Washington Wire 
Edited by
Trudy L. Jackson Bosilovic, MS
November 2013 Issue I
Greetings!,
 

Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 AWIS Star Chapter Award.  The chapters listed below have worked hard over the past year to develop workshops and programs designed to help members build skills and achieve their full potential.  We applaud them for their hard work and success.  

 

Visit the AWIS website at www.awis.org or click on the individual chapter links to learn more about what these chapters are doing. 

 

Congratulations 2013 AWIS Star Chapter Award Winners!!

 

Arizona - Central

California - Palo Alto

California - San Diego

District of Columbia (Metropolitan Washington, D.C.)

Illinois -Chicago

Maryland - Greater Baltimore

Massachusetts

Missouri - St. Louis

Michigan - University of Michigan

New Jersey - Central

Pennsylvania - Philadelphia

Texas - Gulf Coast-Houston

Washington - Seattle

West Virginia

 

Through our national network of chapters and affiliates, AWIS offers more than 10 professional development opportunities every month. Make sure you are taking full advantage of our member-only benefits today!

 

Best Regards,

 

Julie Warnock Utano
Associate Executive Director, AWIS

  Careers
Contributed by Meghan Mott, PhD
 
Behaviors Limiting Career Success

Making a meaningful career change will be more difficult when your own behavior is dragging you down. If you're dissatisfied at work, it's time to evaluate your performance and attitude. Embrace accountability for your situation, understand that there is no "perfect" time for career change, close your power gaps, explore new directions through action, and stop regretting the past.

 

Be the change

 

Internships Bridge Gap for Jobs Outside Research

A recent survey of postdocs reveals that a growing cohort of scientists is taking time away from the bench for professional development. Through partnerships with administrative offices and private companies, postdocs are learning to apply their skills outside research. The depth of their research training and breadth of experience demonstrate innovative problem solving skills of great interest to companies recruiting new talent. 

 

Expanding opportunities

 

New Survey Finds Women Qualify Success Differently

A new survey dispels several gender stereotypes and reveals how men and women think about success differently. Polling results from over 1,000 LinkedIn members indicate that women are less likely to consider children and marriage as markers of success compared to men. It also found that women are more likely to be stressed about money, and millennial women are more likely than any other generation to describe themselves as ambitious.

 

Measuring success

  Education

 

 

Contributed by Katherine Wendelsdorf, PhD

 

Teach Scientists to get Involved

Should postgrads be better equipped when it comes to policy? The chairman and president of Newton's Apple, a UK Science Policy Foundation, argue that science postgraduate training should include skills to get involved in policy. This would increase the number of scientifically trained individuals involved in policy matters, as well as the number of graduates with skills to survive outside of the shrinking academic job market.

 

Case for policy training

 

Using Hip-hop to Spread Science

In an interview with NPR, scientist Danielle Lee explains how hip-hop can be used to build a diverse new generation of scientists. She also touches on misogyny in science and the under preparation of urban students.

 

Rapping biology

 

Will "new" EdTech 'Ravage' Education?

An increasing number of expensive, elite universities are making their course material freely available online-- a movement called 'EdTech'. This article discusses whether higher education would be transformed by this wave of change just like the significant transformation of the music and media industries. Is it possible that higher education will also be 'ravaged by the digital revolution'?

 

The future of EdTech

 

Who's Running Education?

Rebecca Klein, Huffington Post, lists 11 of the most influential people in education-- who have never been teachers. These top education leaders influence everything from teacher evaluation systems and teacher training guidelines, to teaching standards. The article sheds light on how education is actually managed.

 

Who's Who

 Science and Technology

Contributed by Demetra Farley, PhD

 

Ten Unbelievable Medical Breakthroughs

Though they sound like science fiction, these real-world scientific discoveries have already impacted on the quality of life for millions across the globe. A panel of 30 medical professionals selected 10 finalists - technologies or new discoveries - that it considered "disruptive" due to the amount of substantial improvements provided.

 

Science fiction turns reality

 

New Body Part Discovered

Belgian scientists, Dr. Steven Claes and Dr. Johan Bellemans, have made a major discovery: the identification of a new body part. Titled the anterolateral ligament, the fibrous tissue connects the femur to the tibia, and was identified in 97% of analyzed specimens.

 

And then there were 7,501

 Work-Life Satisfaction
Member Profile  
Member Level 
Expires
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AWIS Fall Webinar Series

November 26, 2013
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. EST
  

  
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At Takeda, we continue to transform the future of healthcare by bringing important medicines to market. We are driven to improve lives. www.takedajobs.com
  
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    Featured Jobs    

 
  Szepo Assistant Professor
Stanford, SF Bay Area, CA
  
  
Coral Gables, FL
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Member Spotlight 
 
Carmen R. Cid, PhD
Sustaining member AWIS
 
  Congratulations to Dr. Carmen R. Cid, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Eastern Connecticut State University, who was appointed interim president at Quinebaug Valley Community College
Top Rated Nonprofit 2013
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Contributed by Catherine Moorwood, PhD

 

Why 'I'm Sorry' is the Mantra of the Working Mom

If you're a parent, this may sound familiar: you're always struggling to fit everything in, and constantly saying sorry for failing to do it all - to your boss, your co-workers, your partner, your kids, and your friends. Katrina Alcorn, author of 'Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink', says we should stop apologizing and start talking about the societal factors that put us in a position where we are asked to do the impossible.

