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Have you seen the newly re-launched AWIS blog at awisblog.wordpress.com?
Featuring new articles every week, the blog is a great way to read about timely issues regarding women in STEM and learn ways that you can take action. The discussion following each blog article allows for candid, informative discussions among AWIS members.
Best Regards,
Janet Bandows Koster
AWIS Executive Director/CEO
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 Careers |
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Contributed by Ramya Natarajan
Successful Academic Career or Family?
A decade of research conducted at UC Berkeley on why so many women begin an academic career, but fail to reach the pinnacle points to one key factor...family formation! The research identifies a "baby penalty" - a steep disadvantage from having children that female academics suffer at all stages of their careers, beginning in graduate school and ending in retirement. The impact from the baby penalty is more marked for women in STEM fields compared to others.
Tracking Career Paths of PhDs
Unlike prospective medical and law students who can clearly envision their career paths, prospective STEM graduate students have a tougher time evaluating their job prospects due to a dearth of information available on the career outcomes of PhD scientists. In response to a recent article that laments the lack of such data on PhD job placements, the Chronicle of Higher Education is calling on all current PhDs to weigh in on their experience to contribute ideas for assembling the data for such a resource.
PhD placement project
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Contributed by Rachel Britt
Doubling of Student Loan Interest Rates
On July 1, the interest rate of federally subsidized student loans is poised to increase from 3.4% to 6.8%. Last year, Congress passed a 1-year extension of the legislation that set the lower interest rate. It is unclear if they will pass legislation again this year to prevent a rate hike that could cost students $4000 in interest payments over a 10-year repayment plan.
STEM Education Misconceptions
A recent panel of STEM educators at the U.S. News STEM Solutions conference cautioned against generalizing the challenges faced in improving U.S. STEM education. The panelists explained that tactics such as hiring as many STEM teachers as possible, may be too broad to actually address the problem. They also question whether making STEM fields seem "cool" is necessary for pulling students in, and state that levels of diversity vary among STEM fields.
Educators' point of view
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National Institutes of Health
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Board Member Spotlight
Kelly Mack, PhD
is Executive Director of Project Kaleidoscope, a program of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and a Councilor on the AWIS Board of Directors.
Learn More About Kelly
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Association for Women in Science
1321 Duke Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
awis@awis.org
(703) 894-4490
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 Science and Technology |
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Contributed by Meredith Fox
Women in Space
NASA's latest class of astronaut recruits includes four women and four men - the first class with equal numbers of women and men. Selected from 6,300 applicants, these recruits need to make it through two years of intensive training to join NASA's existing group of 49 astronauts. Kathleen Rubins (class of 2009) thinks that this is a "...reflection of how many really talented women are in science and engineering these days."
Three...two...one...blastoff!
Circadian Rhythms and Aging
New research published in the journal Cell shows that SIRT1, a gene previously shown to protect against diseases of aging, also helps to regulate our body's internal "circadian" clock. Circadian function decays with aging in normal mice, and boosting SIRT1 levels in mice prevents this decay. When circadian clocks are off kilter, health problems such as obesity and diabetes can ensue. These findings suggest that drugs that enhance SIRT1 activity in humans might have widespread health benefits.
I'm too old and too tired!
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 Work-Life Satisfaction |
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Contributed by Becky Mercer
Redefining Success
In a recent New York Times editorial, Alina Tugend writes about redefining success. Drawing on multiple sources of information, Tugend describes how uber-overachievement, chronic stress, sleep deprivation, and piling on more work and family commitments just aren't cutting it anymore. Furthermore, women appear to pay a higher price for workplace overload than men, as demonstrated by increases in risk for heart disease and diabetes.
Success!
20 Tips for Work-Life Balance
U.S. News author Jada A. Graves offers 20 tips that can help you improve your work-life balance. The goal is to increase productivity by removing distractions during the work day, thus creating time for family, health, and social commitments. Suggestions range from common sense professional practices such as getting to work early, staying physically active, setting goals, and taking detailed notes at meetings, to unexpected steps such as working on the weekend, planning your meals for the week, and investing in your 401K.
Managing the juggle
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 Health |
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Contributed by Jamie Smith
High Heels May Look Good, but They're Not Good for You
It's that time of year again when women wear strappy high-heeled sandals or open-toe pumps. But as one podiatrist, Dr. Michael Liebow, points out "that is not how your foot has evolved to walk." Problems women develop from wearing such shoes range from calluses and corns to painful inflammation of the joints, stress fractures, and Achilles tendonitis. While Liebow insists that no heel is good, most women can handle an inch or two with minimal damage.
Stilett-NO!
FDA Lifts Age Restrictions on Emergency Contraceptive, Allows OTC Sale
One week after the Obama administration ended months of legal battles, the FDA approved unrestricted sales of Plan B emergency contraceptive. The FDA and women's health advocates argue that over-the-counter access to such products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the U.S. Social conservatives counter that lifting prescription requirements undermines the rights of parents and could endanger girls.
Plan B goes OTC
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 Events |
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JULY 18
AWIS MASS Chapter AWIS Philadelphia Chapter OCTOBER 25 AWIS Cincinnati Chapter
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Vision 2020 Accepting Delegate Applications
Vision 2020 is a national coalition of organizations and individuals united in the commitment to achieve women's economic and social equality. Vision 2020 is currently accepting nominations and applications for National Delegate positions. The Vision 2020 application process works on a rolling admission cycle, with the final deadline being July 31.
Science and SciLife Lab Prize for Young Scientists
The journal Science and SciLifeLab have come together to recognize and celebrate excellence in Ph.D. research. The Science and SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists has been established to support young scientists at the start of their career. The grand prize winner of this major global award will have their paper published in the journal Science and receive $25,000. The prizes will be presented in Stockholm, Sweden in the middle of December 2013.
German Chancellor Fellowship for Prospective Leaders
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a non-profit foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany designed to promote international cooperation in research. The German Chancellor Fellowship For Prospective Leaders gives up to 50 highly talented young professionals from Brazil, China, India, Russia and the USA the opportunity to spend a year in Germany and implement a project of their choice in cooperation with German hosts.
2013 Research!America Advocacy Academy
The 2013 Research!America Advocacy Academy is a unique opportunity for postdoctoral fellows in the health and biomedical sciences to learn about how to best incorporate advocacy and effective communications into their role as a scientist.
Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellowship
The United States-Israel Educational Foundation (USIEF), the Fulbright commission for Israel, offers 8 fellowships to American post-doctoral researchers in support of work to be carried out at Israeli universities. This program is open to American post-doctoral researchers in all academic disciplines.
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.
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. 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.
AWIS Chapter Mini-Grants
AWIS Chapter Mini-Grants are available to support chapter initiatives focused on membership recruitment and retention. Applications following the guidelines are considered on a quarterly basis with the next due September 30, 2013.
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