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The American Institute of Physics (AIP) recently released a new statistical analysis of the distribution of women in physics, attempting to address the question of all-male departments. More than one-third of physics departments in the United States lack a single female faculty member, yet the report suggests "Based on these simulation results, though, we should not accept the absence of women among professorial rank faculty in a single department to be prima facie evidence of a bias against women." AWIS spoke with Inside Higher Ed, the Huffington Post, and other media outlets about the report's conclusions noting that "most people are reluctant to accept that they are biased, and scientists in particular pride themselves on their impartiality. Yet scientists are humans raised in societies, and thus are subject to collective messages that suggest men are better or more suited to science because they are independent and analytical, whereas women are better suited to care-giving and cooperative enterprises." As your voice on issues that impact your career success, AWIS is continually advocating on your behalf. You benefit because we care! I hope you are having a great summer.
Best Regards,
Janet Bandows Koster
Executive Director & CEO
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 Careers |
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Contributed by Ramya Natarajan
How Long is Too Long When it Comes to Resumes?
Resume length is an issue that continues to confound scientists who are generally more familiar with the curriculum vitae (CV). Unlike the CV, the golden rule for resume length has always been one page. But in the digital era, resume length is no longer bound by that rule. Instead, your resume should be long enough to tell a concise, yet compelling story of your employment history.
Master Your Job Interview with 4 Simple Steps
Now that your stellar resume and job application have resulted in an interview, there are some simple steps you can take to maximize your chances of getting that elusive job offer. Some of it may seem obvious, but it's certainly worth reminding yourself of the process. Read on for four things that every scientist should consider when preparing for an interview, from thoroughly researching the company and employees of interest, to re-reading the job description and preparing questions to ask.
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Contributed by Rachel Britt
Community Colleges Train Women in STEM
Women with advanced STEM degrees are more likely than their male counterparts to have attended community colleges. In fact, more women attend community colleges than 4-year universities. This means that increasing women's access to STEM fields requires attention to STEM programs at community colleges. Armed with this information, some community colleges are focusing on recruiting female students and helping them overcome the pervasive stereotype of STEM being only for men.
More Tuition for Engineering Degrees?
A recent paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research described the outcomes of charging differential tuition for degrees based on teaching costs and post-graduate earnings. When institutions that have instigated this system were considered, the share of engineering degrees-which were associated with higher fees-was found to drop. Opponents of differential tuition systems fear that a broad uptake of this system will disproportionately affect low-income students and will discourage many students from pursuing degrees such as engineering. A Revolution in Postgraduate Education?
Massive open online course, or MOOCs, are usually offered by universities free of charge but without accreditation, leaving their value questionable. Georgia Institute of Technology's $6,600 computer science Master's degree offered as a MOOC may change all that. In a few years, thousands of students will be able to receive the same computer science degree online as students who attend classes on campus, but at a fraction of the cost.
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__________________
We are pleased to welcome these new AWIS Partners to our community. Thank you for your support of women in STEM!
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National Institutes of Health
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Member Spotlight
Eleanor Sterling, PhD
Congratulations to Dr. Eleanor Sterling, treasurer of the AWIS Women in Natural Sciences Chapter, on receiving the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) for "extraordinary contributions to the conservation of biological diversity."
Read here for more on Dr. Sterling's contributions.
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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 Techies: BlogHer
What began as a women's technology conference in 2005 is now one of the largest online publishing networks targeting women. Founded by Jory Des Jardins and two friends, the BlogHer conference includes topics similar to those at other technology conferences, but from the perspective of women. The BlogHer site, when combined with all of its blogs and social media posts, draws 92 million visitors monthly! Not bad, ladies!
Modern day girl talk
Dolphins Use Names to Call Each Other
Dolphins apparently use unique whistles to identify individual dolphins, allowing them to label or address one another with "names." In studies by Stephanie King and Vincent Janik at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, wild bottlenose dolphins were more likely to start whistling when they heard an exact copy of their own calls, rather than those of a stranger or other sounds. These findings provide more evidence of the advanced communication skills of dolphins.
"Female" X Chromosome Involved in Sperm Production?
The "female" X chromosome may have evolved to play a specialized role in sperm production. Based on comparisons of the X chromosome in mice and humans, 144 genes found on the human X were not found in mice. Many of these unshared genes in humans weren't expressed in females; instead, they were active in the testes, mostly in tissue destined to become sperm. These findings also suggest that parts of the X chromosome, once thought to be stable, might be playing a dynamic role in evolution.
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 Work-Life Satisfaction |
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Contributed by Becky Mercer
Keeping Quiet Can Be a Great Motivator
Recent research shows that if you want to motivate someone, keeping quiet may be your best bet! You would think that statements like, "good work" and "you can do it" would boost someone's morale and drive. However, a study on people doing exercises showed just the opposite-that people who had silent support had better performance. The study doesn't suggest that all motivation and encouragement is bad, but rather that encouraging words should be directed at the specific need of the individual.
The silent treatment
What the Millenials Are Missing
Jason Nazar, the creator and founder of the popular document website DocStoc, rose to wealth and career success in his twenties. Now, at age 34, he provides advice to the new generation of twenty-somethings, aka the millennials, on getting ahead in the workplace. Tips include becoming comfortable using the phone (not just computer) to communicate, gaining a sense of urgency in certain tasks, acquiring technical skills, and realizing that social media is not a career.
Tips for those in their twenties
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Contributed by Jamie Smith
How Cranberries Stop Bacteria from Spreading
According to the CDC, millions of American women suffer from urinary tract infections (UTIs) each year and are treated with antibiotics. Cranberry juice has long been heralded as an alternative treatment for UTIs, but the medical community has remained divided on its stance as to its effectiveness. Researchers at McGill University found that cranberry powder limits bacterial colony growth, lending support for this little fruit. Immobilization is important since antibiotic resistance is less likely to develop.
Recognizing the Signs of Alzheimer's
As baby boomers age, many experience "senior moments" that are easily dismissed as part of the normal aging process. However, new research presented at an international Alzheimer's conference suggests that patients' own cognitive concerns may predate clinical changes in the brain and be early indicators of disease. Early awareness could lead to better treatment options or even prevention strategies in the future.
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 Events |
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AUGUST 4
AWIS Central Ohio Chapter
AUGUST 6
AWIS West Virginia Chapter
AUGUST 10
AWIS Palo Alto, AWIS San Francisco, AWIS East Bay, and AWIS Sacramento Valley
AUGUST 14
AWIS Bethesda & AWIS DC Chapters
AUGUST 16
AWIS Central Ohio Chapter
AUGUST 18
AWIS Massachusetts Chapter
AUGUST 30
AWIS Central Ohio Chapter
SEPTEMBER 6
AWIS Central Ohio Chapter
AWIS Los Angeles Ventura County Chapter
SEPTEMBER 17
AWIS Philadelphia Chapter
OCTOBER 25
AWIS Cincinnati Chapter
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 Opportunities |
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Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Career Awards at the Scientific Interface
BWF's Career Awards at the Scientific Interface provide $500,000 to bridge advanced postdoctoral training and the first three years of faculty service. Application deadline September 3, 2013 by 4PM EDT.
American Society for Microbiology Fellowship
The goal of the ASM Mentoring Fellowship is to provide an opportunity for a recent science or public administration PhD graduate or early, postdoctoral fellow to work with the ASM LINK Steering Committee and ASM Education Board to develop a society-wide, evidence-based, structured mentoring. Applications are being accepted through August 31, 2013.
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.
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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