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Author Archives: Athene Donald
Jobsworthiness and Horror Stories in Equality
The policeman at the centre of ‘Gategate’, who may or may not have been called a pleb by the Conservative Chief Whip, has been called in the press a ‘jobsworth’, a term certainly not complimentary even if not in the … Continue reading
Posted in CV, Equality, job applications, Unconscious bias, Women in science
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Heroic Genius or a Distraction from Reality?
This week I strayed from my occasional home on the Guardian blogs to a mainstream print newspaper, writing a piece for the Telegraph to follow on from the Stephen Hawking Grand Design programme launch I wrote about briefly before. My … Continue reading
Posted in big science, Communicating Science, education, Einstein, Newton, Primary School Curriculum
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Is it Ever Safe to Shed the L-plates?
I well remember that moment of transition when moving from undergraduate to postgraduate; that moment when my tutor asked me to call them by their first name (perhaps a rite of passage no longer so exciting, since first names are … Continue reading
Posted in confidence, fear, life skills, Science Culture
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Falling Down the Cracks: The Challenge for Interdisciplinary Science
Let’s hear it for interdisciplinary science. Everyone says what a good idea it is. The research councils strategic plans tend to laud it. And yet, and yet….Do they mean it?
Posted in BBSRC, Biological Physics, EPSRC, Interdisciplinary Science, refereeing
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Were You Inspired?
When someone sticks a microphone in front of you, it is all too easy for the truth to out, despite one’s media training. I have frequently been asked one particular question during interviews, but somehow this week I didn’t nuance … Continue reading
Posted in Adam Rutherford, Brian Cox, Communicating Science, Dara O Briain, Martin Rees, role model, Science Culture, Will Self
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Blood and More Blood
Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge is understandably proud of its tradition in medicine. One of its illustrious alumni is William Harvey, who studied there in the 1590’s before going on to publish evidence to demonstrate the circulation of blood. … Continue reading
Posted in anatomy, book review, circulation, dissection, Gonville and Caius College, History of Science, William Harvey
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If You Want a Job Done….
.…ask a busy person is the usual way to complete the phrase. But although this may be wise for the person wanting the job done, it’s tough on those paragons who repeatedly get asked to take on new duties. Hence … Continue reading
Posted in committee membership, professors, Research, Science Culture, selfishness, workload model
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Get a Wife!
This useful phrase seems to be the advice proffered by one physicist – male of course – to questions about how to succeed in an academic career. It says a lot about what may go wrong for women also trying … Continue reading
Posted in academic couples, career progression, childcare, Equality, marriage, partner, Women in science
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On Being Inefficient
Academia is a great place for being judged on outputs, and I’m not just referring to the kind of output relevant to the REF. But, be it papers written, worked examples provided, grants submitted or students tutored, we are expected … Continue reading
Posted in multi-tasking, PhD, PhD thesis writing, Research, Science Culture
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Sitting in my Corner
Today I find myself in the illustrious company of the well-known bloggers over at the Guardian Science Blogs. As Richard Grant and Stephen Curry already spelled out a week ago, we happy band of OT bloggers have a new outpost … Continue reading
Posted in blogs, Guardian, journalism, Science Culture
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