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Greetings!
The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) has partnered with the American Statistical Association, one of the pioneering societies of the AWARDS project, to participate in the International Year of Statistics 2013 (IYSTAT or Statistics2013), a worldwide celebration of the contributions of statistical science to the advancement of our global society.
As the largest multi-disciplinary organization for women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) dedicated to achieving equity and full participation of women in all disciplines and across all employment sectors, AWIS will use the IYSTAT to:
- Highlight the accomplishments of AWIS members
- Provide information on career opportunities
- Increase awareness of issues that impede progress in STEMM careers
Visit http://awis.org/IYSTAT for more.
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
Larger Waists Undermine Perception of Leadership Ability
New research conducted by the nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) suggests that perceived leadership ability and physical fitness are linked. The correlation was noted by CCL researchers after collecting and analyzing peer performance reviews and health screening results from more than 700 executives between 2006 and 2010. Results were similar across industries-executives with a larger waistline and a higher body-mass index (BMI) were perceived as less effective in both job performance and interpersonal relationships.
Lower BMI = Better CEO
Five Reasons to Invest in Your Career
Despite working hard, careers often don't progress the way they should, and a common reason behind this is a failure to set goals. The process of goal setting allows you to think about your ideal future and motivates you to turn it into reality. This article addresses goal setting as it relates to career planning and offers five reasons why you should do it now.
Ready, set, goal
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| Education | |
Contributed by Rachel Britt
Using Video Games to Teach STEM?
A new video game inspired by the SimCity virtual reality game has been designed to allow educators to teach STEM curriculum through virtual lesson plans and games. SimCityEDU, which launches in March, meets the U.S. Common Core education standards. It is meant to promote problem-solving skills in multiple disciplines including science, math, civics, and economics.
Simulated STEM learning
Five Popular Study Techniques that DON'T Work
Psychologists evaluated the effectiveness of ten common learning techniques meant to improve academic performance. Five frequently used techniques, including underlining and re-reading material, were found to be ineffective. Techniques that helped boost performance included taking practice tests and spreading out study sessions.
Not-so-fab five
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| Health | |
Contributed by Jamie Smith
Gender Bias in the Development of Autoimmune Diseases
Health experts have long wondered why women are more prone to autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. A recent study, published in the journal Science, suggests the answer lies in the bacteria that populate our guts. The authors swapped contents of gut bacteria in male and female mice. Without any bacteria, there was no gender bias in disease development. When gut bacteria from males were transferred to females, the females were protected.
The good, the bad and the bacterial
Repurposing the Pap Test for Cancer Detection
Seventy years after the Pap test was developed for the detection of cervical cancer, researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered that genetic changes known to be involved in ovarian and endometrial cancers can also be detected in cervical Pap specimens. In a study, recently published in Science Translational Medicine, the research team could detect 100% of endometrial cancers and 40% of ovarian cancers in Pap specimens.
Old dog, new tricks
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| Science and Technology | |
Contributed by Meredith Fox
DNA as Modern Day Storage
Researchers at the European Bioinformatics Institute in England have found a way to store large amounts of data-including Shakespeare's sonnets, photos, scientific papers, and a clip of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech-all on a small piece of DNA. Although it currently takes a long time to read and recover the information, DNA could be useful in future for keeping large amounts of data that must be kept for a long time, but not retrieved very often.
This above all; to thine own DNA be true
The "End of History Illusion" Scientists recently reported that although people at all stages of life acknowledged that they had changed their tastes, personalities, and values in the past, they all believed that they would change relatively little in the future. Based on questionnaires completed by more than 19,000 individuals, these findings were stronger in younger responders, but did not disappear in older responders. This "end of history illusion" phenomenon may help to explain why people make decisions that they will later regret, such as getting a trendy tattoo or buying an expensive car. Cha-cha-cha-changes |
| Work Life Satisfaction | |
Contributed by Becky Mercer
Technology Makes a Mom's Life Easier
Scientists who are parents often ask themselves "How many experiments can I run before I have to pick up my kids from school?" Having a new baby, particularly, can make the balance tougher because of sleep deprivation, laundry, and schedule interruptions. This New York Times article suggests that taking advantage of digital tools can really help new moms. For example, try reading e-books instead of print books (it's easier to turn the page while holding baby) and using apps to prepare notes, order diapers and search for recipes for dinner.
