Author Archives: Athene Donald

Science Funding from Europe and Commissioner Moedas

Posted on 1 July 2016 by Athene Donald

I went to Brussels this week for a Plenary meeting of the European Research Council’s Scientific Council. It was a strange week to go. As I sat on Eurostar and stared out at the passing countryside I strongly felt, what … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, ERC, funding, Research, Science Funding | Comments Off on Science Funding from Europe and Commissioner Moedas

Graduation into Uncertainty

Posted on 25 June 2016 by Athene Donald

Graduation. That rite of passage that indicates the student moves on into the wider world. This past week has seen many hundreds of Cambridge undergraduates pass through the Senate House and emerge with their BA’s (or other appropriate degree(s)). So … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Equality, EU Referendum, michael gove | Comments Off on Graduation into Uncertainty

Forgetting Compassion

Posted on 19 June 2016 by Athene Donald

Last Thursday I sat next to the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Mark Walport, at a College dinner. We discovered we were exact contemporaries in Cambridge, both coming up in 1971 to a world utterly different from the one we … Continue reading →

Posted in diversity, ERC, EU, Jo Cox, minority, Remain | Comments Off on Forgetting Compassion

In Memoriam

Posted on 14 June 2016 by Athene Donald

In Memoriam A few weeks ago I was reading Anne Marie Slaughter’s book Unfinished Business. This book builds on an Atlantic article she wrote about why she quit working for Hilary Clinton to return to engage more fully in her … Continue reading →

Posted in Anne Marie Slaughter, mothers, Nigel Clarke, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on In Memoriam

What’s Missing from the White Paper?

Posted on 19 May 2016 by Athene Donald

This post first appeared on the Campaign for Science and Engineering’s website on 19-5-16 With over 600 responses to the Green Paper consultation, Jo Johnson and his team have had plenty of advice to consider. And some of the White … Continue reading →

Comments Off on What’s Missing from the White Paper?

The Competitive Streak in Academia

Posted on 13 May 2016 by Athene Donald

Does being competitive necessarily mean foregoing kindness? In essence this was the question posed to Uta Frith at the end of her public conversation with me last week (you can hear the whole conversation here). Uta didn’t give a completely … Continue reading →

Posted in Carol Robinson, impact factor, Mary Beard, Meaning of Success, Science Culture, Uta Frith, Women in science | Comments Off on The Competitive Streak in Academia

Putting a Value on the Intangible

Posted on 8 May 2016 by Athene Donald

Does being around trees make you less stressed? A recent study claims it does and, for many of us, green spaces undoubtedly confer a sense of peace and a place to sit and relax. Do trees confer benefits that can … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, economists, education, gardens, widening participation | Comments Off on Putting a Value on the Intangible

Embedding the People in our Labs

Posted on 3 May 2016 by Athene Donald

Scientists are people, they have emotions and they interact with their peers, their students, their professors….and indeed the public. Sometimes, however, scientists are represented as interacting with little more than glassware or white lab coats. We can be perceived as … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Hope Jahren, Lab Girl, relationships, Science Culture, students | Comments Off on Embedding the People in our Labs

Culture and Science

Posted on 28 April 2016 by Athene Donald

Culture arguably sits at the centre of our society, but what it means isn’t always clear. To many, too many I would say, it only refers to the ‘arty’ stuff: literature, films, art and music perhaps. That science could be … Continue reading →

Posted in AHRC, Geoff Crossick, Science Culture | Comments Off on Culture and Science

Unravelling Grant Success Rates by Gender

Posted on 22 April 2016 by Athene Donald

I first realised that the problems I was facing might just, possibly, not be down to my own shortcomings when I read the 1999 MIT report on the Status of Women. For the first time it occurred to me that … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, funders, mentoring, old boys' network, Women in science | Comments Off on Unravelling Grant Success Rates by Gender