 

Sorry state of affairs

 

Redesigning Work for Everyone

Research from the Work, Family & Health Network shows the advantages of taking an organization-wide approach to redefining employee leave and time management. One-off accommodations single out, and sometimes penalize, those taking advantage of flexible working options, however, when all employees and managers are jointly involved in redesigning the work day, everyone benefits.

 

Making it work

 

Overworking All Over the World

A recent study by the Dailan University of Technology in China measured scientists' working habits by analyzing the number of downloads of scientific papers during weekdays and weekends in 30 different countries.  They used the downloads as a measure of how much scientists were working. While working habits differed, a common theme was that all scientists in the study were working overtime. This may be driven by scientists' passion for their work, but also by increasing pressure due to competition for jobs and funding.

 Health

 

 

Contributed by Natalia Sanchez, MS

 

Limit Your Children's Exposure to Media

Children spend on average 8 to11+ hours a day with media, according to The American Academy of Pediatrics. Excessive media exposure has been linked to obesity, lack of sleep and aggression, among other behavioral problems. Limiting and managing children's media exposure will minimize potential risks and increase positive media use.

 

 Turn it off

 

The Case for Expanding Your Palate

Taste buds are remarkably adaptive. This adaptability can be helpful when attempting to improve people's diets. When people regularly consume the same food, taste buds adapt to their flavors, increasing food enjoyment. This is the case with wine, beer or coffee, which are considered "acquired tastes"; flavor appreciation increases with consumption. This approach can be used with healthy foods, making taste buds more sensitive to sugar and salt in these foods.

 

Try it, you might learn to like it

 

Preventing Cervical Cancer

Research on women vaccinated with only one dose of a human papillomavirus (HPV) demonstrated that the antibodies against the viruses remained stable in their blood for four years, suggesting that a single dose of vaccine may be sufficient to generate long-term immune response. This may lead to a more simplified vaccine administration schedule that may be cheaper, simpler, and more likely to be implemented. 

 

One is enough

 Editor's Choice 

 

 

The Editor's Choice is a new Washington Wire section and will be filled with reports and articles that the AWIS National Staff  and other AWIS members would like you to see. In this issue we have a few additional articles that we thought you might be interested in reading.
 
 Events
 
NOVEMBER
  
NOVEMBER 18 

Leveraging Social Media for Your Career and Job Search 

AWIS Massachusetts Chapter & the Harvard FAS Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

 

AWIS Maryland Bethesda Chapter

 

NOVEMBER 19

 

NOVEMBER 21

How Long Can You Wait to Have a Baby?

AWIS San Diego Chapter

 

Haptics: Enhancing Computer Interfaces and Robotic Systems with Touch Feedback 

AWIS Philadelphia Chapter

NOVEMBER 26
Best Practices for Family Friendly Practices
AWIS Webinar

 

 

DECEMBER
  
DECEMBER 6

Holiday Mixer 

AWIS Central Arizona Chapter
 Opportunities
 

BBRG Scholars-In-Residence Program

Each year, the BBRG hosts a new group of approximately ten competitively selected scholars from the U.S. and abroad for a period of one academic year. (from August 21, 2014 to May 15, 2015). The BBRG Scholars-in-Residence Program is open to senior and junior faculty (tenured and untenured), visiting scholars, postdoctoral scholars and independent scholars, from any country, whose work is centrally on gender and women. Applicants must have received their Ph.D. (or its equivalent) at least one year prior to the projected beginning of their residency at BBRG. NEW OPPORTUNITY! (Applications due March 15, 2014)

 

BBRG Affiliated Scholars Program

The BBRG Affiliated Visiting Scholars Program is designed to accommodate scholars who would like to spend a relatively short period of time in residence, ranging from one month to six months. The BBRG Affiliated Visiting Scholars Program is open to senior and junior faculty (tenured and untenured), visiting scholars, postdoctoral scholars and independent scholars, from the U.S. and abroad, whose work is centrally on women and gender. Applicants must have the Ph.D. (or its equivalent) in hand one year prior to the beginning of the appointment. NEW OPPORTUNITY! (Applications accepted throughout the academic year)

 

Applications for support are invited from ornithologists worldwide to help participants attend the 2013 IOC I  Tokyo, Japan.  Applicants must be registered participants in the congress Click here  to apply.

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.

 

NSF-led Gender Summit 3 - North America Diversity Fuelling Excellence in Research and Innovation

The aim is to achieve positive change towards greater diversity in the STEM workforce and leadership, and  greater inclusion of the "gender  dimension" in research content and process.