Techno-mom
Five Steps to a Fabulous 2013
Harvard Business Review, blogger Umair Haque outlines five questions you should ask yourself to make this year memorable, worthwhile, and filled with the success you crave. First, determine your purpose; ask why are you here (at your job, in a relationship, on this planet, etc)? Next, answer several questions designed to make you think about what you want from life, and what actions to take to rise above mediocrity.
Making it count
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| AWIS News and Events | AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event: Speed Networking at Hera Hub
Date: January 31
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
Register Now
AWIS DC Metro, Greater Baltimore, Bethesda Chapters and AAAS Center for Careers
Event: Holiday Networking Event
Date: January 31
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Register Now
AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event: Enhance Your Productivity
Date: February 4
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
Register Now
AWIS San Diego Chapter
Event: AWIS-SD Leadership Network (ALN)
Date: February 7
Learn More
AWIS Northern California Chapters
Event: The Hows and Whys of Networking for Women in Science
Date: February 9
Time: 8:00AM - 2:00PM
Register Now
AWIS STEMiNAR Series: Grant Writing 101
Event: Virtual Webinar
Date: February 11
Time: 12:00PM - 1:00PM
Register Now
AWIS Chapters Leaders: Successful Event Planning for Outreach
Event: Virtual Webinar
Date: February 14
Time: 4:00PM - 5:00PM
Register Now
AWIS Reception at AAAS Annual Meeting
Event: Reception at Sheraton Boston Hotel
Date: February 17
Time: 6:30PM-8:30PM
Register Now
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| Opportunities |
2013 Prize for Scientific Contributions to Women's Health
The Society for Women's Health Research and the Medtronic Foundation have established an annual prize of $75,000 to recognize a woman scientist or engineer for her contributions to women's health. The prize encourages women scientists and engineers to work on issues uniquely related to women's health and rewards women who have devoted a significant part of their careers to this area. The prize is given to an outstanding scientist or engineer in mid-career whose work has led or will lead directly to the improvement of women's health. Nominations are now being accepted with a deadline of February 8, 2013. The winner must be available April 29, 2013 to receive the prize in person at SWHR's annual gala in Washington, DC.
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.
2013 Alma Dea Morani, M.D. Renaissance Woman Award
The Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine is currently accepting nominations for the 2013 Alma Dea Morani, M.D. Renaissance Woman Award. This award will honor an outstanding woman physician or scientist in North America who has advanced the practice and understanding of medicine in our lifetime and made significant contributions outside of medicine, for example, in the humanities, arts, or social sciences, whose determination and spirit have carried her beyond traditional pathways in medicine and science; and who challenges the status quo with a passion for learning. Deadline for electronic submission of nominations is April 1, 2013.
2012-13 AWIS Star Chapter Award
The AWIS Star Chapter Award honors those chapters who have accomplished many of the key objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan. The award encourages chapters to perform specific activities designed to ensure that women in STEM fields are able to achieve their full potential. Based on input from the AWIS Board and Chapters Committee, AWIS National will publish a list of chapter goals. Chapters that successfully accomplish 12 of those goals during the fiscal year - and submit a completed award application form for verification of activities completed during fiscal year 2012-13 - will be honored with a 2012-13 AWIS Star Chapter Award. Chapters must submit the completed award application form by the deadline date. All nominations must be received on or before September 30, 2013. Chapters receiving this award will be recognized in the AWIS Magazine and on the AWIS website and will receive a certificate of achievement and use of a unique AWIS Star Chapter Award logo to promote the success of the chapter on the chapter website, newsletter, stationary, and similar marketing materials.
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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AWIS Fellows Spotlight
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Joan Herbers, PhD Dr. Joan Herbers, immediate past president of AWIS, is a Professor of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University where she directs their program titled "Comprehensive Equity at Ohio State," funded by an the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE grant. Joan joined the AWIS national board in 2007 and became president-elect in 2009. She was recently selected as the 145th AWIS Fellow. Learn more about Joan
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2013 International Year of Statistics
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| Support AWIS | | |
Help other women in science! Donate to AWIS for its programs and awards.
Your tax-deductible donation to AWIS supports the wide-ranging advocacy activities of the National Office and the Executive Board.
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| AWIS Store |  | |
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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