Greetings!  

2013 is already off to a great start for AWIS. Not being satisfied with the status quo of women in STEM, we actively seek out opportunities for positive coverage in the media of AWIS positions by responding to media requests. Erin Cadwalader, PhD, the AWIS Phoebe S. Leboy Public Policy Fellow was recently quoted in the science and technology section of Forbes.    

Explaining the importance of maximizing the leadership potential of women, Dr. Cadwalader said, "Companies with more women in leadership roles have the advantage of diverse opinions and greater creativity and problem solving, as well as a performance edge."   

Follow AWIS on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

Best regards, 

Erin DiMenna 

Director of Membership and Component Relations

Getting Faculty Jobs at Teaching Institutions

Many Scientists who are trained at research intensive institutions usually pursue teaching careers rather than research. This process has proven difficult for faculty position applicants who do not have prior formal instructional experience. A major factor is usually the uncertainties of the search committees regarding commitment of the applicant to teaching. A recent article discusses how applicants can prepare for teaching institution job interviews.    

Go get them 

5 Differences between School and Work 

Effects of Exercise on the Brain: Long-Lasting?

With the start of a new year, many people resolve to go to the gym more often. It is known that exercise improves brain function, but two studies in rats sought to determine whether the effects were permanent. After initially showing better memory skills and lower stress responses, exercised rats that were then kept sedentary lost these enhanced functions.

Run for your brain  

Advantages of Being Bilingual in Old Age

Bilingual individuals tend to demonstrate less cognitive decline with age. To understand why, a new study using functional magnetic resonance imaging found that older bilingual adults exhibited enhanced performance on perceptual tasks with less frontal brain activity. The study suggests that fluency in another language helps the brain to function more efficiently.

Habla espanol?  

2012 U.S.'s "Hottest Year Ever"

2012 has been declared the hottest year ever in the U.S. The average temperature was a full degree higher than the record set 14 years prior. Weather Channel meteorologist Guy Walton recorded over 34,000 record-high temperature days in 2012, compared to only about 6,500 record-low temps. The heat wave does not correlate with a global climate shift; however, as similar temperature increases were not seen throughout the rest of the world.

Getting hot in here

Producing Fuels From...Bacteria?

Scientists at UC Davis have engineered cyanobacteria that produce 2, 3-butanediol, a major component of fuels, plastics, and chemical solvents. Dr. Shota Atsumi and his colleagues modified the blue-green algae so that they could express all the enzymes required for 2, 3-butanediol production, and then demonstrated the bacteria could efficiently produce large amounts of the chemical. The scientists believe their bioengineered cyanobacteria could be a future major energy source.

Super bacteria!

Page Baluch, PhD

Page Baluch