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Greetings!
Give the gift of AWIS to a friend, family member, or colleague by purchasing her or him a membership to the Association for Women in Science.
You choose the membership level, pay the dues, and we do the rest! Your special someone will receive an email from the Executive Director acknowledging your gift and welcoming her or him to the organization. All gift memberships include:
- a subscription to the quarterly AWIS Magazine
- a subscription to the popular e-newsletters the Washington Wire & AWIS in Action! (complete with the Maddening Monthly Mention)
- discounts on publications and special events
- the ability to create a profile in the AWIS Career Center
- access to the AWIS Members-Only LinkedIn group
- the opportunity to join a local chapter of AWIS...and more!
Your generous gift of an AWIS membership is an investment in the professional and personal growth of your favorite woman or man in STEM. Give a gift membership.
Best regards,
Erin
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Erin DiMenna
Director of Membership and Component Relations
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Careers
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Contributed by Ramya Natarajan
Confidence Acts as a Career Accelerant
Confidence is a great driver of career success, but inadequate or excessively high self-confidence can both impede your career trajectory. Those who have too much self-confidence can be underprepared for interviews, alienate colleagues or find it difficult to accept constructive criticism. Conversely, those who have too little self-confidence can get overlooked for promotions, miss opportunities to disseminate their research findings or gain new experience. British researchers found that maintaining a realistic level of self-confidence can advance your scientific research and career.
Confidence check10 Worst Communication Blunders that Will Ruin Your Career A new year-long study conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) in partnership with Marie Claire magazine revealed that it takes "executive presence" in order to get promoted to top jobs. Executive presence is defined as having gravitas, a polished appearance and excellent communication skills. While no points are awarded for having these skills, demerits for mistakes are counted against you. So what blunders should you avoid? Racially biased comments and off-color jokes are at the top of the list of communication mistakes that will ruin your professional reputation. Promotional pitfalls
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| Education | |
Contributed by Rachel Britt
Better Test Scores, but Not Better Grades? A recent study of over 18,000 tenth grade students showed that time spent on science and math homework was positively associated with standardized test performance, but did not translate into better grades. The study's authors suggest that homework should be more purposeful, with the quality of assignments weighted more heavily than the quantity. This study may have ramifications for the current policy initiatives aimed at improving U.S. STEM education. Honing homework The Changing Landscape of Higher Education The role massive open online courses, or MOOCs, will play in the future of higher education is hotly contested. Originally focused on technology courses like computer science and engineering, MOOCs have spread to the humanities and beyond. The free courses have the potential to democratize learning, but challenges in evaluating the work of thousands of students, and questions about accreditation show the future success of MOOCs is still uncertain. MOOve over classrooms |
| Health | |
Contributed by Jamie Smith
Women are the Missing Link in Autism Research
Nearly seven decades after Leo Kanner first described Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in young children, the scale remains steeply tilted toward male diagnoses. New research suggests that this is due to misdiagnosis in women, partly because they present differently. Mothers who were misdiagnosed often end up raising autistic children with little knowledge of how to deal with this syndrome. After being awarded $15 million, Yale now seeks to tease apart gender differences in ASD.
The "X" factor
A Self-Esteem Boost for Cancer Patients
Beauty and self-image might seem like superficial concerns. But to a cancer patient, the effect of self-esteem on recovery is significant. Marianne Kelley, founder of the Image Recovery Center, a beauty salon in Johns Hopkins Cancer Center, knows this all too well. As a cancer survivor, she learned firsthand how a change in physical appearance can devastate an already ill patient. The mission of her Center is to build confidence to cope with the disease.
Beauty beats cancer
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| Science and Technology |
Contributed by Meredith Fox
Midlife Crises: We Are Not Alone An international group of scientists report that chimpanzees and orangutans appear to go through a happiness dip in middle age, just as we do. The findings were based on responses from individuals who care for 508 male and female apes, who provided information about the mood, enjoyment, and success at goals evidenced by the apes. Happiness followed a U-shaped pattern similar to that seen in humans, with well being declining into middle age and then picking up into old age. This suggests that "mid-life crises" might actually have roots in biology that we share with our evolutionary cousins. Was that an orangutan in a Ferrari?
