Category Archives: Life in a biology department

One reason it’s so hard to be a woman in academia: we have personalities

Posted on December 18, 2011 by

Did you disagree with a male colleague at a faculty meeting? Did you ask a question during a seminar? Did you laugh out loud at a joke in the hall? Are you an extrovert? If you are female, be careful! … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in a biology department, Managing an academic career, Social interactions | Leave a comment

Research creativity and the importance of vacations

Posted on November 6, 2011 by

Meetings, teaching, preparing for teaching, reading, lab meeting, journal club, a few minutes for paper writing, data analysis, even a quick peek through a microscope, and maybe a few seconds for lunch with your group take up all the time. … It can help you jettison a hard, time-consuming technique when a newer one comes along, even if the new one requires some activation energy and someone in the group has invested a lot in the old one. Continue reading →

Posted in Life in a biology department, Managing an academic career, Natural areas | Leave a comment

Why is only one of fifteen speakers a woman when the environmental biologists of St. Louis meet?

Posted on September 25, 2011 by

For example, it took a meeting in Scotland for us to meet our wonderful Dictyostelium collaborators, Adam Kuspa and Gadi Shaulsky , who are a ten minute walk away (or were before we left Houston ). … IMG_2438.JPG The lovely Tyson Research Center forest. IMG_2455.JPG The carbon neutral Living Learning Center. IMG_2452.JPG Our wonderful directors, Barbara Schaal, and Kevin Smith. IMG_2457.JPG Talking over lunch. IMG_2432.JPG Doug Berg, who has been wonderful at making microbial connections for us. IMG_2433.JPG Sitting or standing, the students meet each other. IMG_2460.JPG Our Keynote speaker, Jonathan Losos, home from Harvard, and Bruce Carlson who gave a great talk on weakly electric fish. Continue reading →

Posted in Life in a biology department, Scientific meetings, Social interactions | Leave a comment

The worst place to host your lab web page

Posted on September 18, 2011 by

I hope so, for this is where you can tell the story of your team’s research in your own way. Everyone should have their own lab page and there should be a prominent link to it from the more generic pages your university creates for you. Continue reading →

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Phil Kutzko – A radical take on building an inclusive, diverse academic community

Posted on September 6, 2011 by

Philip Kutzko might argue that we just don’t get it, but he does it in such a kind, enthralling way, gently explaining that we were listening to Tristan Murail when we might be listening to Keith Jarrett , Pierre Boulez instead of Miles Davis . … His second premise goes right along with the first, that we should care about and get to know our students, for only then will they be in a safe place for learning. Continue reading →

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What goes on in faculty meetings?

Posted on September 2, 2011 by

This morning I went to the first faculty meeting of the Biology Department at my new university. I was late. Apparently the convention that everything starts at 7 minutes after the hour does not apply to faculty meetings. And I … Continue reading →

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