Category Archives: Research

Resilience and the Nobel Prize

Posted on October 7, 2018 by Athene Donald

In case you’ve been asleep, this week has seen the number of scientific women winning Nobel prizes spike: two won this year. I don’t consider this simply as a moment of pure celebration for the cause of women in science, … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Research | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Thinking about Everyone’s Health

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Athene Donald

My last post dealt with an almost trivial – although symptomatic – issue of everyday sexism. This one deals with something of rather larger magnitude, but one that is much lower beneath the radar than it warrants: health, and health … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Research | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Getting the Balance Right

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Athene Donald

Without much fanfare, the allocations across the different research councils have just been announced until the end of the current spending round.  What processes went into making decisions about the distribution between the different research councils is not obvious, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science Funding | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Being Critical

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Athene Donald

When discussing the skills students pick up – and need to pick up – during their undergraduate courses in a subject like physics, I always highlight the fact that they learn how to be critical, notably about assumptions underpinning an … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Research | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Guilty of Rambling On

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Athene Donald

As a PhD student it is an exciting moment when you know you’re off to your first international conference. Whether or not you get to present (either orally or via a poster), there is still a thrill in just being … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science Culture | Tagged , , | 4 Comments