Reading up on women in science

From article ant

How much do we know about the great women scientists of the past?

As part of researching a new children's book Sunetra Gupta of Oxford University's Department of Zoology has been finding out. OxSciBlog asked her about her new project and the unsung heroines of science...


OxSciBlog: Why choose to write a children's book on women scientists?
Sunetra Gupta: It was really my colleague Martin Maiden's idea. I was trying to think of a suitable project to promote women in science (as part of my application for the Rosalind Franklin Award) and Martin came up with this project. I instantly approached Ted Dewan to see if he was interested in illustrating it, and to my great good fortune he agreed.

Ted is an incredibly versatile illustrator and author of children's fiction and non-fiction as well as science books for adults. He also has a fantastic sense of humour: his website (www.wormworks.com) mentions that "at age 15 he won his first drawing competition at the local Baskin Robbins Ice Cream store. The prize was a pink card entitling him to 31 free ice cream cones" - two of these apparently remain unredeemed…

One of the reasons the project appealed to me was because I had, myself, been inspired at a young age by reading a biography of Marie Curie - and yet, I realised I had never had the opportunity to find out about any other women scientists. There is definitely a niche here waiting to be filled. Also, at a completely selfish level, I was eager to remedy my own serious gaps in knowledge about their lives and their science.

OSB: Which scientists did you most enjoy finding out about?
SG: So far, I have only read about two people in sufficient depth - Rosalind Franklin and Anna Thynne. Rosalind Franklin is an obvious choice and I have very much enjoyed Brenda Maddox's biography, as well the very interesting defence of her by Anne Sayre in response to James Watson's portrayal of her as 'Rosie', the grumpy research assistant.

I might never have come across Anna Thynne but for a lovely little book by Rebecca Stott which I had been sent some time ago when it had been submitted for a prize I was judging. She was a very remarkable woman - wife of the sub-Dean of Westminster Abbey (while Buckland was Dean), mother of many, and can be credited with establishing the first marine aquarium in her living room. This is all in the early 19th century - by the 1850s aquaria were all the craze.

Another woman I felt ashamed not to have known much about is the 18th century astronomer Caroline Herschel; I have been reading about her in Richard Holmes's fantastic new book 'The Age of Wonder' and cannot wait to lay my hands on her diaries.

OSB: What has been the most challenging aspect of your research?
SG: Finding the time to do it. My commitments as an academic are quite extensive, and I am also very far behind on delivering a book on science and literature that I was funded to write by the Arts Council in 2007. There is also the tug of wanting to carry on with my new novel, and to spend time with my two daughters.

Researching the book has been pure pleasure, and writing my fragments (we are currently adopting a scrap-book format) has also been a lot of fun. Ted has been producing some amazing illustrations - he is absolute dream to work with. We've had some crucial decisions to make regarding layout and content - these have probably been the hardest bits so far.

OSB: What do you hope young readers will take away from the book?
SG: Some acquaintance with the lives of these women would probably be as much as I expect, but I'm naturally hoping that they (girls and boys alike) might find some inspiration here. Many of these women had to struggle, to adapt, to compromise, to suffer, and they always carried on. Even if they are not attracted to a scientific career, knowing the stories of these women scientists can have a transforming effect on young minds.

OSB: How has the book changed how you think about the women scientists of the past?
SG: It is embarassing how little I knew about these women beyond the vague notion that they were brave and had to endure much. Whereas I had a much larger acquaintance with the lives of women writers, thanks to books such as Gilbert & Gubar's 'The Madwoman in the Attic' and, of course, all the biographies that are so readily available, not to mention the films about them.

I hear that a film is being made on Ada Lovelace (daughter of Lord Byron and possibly the first computer programmer) with Zooey Deschanel in her role, so perhaps women scientists will finally be in the public eye.