Telomere Length can Predict Mortality Research suggests that DNA can predict time of death better than age can. New findings in Seychelles warblers suggest that shorter telomeres - protective DNA segments at chromosome ends that prevent them fraying or sticking together - were associated with higher mortality. Although telomere lengths were similar in young birds, the telomeres of some birds shortened more rapidly as the birds aged. The next step is to identify whether telomere shortening is associated with stress, such as limited food, infection, and stresses associated with reproduction and caring for the young in female birds. This is for the birds |
| Work Life Satisfaction | |
Contributed by Becky Mercer
Five Self-defeating Behaviors to Avoid Does it seem as if the doors to career advancement are closed? You might be sabotaging yourself unwittingly according to the Harvard Business Review. Read on for specific examples of five behaviors - including being greedy, getting angry, and trying to be something you're not - that can derail your career and prevent you from establishing productive and healthy relationships. Your own worst enemy What Not to Say to Your Employees Are you in a leadership position or seeking a job with management responsibilities? In these roles, your word choices often affect the satisfaction and performance of your employees. Here are nine things a boss should never say to an employee. No-no statements include comments that discriminate against women (or other groups), swearing at an employee, and comments such as, "We've always done it this way." The take home message: being a leader doesn't mean being a dictator. Don't say that!
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| AWIS News and Events | AWIS and AGU/AWG/ESWN
Event: Work-Life Effectiveness for Individuals in STEM
Date: December 3
Time: 1:30PM - 5:30PM
Learn More
AWIS and American Geophysical Union
Event: Reception at AGU Fall Meeting
Date: December 3
Time: 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Learn More
AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event: Get a Life: Escape Your Routine
Date: December 3
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
Register Now
AWIS Greater Baltimore Chapter
Event: "You're one of a kind. Your career opportunity should be too!"
Date: December 5
Time: 5:30PM - 7:30PM
Learn More
AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event: Holiday Social
Date: December 5
Time: 5:30PM - 9:00PM
Register Now
AWIS Massachusetts Chapter
Event: Annual Winter Social and Holiday Party
Date: December 5
Time: 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Register Now
AWIS Los Angeles/Ventura County Chapter
Event: Holiday Party
Date: December 9
Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Register Now
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| Opportunities |
Call for Proposals for Keeping Our Faculty of Color Symposium
The University of Minnesota is now accepting proposals for its sixth biennial Keeping Our Faculty of Color Symposium. Participants will gather to engage cross-disciplinary theories, rigorous scholarship, and innovative practices to advance conceptual, empirical, and practical work to develop, recruit, and retain faculty of color. The deadline for submissions is December 5, 2012. The symposium is focused on bringing together scholars committed to understanding and promoting faculty diversity to articulate a national research agenda for advancing faculty diversity in higher education. The symposium will feature keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, social events, and opportunities for issues and ideas to be discussed. College and university researchers, scholars, administrators, and policy makers from all disciplines are encouraged to attend.
Elsevier's Postdoc Free Access Passport
The Postdoc Free Access Passport program provides unlimited access to books and journals on ScienceDirect for up to six months to young scholars who do not have a research position. The program's mission is to help postdocs stay abreast of new science and maintain their interest in advancing their field as the markets improve. The program provides an opportunity to invest in the future of science by keeping promising young scientists current who would otherwise be without access to content. Applications will be accepted until December 15, 2012.
Policy Fellowships with the Society for Research in Child Development
SRCD is seeking applications for upcoming Policy Fellowships for 2013-2014. There are two types of Fellowships: Congressional and Executive Branch. Both provide Fellows with exciting opportunities to come to Washington, DC and use their research skills in child development outside of the academic setting to inform public policy. Fellowships are full-time immersion experiences and run from September 1st through August 31st. The application deadline is December 15, 2012. Applicants must have a doctoral-level degree in any relevant discipline (e.g., Ph.D., M.D.), must demonstrate exceptional competence in an area of child development research, and must be a member of SRCD.
FASEB Stand Up for Science Competition
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is sponsoring a competition for the most effective demonstration of how research funded by NIH, NSF, and other federal agencies improves the health, quality of life, or economy in local communities.Competitors will create exhibits, events, or web-based outreach that highlight the value of NIH, NSF, or other federally funded research. Documentation of events and outreach efforts should be maintained and can include photos, videos, specific twitter hashtags, webpages, and links to news articles. Submissions will be accepted from September 17, 2012 to December 1, 2012. Voting will open on December 3, 2012 and close December 31, 2012.
