Author Archives: Athene Donald

The Cost of Speaking Out

The press (at least in the UK) has been full of the ‘Lord Rennard’ story this week. A man, hugely influential in building up the success of the LibDems but against whom four women (party activists) have spoken out, saying … Continue reading

Posted in disclosure, Equality, harassment, Lord Rennard, Women in science | Comments Off on The Cost of Speaking Out

A Pensieve for your Thoughts

Last weekend my OT colleague Stephen Curry put up a thoughtful and thought-provoking post reflecting on the shortness of life, where his is going and other angst-inducing topics including obituaries, all provoked by the fact that he was approaching 50. … Continue reading

Posted in JK Rowling, post-it notes, Science Culture | Comments Off on A Pensieve for your Thoughts

No Comment

Dear Reader I am going to make a complaint. This is a complaint directed to many of you, but by no means all, so bear with me. I know I am not the only blog-writer who feels this way, so … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Communicating Science, discussion, Science Culture, twitter | Comments Off on No Comment

Bust the Heroic Myth in Science

‘Paul Nurse believes in heroes of science’ was a line in my Twitter feed one morning recently ‘and so do I’ continued Roger Highfield, who gave the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Prize Lecture  at the Royal Society on this very topic last year. … Continue reading

Posted in heroes, Paul Nurse, Peter Higgs, Research, Roger Highfield, Science Culture | Comments Off on Bust the Heroic Myth in Science

Science, Poetry and Gender

Not so long ago I gave a talk in Oxford about why I believe it is important for the public not to feel so distanced from science and maths that they are comfortable saying ‘I never could do maths at … Continue reading

Posted in Caspar Henderson, Communicating Science, Mary Midgley, Nicholas Harberd, richard dawkins | Comments Off on Science, Poetry and Gender

Seasonal Lists (and the REF)

The end of the year is, by custom, the time for lists. Lists of best (or worst) photos, opening book sentences, or celebrity fashion faux pas; lists of those who died or those who made their film/book/TV/sporting debuts. Think of … Continue reading

Posted in New Year, REF, Science Culture, twitter | Comments Off on Seasonal Lists (and the REF)

Party Time

Since it’s the festive season, at least in my part of the world, it seems appropriate to post about parties, but what follows is far from confined to Christmas, or the associated office party. It could just as well be … Continue reading

Posted in guests, Life in Science, Peoplewatching | Comments Off on Party Time

You Don’t Know the Rules? You Are Not Alone!

Are you one of those people who think there must be a ‘right’ way of doing every task, or are you prepared to muddle through making it up as you go along? A reader of my recent post on Being … Continue reading

Posted in convention, mentors, Science Culture, uncertainty | Comments Off on You Don’t Know the Rules? You Are Not Alone!

Climbing the Ladder

It has been a while since I wrote about the challenges facing those setting out on the academic ladder. Those who, having got past their PhD viva are now starting to progress through the ranks of an Early Career Researcher … Continue reading

Posted in careers, CV, experience, postdocs, Science Culture | Comments Off on Climbing the Ladder

On being Feisty and Unconventional

Women in science seem to fare less well than men based on practically any measure. The reasons for this are many and various; they are also much discussed yet progress remains slow. To take as a specific example, why are … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Woodward, Claarte Vinkenburg, Curt Rice, Equality, ERC, Leadership Foundation, Teresa Rees, Women in science | Comments Off on On being Feisty and Unconventional