Again, I will say that the main benefit here is to learn about inspiring personalities - not everyone who enjoys 'Becoming Jane' is destined to become a writer, not everyone who falls in love with Zooey Deschanel as Ada Lovelace in ‘Enchantress of Numbers’ will become a scientist, but something will have been added to each person by learning about their lives and passions.

Reading up on women in science

Back to science!

Some days ago I posted the weekly schedule for Girl Scientist magazine... each day I'd discuss a different science.

I didn't follow that schedule for more than two days.... so this is a promise to get back on it starting tomorrow!

Let this be a lesson to everyone... if you have a plan...work to the plan, otherwise, you'll never get anything done! (And if you don't have a plan... make one!)

"Unschooling" produces worthless children

Perhaps my title is a little harsh. I should have said, not giving kids a DIRECTION in which to head, a "PURPOSE DRIVEN" life, produces worthless children. (I'm not using "purpose driven" in the sense that religious writer Rick Warren uses, to "find what God has in store for you," but rather, the PURPOSE is to achieve the best education you can, so that you are ready to be a contributing member of society. You do not want to be a drain on your parents or on society by living on welfare your entire life, you want to stand on your own two feet, be an independent woman (even should you desire to get married and have kids) and at all times support yourelf so you are not a burden on others... just as they should not be a burden on you.

There is apparently a movement afoot to "Unschool" kids. Kids don't have to go to school, instead they sit around and watch TV all day long, learning "naturally". Thus they gain no knowledge, no sense of responsibility, no idea that other people have to work to give them what they get for free (9 out of 10 of these parents and their kids are probably on welfare.)

[This is different from home schooling, please note.]

Edited: For some reason the video from YouTube on unschooling is not showing up. Not sure if its my own system, or if the video has been removed.

FDA mathematician to speak at math conference for girls

FDA mathematician to speak at math conference for girls

HARRISONBURG — Kyle J. Myers knows how far females can go with degrees in mathematics and science.

The director of the Division of Imaging and Applied Mathematics in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Myers will be the keynote speaker at the third annual Expanding Your Horizons math conference for girls at James Madison University.

The conference will be from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday in Miller Hall on the JMU campus west of Interstate 81. Myers' talk, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 2:20 p.m.

Myers, who received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Occidental College and a doctorate in optical sciences from the University of Arizona, will discuss how she became interested in mathematics and how she uses math in her job.

Female mathematics faculty from JMU will lead the conference, which is designed to stimulate girls’ interest in math through hands-on activities, provide them with female scientist role models and foster awareness of opportunities in math and science-related careers.

Participants will choose three of 10 workshops to attend during the day with topics such as “Vortices in Nature,” “Why is a Doughnut like a Coffee Cup” and “The Chemistry of Stickiness.”

Myers' address will close the conference.

You go, girl!

Katie Brice: Too Young to Drive, But Not for NASCAR
At 14, Katie Brice Can Drive a Race Car, but She Needs a Lift to the Track

With a figurine of her favorite superhero, Batman, strapped firmly to the roll cage for luck, NASCAR's youngest driver hit the course today at the Stafford Motor Speedway.

A 14-year-old becomes the youngest girl to compete in a Nascar race.Too young to drive to the racetrack (or the mall, for that matter), 14-year-old Katie Brice competed today in her first NASCAR-sanctioned race. Though she didn't finish, she got through more than half the race, which was better than many people expected.

She completed her heat in the entry-level series, racing alongside men more than twice her age, including her father. The middle-school student, who drives a bright pink 1986 Monte Carlo, is taking advantage of new NASCAR rules that allow kids as young as 14 to get a learner's permit to drive on sanctioned tracks.

"That was my dream," Katie says. "When you have your NASCAR license, you can race at any track in any car."

Related
WATCH: Teen Girl Makes NASCAR HistoryNASCAR Crash: Bad Blood at 190 MPHWATCH: NASCAR Feud Leads to CrashThe nation's largest stock car racing league made the decision to lower the minimum age for obtaining a license from 16 to 14 in an effort to compete with other leagues that allow drivers as young as 12 to race.

