Notes on the leaky pipeline: realism or disillusionment? [Updated]
[Update in italics: May 3, 2012] After I wrote this post PLoS ONE published a paper that fits nicely with the points I was making.] Beryl Benderly’s blog post over at Science Careers caught my eye yesterday because she mentions a 2008 report from the UK about the retention of women chemistry PhDs in academia. As [...]
Cocktail hour in the Facebook age
Whether you’re a scientist, a writer, or a science communicator, most of us spend some time at conferences, or more appropriately noshing on cheese, fruit and other snacks, and sipping free wine or beer at the end of the day. And then depending on how well you know the other people in the room, you [...]
Science Communication Without Borders: reflections on ScienceOnline 2012
I’m hardly a newbie to science communication. But last week was my first trip to ScienceOnline. The energy buzzing around that conference for 72 hours made me flash back a decade to when I was still in a chemistry Ph.D. program but desperate to reboot my career without leaving science behind. At that point, I [...]
In search of manatees
Though my current home is in the Big Apple, I was born and raised in the Sunshine State and return on occasion to visit my family. This time our trip south also included an animal-based day trip to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park in search of manatees. In the area around Crystal River, particularly this [...]
A Glimpse of our Space Future
The American Museum of Natural History‘s new exhibit, Beyond Planet Earth, which opened last Saturday through August 12, 2012, provides a window through the past and an optimistic glimpse at the future of space exploration. As I moved through the historical portion at a press preview last Tuesday, Russian spacecraft pinged, and news reports captured [...]
Seeing the forest for the Birch reduction
This post is a part of the Chemistry Carnival hosted by Chemical & Engineering News in celebration of the International Year of Chemistry. Check there later in the week to see what others have blogged or look for the #chemcarnival hashtag on Twitter. I spent nearly a decade of my life doing organic chemistry. [...]
Around the Web: June 3 edition
Considering my eclectic web-based reading habits and my broad interests in the science world, I’ll be posting an occasional roundup of interesting science-y tidbits I’ve been consuming recently. Welcome to a glimpse into my webby world. Science career reality check: Chemjobber keeps regular tabs on the chemistry employment scene. On Tuesday, CJ offered a reality check [...]
From the Petri Dish to the Backyard Grill
Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t buy test-tube hot dogs for your Memorial Day barbecue, but maybe in a decade or so we’ll all be noshing on barbecued goodies raised in the sterility of a laboratory near you. Doesn’t that sound tasty? Or yucky? For me, it’s a little bit of both. I’m fascinated [...]
Pondering medium and “The Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
I’ll admit a kind of mixed relationship with 3D movies. Done well, I love experiencing the depth, but it seems to me that 3D should be an artistic choice for its ability to convey an experience, rather than just a way to make sure that people see a movie in the movie theater. Cave of [...]
San Diego Zoo mother & baby snapshots
In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to share a few snapshots from our trip to the San Diego Zoo last month. Here’s a giraffe calf and mother: Capybaras are the largest living rodents: there’s mom and a young upstart. Capybara mom and baby at the San Diego Zoo And the best for last: hippos [...]