2013 AAAS Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture Nominations
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in cooperation with the World Food Prize Foundation and the Riley Memorial Foundation, hosts the annual AAAS Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture, a special opportunity to highlight the important role of research and innovation in agriculture, the most basic human endeavor. The 2013 nominees should be well-respected scientists working at the forefront of a pressing issue at the nexus of agriculture and society. They should have outstanding scientific contributions or significant policy accomplishments related to agriculture with demonstrated societal impact.The deadline for nominations is January 14, 2013. Past lecturers include Dr. Roger Beachy, then Director of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture; Dr. Pamela C. Ronald, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis; and Dr. Robert Horsch, Deputy Director for Research & Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship
The Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship (MLEF), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy, is a 10-week summer internship program that provides opportunities to minority and female students who are pursuing degrees in science, technology (IT), engineering, or mathematics (STEM majors). Candidates who are selected will have the opportunity to work on focused research projects consistent with the mission of the Office of Fossil Energy. During the 10 weeks, students will work at one of several locations. At the conclusion of the internship, students will attend a "Technical Forum" where they will present their research project and tour several technical sites located nearby (the location of the technical forum changes every year). Applications will be accepted from November 16, 2012 through January 18, 2013. Candidates will receive a paid stipend during the program, in addition to approved transportation expenses to and from the internship site and technical forum location.
Travel Award Program for Early Career Investigators
Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology will offer a limited number of travel awards to early career investigators at the Assistant Professor or equivalent industry scientist level. At times researchers find that attending a Keystone Symposia meeting might substantially further a current research project or assist in problem solving around a particular experimental issue. These travel awards are specifically designed to address this situation. The emphasis is on URM scientists who are pursuing research careers. The application process is open for all meetings between now and February 28, 2013. However, the awards will be made upon review, on a first come basis.
Opportunity for Scientists to Collaborate with European Colleagues
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the European Commission (EC) signed an Implementing Arrangement to provide opportunities for NSF-funded early career scientists and engineers to pursue research collaborations with European colleagues supported through the European Research Council (ERC) awards. The ERC will identify researchers wishing to host NSF funded investigators, and NSF will solicit proposals from its CAREER awardees and Postdoctoral Research Fellows for these potential collaborative opportunities. This agreement will allow US scientists to be incorporated in the ERC-funded teams and will be supported as any other ERC team members. NSF will cover travel costs for the US scientists. NSF will release further details through an upcoming Dear Colleague Letter.
ADVANCE Program Solicitation
NSF ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE) is accepting proposals for projects that develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic STEM careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce.
Marie Curie Fellowship
Have you ever wanted to do research in Europe? Apply for a Marie Curie Fellowship. The goal of the Marie Curie Fellowship is to strengthen the human potential in research and technology by stimulating people to enter into the profession of research and attracting researchers from the entire world to Europe. This Fellowship addresses researchers at all stages of their careers, in the public and private sectors, from initial research training, specifically intended for young people, to lifelong learning and career development. Proposals are welcomed from all areas of scientific and technological research and the fellowship covers your salary plus your research expenses. To apply, you must have either a doctoral degree or at least 4 years' full-time equivalent research experience, after obtaining a degree permitting you to embark on a doctorate.
Small Business Postdoctoral Research Diversity Fellowship
The Small Business Postdoctoral Research Diversity Fellowship program aims to encourage creative and highly-trained recipients of doctoral degrees in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematical disciplines to engage in hands-on research projects in their areas of expertise at the kind of small innovative businesses that historically have fueled the nation's economic regime. This fellowship program offers small businesses the opportunity to attract top scientific and technological talent at a fraction of the usual cost, while recruiting postdoctoral fellows to work for at least a year outside an academic setting on cutting-edge research aimed at promoting scientific excellence and strengthening our nation's technological prowess. Each research fellow will receive a stipend of at least $75,000 plus health insurance benefits.
NSF's Career-Life Balance (CLB) Initiative
Scientists now have the opportunity to submit supplemental funding requests to support additional personnel (e.g., research technicians or equivalent). This will help sustain research when the Principal Investigator is on family leave. In FY 2012, up to 3 months of salary support may be requested (for a maximum of $12,000 in salary compensation) by CAREER awardees.
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| Member Profile | |
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| Featured Jobs | | Dean
Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, Drexel University
Director
Center for Cancer Genomics (CCG), National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Vice President
Research and Economic Development, University of New Mexico (UNM)
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AWIS Fellow Spotlight
|  | Geraldine Richmond, PhD
Dr. Geraldine Richmond, Richard M. and Patricia H. Noyes Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science at the University of Oregon and 2008 Fellow of the Association for Women in Science, was recently recognized by President Barack Obama as he announced his intent to appoint Dr. Richmond as a Member of the National Science Board.
Learn more about Geraldine
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The AWIS Cafe Press Store is the only place to get official AWIS merchandise, including shirts, mugs, stickers, buttons, flip-flops, teddy bears, iPhone cases, and much much more!
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