When Katie was 12, she was just beginning to race in go-karts. With younger and younger children becoming interested in racing, she actually had a late start on dirt tracks, but her parents say she's always shown a passion for the sport, and more specifically, for speed. They like to talk about the first time Katie flew in a jet.

"She kept wanting the plane to go faster," says her father, Jim Brice, a truck driver and the owner of Smokey's Racing.

On the speedway, Katie will peak at 100 miles per hour on straightaways and roar around corners at up to 80 mph. She's not usually at the front of the pack, but given her age and experience, she's on the fast track for her racing career.

Her parents have been criticized for allowing their teenage daughter behind the wheel of a race car, but they compare it to other risky sports, such as skiing or football.

"The entry-level cars that they're participating in are safe, the tracks are safe, the specifications are really catered to safety," says Bill Long, vice-president of racing operations at Stafford Motor Speedway. "There isn't really a tremendous amount of risk and it's a great place to learn…"

Last year, Jim Brice was in a crash severe enough to require him to be airlifted to a hospital. He says if he had been wearing a HANS device for the head and neck, which is compulsory at many races, he would have walked away.

The accident didn't deter him or his daughter from racing, but Katie never races without a HANS brace.

"It doesn't feel dangerous," Katie says. "It feels not 100 percent safe, but 75 percent safe."

But still, she said she does worry about crashing.

"It's sometimes scary," she says, pointing to a specific part of the speedway that curves. "Not only did my crash on May 15 in that corner ... I get flashbacks sometimes, and it's really loose today, so if you get in it, you spin out."

The Science of Women's Psyches

SATC's Kristin Davis: "I'm Never Going to Be the Thinnest Actress"Us Magazine - April 23, 2010 7:00 PM PDT

celebs:Kristen BellKristin DavisMalin AkermanSarah Jessica Parker
topics: HottiesFitnessFood and DrinkBFFs

Us Magazine Here's the skinny: Kristin Davis has embraced her curves.

"I'm never going to be the thinnest actress, and I don't want to be," the Sex and the City star, 45 (the sequel hits theaters May 27), tells the May issue of Fitness. "I have hips!"

Davis admits it was "very intimidating" to slip into a bikini for the mag's cover.

"There are people who feel comfortable in bathing suits, and I don't know how they do it," she says. "I worked with Kristen Bell and Malin Akerman on the movie Couples Retreat, and they didn't care about standing around in their bikinis for days. The guys in the movie were more self-conscious than they were!"

PHOTOS: Find out how much the SATC clothes cost!

Davis -- who has been running since her days on Melrose Place, and even taught yoga when she first moved to L.A. -- tries to keep a healthy diet.

"I eat a lot of chicken, salmon, eggs and side salads. But if all I ate were salads every day, I'd shoot myself," she says. "Who cares if you can fit in your skinny jeans if you can't enjoy life and have something good to eat? I went through periods when I said I can't have this, I can't have that. Now I don't deprive myself. Food is meant to be enjoyed."

The actress -- who will host the More/Fitness Women's Half Marathon in New York City's Central Park on April 25 -- does indulge in M&Ms and ice cream in the summer.

VIDEO: The SATC 2 trailer

"One trick I've learned is that if I have an ice cream bar, I'm OK having four bites and then throwing it away," she says. "I don't need to eat the whole thing to feel satisfied."

When asked about the worst rumor she's read about herself, Davis says, "That the cast of Sex and the City hates one another. We're standing so close during filming that we touch for 18 hours a day, and then people want to say we don't get along. It's the funniest thing in the world."

She even hits the gym occasionally with Sarah Jessica Parker, 45.

"Sarah Jessica doesn't need a support buddy. She's one of the most motivated people I've ever met, and she has an amazing body even when she doesn't work out; though, like the rest of us, she doesn't feel that way," Davis says.

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