it may not be so good for men. Researchers found that caffeine consumption during negotiations or collaboration undermined the confidence and performance of men, but had a beneficial effect on women. "Women tend to respond to stress in a collaborative, mutually protective style ... whereas men usually exhibit a fight or flight response," researchers found.

Keep the mug handy

 

Exercise Boosts the Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Neurogenesis
Adults are, capable of generating new neurons - a process referred to as neurogenesis. This process typically occurs in the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in learning and memory processes, and can be increased either by an enriched environment or through physical activity.  A recent study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, demonstrates that exercise and environmental enrichment work to stimulate neurogenesis in unique ways and can interact to boost the effects of one another.  The authors suggest that activity-induced neurogenesis works as an intrinsic feedback mechanism in the brain, such that what we now consider "exercise" is simply what the brain has always considered activity - activity necessary for optimal health and wellbeing. 
 

Exercise and your brain

Work Life Satisfaction

 

5 Ways to Get More Done in Less Time
Instead of monitoring every minute in an effort to be more productive, focus on the benefits of being more productive, such as having more time to spend with your family, advises Stacey Vulakh, a time-management coach. "The goal is to examine life as a whole and consider time from a broader perspective as it relates to how you live your life," Vulakh writes.

 

Time management

 

Social Media and Your Career
 
Most people these days participate in various forms of social media-Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Posts can run the gambit from the mundane to controversial to down right inappropriate.  Don't forget that a post might be inappropriate not only because of what you write, but also because of the pictures of yourself that you or others post.  While most people assume that this is harmless, private information, more and more employers are using searches of social media to assist in the hiring process.  To avoid social media mistakes that may ruin a future career follow these five simple rules.

 

Rules of social media

AWIS News and Events

AWIS LA/Ventura County Chapter

Event:  Welcome back networking event

Date:   February 4

Time:   5:30PM - 7:30PM    

 

National Symposium for the Advancement of  

Women in Science (NSAWS)

Event:  Two-day symposium at Harvard University

Date:   February 4 & 5

 

AWIS East Bay Chapter

Event:  February Networking Social

Date:   February 8

Time:   6:30PM - 8:00PM      

 

AWIS Philadelphia Chapter

Event:  New Year, New Tools for Your Job Search

Date:   February 8

Time:   6:00PM - 9:00PM


 
AWIS National
Event:  STEMiNAR:  Mentoring Series

You're finished with one career, so what's next?
 
Date:   February 9  
Time:   10:00PM - 11:00PM (EST)
Sign Up Now
 

Opportunities

  

Global Social Change Leadership Institute

Summer Program for University Students

Deadline:February 15, 2011

The Institute runs July 10-23 and offers emerging leaders a chance to develop practical knowledge and skills to advance social justice in their communities. The curriculum draws on more than seven years of research RCLA has conducted with award-winning social change organizations about the essential role these nonprofits play in an informed and engaged civil society. Complete information about the Institute and the application can be found by clicking here.


2011 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Deadline:February 15, 2011 

The SURF program offers students in the STEM fields an opportunity to

experience research this summer under the guidance of one for NIST's

scientists or engineers. The 11-week program will be held at NIST's

Gaithersburg, MD campus from May 23 through August 5, 2011.  Click here for more information.

 

Commissioner's Fellowship Program

Deadline: February 15, 2011 

The FDA offers a two-year Fellowship Program, which provides an opportunity for health professionals and scientists to receive training and experience at the FDA. Fellows will train at FDA's White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Maryland or at other FDA facilities. Salaries are extremely competitive, and travel funds are available to attend scientific meetings.

 

We are now accepting applications for the 2011 class of FDA Commissioner's Fellows. To apply, please visit the application section. Click here for more information.


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.

 

Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar Award in Aging
Deadline: March 4, 2011 (Letters of Intent)

Four-year awards of up to $600,000 will be given to academic investigators in the United States conducting research in the basic biological sciences relevant to understanding lifespan development processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. Click here for more information.

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