Latest posts

In which I heart academia

Posted on 22 July 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

Say what you will against life in the upper echelons of higher education. By all means complain about the low pay, the long hours, and the increasingly desperate funding situation. Above all, rail against the crushing career insecurity, and the sad truth that no matter how far up the ladder you are, there is only an ephemeral membrane between you a Continue reading →

Posted in The profession of science | Leave a comment

She blinded me with science

Posted on 22 July 2014 by rpg

Jenny is putting the finishing touches to a revised manuscript. I’m reading about a very interesting paper in my old field—and telling her about it.

Joshua is doomed, isn’t he?

Continue reading →

Posted in Don't try this at home, science | Leave a comment

Llongyfarchiadau!

Posted on 20 July 2014 by Athene Donald

…or ‘Congratulations’ in English. Up and down the country this is the time of year for graduation ceremonies. Proud parents, wider family and friends go along to watch their loved ones briefly smile and shake the (Vice)Chancellor’s hand, or something along those lines – such as being doffed with a hat made from John Knox’s b Continue reading →

Posted in graduation, Photography, Science Culture, Swansea University | Leave a comment

Cultural and academic boycotts: why the BDS movement is an embarrassment and a failure

Posted on 19 July 2014 by Steve Caplan

Recently, Pink Floyd founder and (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) BDS supporter Roger Waters publicly called on musician Neil Young not to perform in Tel Aviv, Israel. In his letter to Young, Waters wrote:

“That you would lend support to, and encourage and legitimize, with your presence, a colonial apartheid regime, largely settled fr Continue reading →

Posted in academic boycott, anti-semitism, BDS, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Jews, none is too many, Palestinians, Roger Waters, the Guardian, The New York Times | Leave a comment

Shuffling Forward in Education

Posted on 16 July 2014 by Athene Donald

This week has been full of surprises in Whitehall. The departure of David Willetts was foreseen. Indeed, it has been predicted just about every time there has been a ministerial reshuffle in the recent past. He will be missed by many who thought he ‘got’ science – and other parts of the university sector too (although perhaps not the fi Continue reading →

Posted in education, michael gove, ministers, Nick Gibb, reshuffle, Royal Society, Vision for STEM education | Leave a comment

In which everyday sexism depresses me

Posted on 15 July 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

Today, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, reshuffled his Cabinet in preparation for next year’s General Election. There was a lot of speculation that he would up the number of women in his inner circle, as he’s previously promised, and this is exactly what he did.

The media, desperate to stir up controversy wheneve Continue reading →

Scientists: the same old villains and nerds

Posted on 15 July 2014 by Steve Caplan

Villains and nerds – that’s what scientists are, if you believe the media. At least the “big screen.” Finding myself in a state of near exhaustion this past month, I’ve taken the opportunity to watch a few films on ‘Netflix.’ Two very different films seem to further cement the public’s perception of w Continue reading →

Posted in films, geeks, lab lit, media, movies, nerds, public awareness, Research, science, scientists, villains | Leave a comment

Holiday Questions in Natural History

Posted on 13 July 2014 by Athene Donald

Last week I escaped to the Shropshire hills and blissfully allowed my brain to stop turning over matters concerning committee-work, exams, grants and other responsibilities past, present and future. Instead I have been exercising my limbs up and down the slopes of the Long Mynd and surrounding countryside and refreshing myself in local hostelries, Continue reading →

Posted in book review, neonicotinoids, ornithology, red kite, red kites, Science Culture | Leave a comment

Australia Tour 2014

Posted on 10 July 2014 by Stephen

It’s funny how one thing leads to another. The video of my Friday Evening Discourse at the Royal Institution last year caught the attention of a former colleague and produced an invitation to contribute a lecture to her plans to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography at the University of Western Australia in Perth this summer.

And then Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Protein Crystallography, science, travel, X-rays | Leave a comment

Metrics, Fulfilment and Career Trajectories

Posted on 4 July 2014 by Athene Donald

“More effort should be done on understanding people paths. We are too much focused on processes and structures.” JP Bourguignon #esof2014

I was struck by this quote I saw on Twitter from the ERC President Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, because of course we don’t do this at all well. Too often at a departmental level we look at people al Continue reading →

Posted in academia, careers, CV, DORA, impact factor | Leave a comment

My rights are bigger than your rights

Posted on 2 July 2014 by Sylvia McLain

or why corporations are now individuals

This past Monday, the US Supreme Court made a decision on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.. Continue reading →

Posted in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Hobby Lobby, Inc., US Supreme Court | Leave a comment

Moving on from Tokenism

Posted on 30 June 2014 by Athene Donald

Last week much was made of the fact that, finally, all the UK’s FTSE100 companies have at least one female Board member with Glencore, the last to make the grade, appointing the Canadian Patrice Merrin as a non-executive director. Vince Cable, who has been pushing for this for some years, declared this a ‘historic day for the FTSE’ Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, EU Gender Summit, FTSE100, Gendered Innovations, Women in science | Leave a comment

A breath of fresh (scientific) air

Posted on 30 June 2014 by Steve Caplan

As I sat yesterday in a student career development workshop, and listened to the fears and anxieties surrounding the prospects of a career in academia – or in any scientific field, for that matter – I felt a million miles away from the outstanding Gordon Research Conference (GRC) from which I had just returned.

On the Northern Railway Continue reading →

Posted in Andover, basic science, career development, Gordon Research Conference, GRC, lab, New Hampshire, postdocs, Proctor, professors, Research, science, students | Leave a comment

Well-rounded Students – What does it Take?

Posted on 26 June 2014 by Athene Donald

WS Gilbert thought it was ‘comical…that every boy and every gal… is either a little Liberal or else a little Conservative’ in the words expressed by that bored sentry PC Willis. The politics would be different now, but we in England and Wales still seem to live in a system where every boy or girl, at least those who aspire to A levels a Continue reading →