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Author Archives: Athene Donald
With Regret
It is always difficult to know when to say no, or enough is enough. Turning down or walking away from opportunities is a difficult thing to do, particularly when they are things you’d really like to do. But there comes … Continue reading
Posted in Communicating Science, Durham, Science Culture, Science Museum, Shildon, Wonderlab
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Warts and All
Are role models useful? What should they look like (metaphorically rather than literally; I’m not channelling dizzy blond here)? And how should they describe themselves? A recent article entitled ‘Successful women do not always make the best role models’ in … Continue reading
Posted in role model, Science Culture, Sheryl Sandberg, superwoman, Women in science
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Expectations
Nature this week published its annual (and international) survey on salaries. As the article points out, many respondents use the survey as a means of venting, so the survey also provides a snapshot of (self-selecting and therefore not necessarily representative) … Continue reading
Posted in advice, careers, early career researchers, Royal Society, Science Culture
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Withdrawal Symptoms
As a new PI what advice is likely to be of assistance? Eight of us old hands were recently asked by the THE to write some words of wisdom, which newly-minted PI’s may or may not have found useful. Their … Continue reading
Posted in advice, early career researchers, mentoring, principal investigator, Research, Science Culture
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Freeing the Brain
I’ve been away for the past week somewhere where I really could escape my email. (My previous post about whether one should read email on holiday was written with feeling!) When I go away I particularly like to go somewhere … Continue reading
Failure in Real Life
Before my university term starts, I have two dates towards the end of September to talk to young women. One of these is directed at girls of school age, the other women at PhD level, to try to encourage them … Continue reading
Posted in Communicating Science, CV, Outreach, school children, Science Culture, Stuart Firestein
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Flexible Working or Never Switched Off?
A number of years ago I noticed that the secretary to the committee I was chairing was regularly sending me emails late at night. Concerned the organisation was overloading the woman so that she could only catch up by working … Continue reading
Posted in careers, email, part-time, Pressure, Science Culture
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Why Didn’t I Become a Biologist?
The question in the title is not a rhetorical question. I find it strange when I look back at my early years, why I ended up so convinced I wanted to be a physicist, particularly as there was no family … Continue reading
Posted in birdwatching, careers, education, Hampstead Heath, systematising
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Stiffening the Backbone
As usual the problem seems to lie with the sub-editors. I read a piece in the Guardian entitled ‘Struggling students are not lacking resilience – they need more support.’ Reading the heading on its own I thought that the article … Continue reading
Posted in education, mental health, supervisions, tutors
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Still Feeling like an Impostor?
It’s that feeling you get when your PhD supervisor asks you to give your first conference presentation. Or, at a later career stage, when someone suggests you apply for a fellowship. That feeling they must have got it wrong, you’re … Continue reading
Posted in Communicating Science, Hugh Kearns, Im[pstor syndrome, Science Culture, Stuart Higgins
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