Author Archives: Athene Donald

Will Biography be a Lost Art?

Posted on 15 April 2018 by Athene Donald

As a young postdoc I arrived, fairly literally penniless in the USA in October 1977. I had flown with the forerunner of today’s low-cost airlines, Freddie Laker, on his new invention of ‘standby’ fares. You turned up on the day … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, email, letters, Maggie Thatcher, New York, Science Culture, Winston Churchill | Comments Off on Will Biography be a Lost Art?

Are Women Underpaid?

Posted on 9 April 2018 by Athene Donald

The deadline is past for companies in the UK employing more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap. The numbers are not pretty and the University sector is no different from other types of employers in manifesting an … Continue reading →

Posted in equal pay, Equality, gender pay gap, Unconscious bias, Women in science | Comments Off on Are Women Underpaid?

Guilty of Rambling On

Posted on 29 March 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 Andrew Keller, conferences, Research, Science Culture, speakers | Comments Off on Guilty of Rambling On

The Potholes in Life

Posted on 25 March 2018 by Athene Donald

As regular readers of this blog will know, I rely on my bike to get me around to the myriad committee meetings I need to attend across Cambridge. It is my lifeline to get me speedily to the railway station … Continue reading →

Posted in alpha male, bicycle, obstacles, opportunities, Science Culture | Comments Off on The Potholes in Life

Sold for a Mess of Potage

Posted on 17 March 2018 by Athene Donald

A couple of weeks back I undertook another trip to Europe. A trip that got extended by nearly a day due to snow which disrupted my travel plans, thereby making it impossible for me to get back to the UK … Continue reading →

Posted in EMBL, ERC, Frankfurt, Janet Thornton, Research, Science Culture, Science Funding | Comments Off on Sold for a Mess of Potage

What Can I Do? Press for Progress….

Posted on 8 March 2018 by Athene Donald

What follows is a lightly edited version of the address I gave at the joint Churchill/Murray Edwards Colleges ‘Humanist Happenings’ last Sunday, in advance of International Women’s Day today. Today is International Women’s Day, with its theme of Press for … Continue reading →

Posted in Amplification, Bystander, Equality, International Women's Day, Women in science, Women's Lib | Comments Off on What Can I Do? Press for Progress….

Nothing’s Wasted

Posted on 26 February 2018 by Athene Donald

No doubt the majority of my readers are far more familiar with TEDx talks than I am, and have watched many more than I have. They are a notion that has floated past me occasionally. I have been asked to … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, media, memory, TEDx, Whitehall | Comments Off on Nothing’s Wasted

The Only Woman in the Room

Posted on 18 February 2018 by Athene Donald

The Only Woman in the Room, is not only an experience I have frequently endured, but is also the title of a 2015 book by Eileen Pollack (subtitled Why Science is Still a Boy’s Club). I’m not sure why this … Continue reading →

Posted in coeducation, Eileen Pollack, physics, Women in science, Yale | Comments Off on The Only Woman in the Room

What do We Lose if We Lose Access to the ERC?

Posted on 9 February 2018 by Athene Donald

This week I was in Brussels in my capacity as a Scientific Council Member of the European Research Council. One of the roles we are all expected to fulfil from time to time is as observer of the various panels … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Brussels, Research Councils, Science Funding, Unconscious bias | Comments Off on What do We Lose if We Lose Access to the ERC?

One Hundred Years

Posted on 6 February 2018 by Athene Donald

Today we celebrate the Suffragettes’ victory 100 years ago: votes for (some) women. A timely moment to reflect on the state of play in terms of equality. More than seven years ago I wrote the post below about the Equal … Continue reading →

Posted in Dagenham, equal pay, Equality, Mary Beard, Suffragettes | Comments Off on One Hundred Years