Author Archives: Athene Donald

Taking the Chair

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Athene Donald

I was interested to discover recently that candidates for the headship of a certain Cambridge college were required to chair a mock Governing Body meeting (this was not part of my own selection process at Churchill I should say). I … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Science Culture | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

There’s More to Us than Lab Coats

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Athene Donald

This book review first appeared in Times Higher Education on February 27th 2014 Are We All Scientific Experts Now? By Harry Collins Polity, 168pp, £35.00 and £9.99 ISBN 9780745682037 and 82044 Published 28 February 2014 “Thanks to climate change scams, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on There’s More to Us than Lab Coats

What Does it Take to Get to the Top?

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Athene Donald

Readers of my blog will not need to be reminded that the numbers of women successfully climbing through the ranks to the top of the academic tree are small. The same is true of administrative staff: many women set out, … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Women in Science | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Being Prepared

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Athene Donald

I was a Girl Guide once, briefly, but I don’t think that’s where I learned that it’s wise to travel well supplied. It just seems to come naturally to me to fear the worst and so carry enough on one’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Thinking about the Pipeline

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Athene Donald

A PhD should comprise both education and training. It should not be slave labour or done in blindness about where it might be leading. But I fear these statements don’t always apply. In the research grouping in which I sit … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Science Funding | Tagged , | 35 Comments