In this essay, a group of scientists advocates for paradigmatic change in the academic scientific enterprise. Specifically, they point to biases in STEMM measures of success, normative standards that support a subset of scholars and narrow the career pathways for others, and call out those in positions of power for engaging in advocacy performances rather . . .
We recently acknowledged March 15th as equal pay day, the date when women’s pay for the prior year finally equals what men earned. In other words, women must work 2-½ months longer to make the same amount and Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous women have to work even longer. Why? A popular explanation is that women . . .
Dr. Beronda Montgomery, in “Academic Leadership: Gatekeeping or Groundskeeping?” encourages academic institutions to rethink the kind of leader hired to lead academic units. Rather than fostering gatekeeping, or the mentality that the leader is measuring individual traits and performance to appraise if someone is worthy of advancement or leadership, Montgomery suggests choosing leaders who promote . . .
The Association of Women in Science (AWIS) recently issued this statement in response to a high level director’s resignation from a key government STEM office. Their statement calls out an ongoing pattern (both at the national and local level) of institutional negligence in which organizational leaders have regularly failed to proactively respond to practices of . . .
Dr. Patricia Bath: An ophthalmologist and laser scientist. She invented a new device & technique for cataract surgery known as laserphaco. She was also the first woman to chair an ophthalmology residency program in the U.S. (At Drew-UCLA). https://bit.ly/3GyE8En Dr. George Carruthers: An aeronautical and astronautical engineer who worked for the US Naval Research Lab. . . .
This is Black History month; next month is Women’s History month. We celebrate by highlighting the first black woman to earn her Ph.D. in physics in the U.S., Willie Hobbs Moore, who was also an electrical engineer and received her degree in physics from the University of Michigan in 1972. Dr. Moore is known for . . .
Lonnie G. Johnson: A mechanical and nuclear engineer, he worked for NASA and the Air Force. He worked on the Galileo mission to Jupiter as well as the early stages of the Cassini project. Perhaps most noted as the inventor of the Super Soaker, he holds over 100 patents with more pending. https://bit.ly/3usEeeh Alma Levant . . .
Many young people are introduced to professions like Chemistry in high school and textbooks play a major role in informing students about the discipline and the people who work within it. An article in Chemistry World shines a light on what happens when textbooks are biased in their representation. A study of four widely used . . .
by Institutional Equity Sexual harassment is no joke. This topic is no longer off-limits, and allegations are being taken more seriously than ever before. But when does behavior cross from bad to unprofessional to sexual harassment? Is sexual harassment only egregious acts of physical touching or fondling? Does the behavior have to occur more than . . .
Bessie Blount Griffin: A physical therapist in the late 1940’s who helped teach her amputee clients how to write using their mouths and feet. She also invented a portable apparatus that enabled amputees to feed themselves. https://bit.ly/3L1rcKx George Washington Carver: An accomplished botanist and inventor. He developed techniques to improve soils depleted by repeated plantings . . .