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- Adventures in Wonderland by Richard Wintle
- Athene Donald's Blog by Athene Donald
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Author Archives: Athene Donald
Unlocking Potential?
Today I attended an event at the British Academy to launch a pamphlet produced under the auspices of the Smith Institute, a think tank which promotes progressive policies for a fairer society and named in honour of the former Labour … Continue reading
Posted in Careers advice, education, Equality, Meg Munn, retaining women, Smith Institute, Women in science
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Unconscious Bias and the Impact on Women entering Science
This is text of the talk I gave at the Howthelightgetsin Festival at Hay at the weekend. The talk was misleadingly entitled ‘Saving Science’ by the organisers, trailed as how women can ‘save’ science, but it is really about how … Continue reading
Posted in Equality, Project Implicit, role models, stereotype threat, Unconscious bias, Women in science
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Making Hay
You know how it is with buses, you wait for ages and then 3 come along at once. Well that seems to be what has happened with me with debates. Not that I was consciously waiting for them, but certainly … Continue reading
Posted in Communicating Science, debate, Hay Philosophy Festival, Human enhancement, Mary Warnock
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Career Progression and the Research Landscape
Career progression for postdocs is a key issue that affects the health of our science base. It formed the basis for a discussion with Science Minister David Willetts at the Royal Institution this week, an event hosted by Evan Harris … Continue reading
Posted in careers, David Willetts, postdocs, Research, Royal Institution, Science Funding, scienceisvital
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Science: Awareness and Ignorance
This week I gave the Henry Sidgwick Memorial Lecture at Newnham College – an open, public lecture – using the above title. I wanted to talk about my science in the context of the need for better communication between scientists … Continue reading
Posted in Communicating Science, distrust, Hay Philosophy Festival, Henry Sidgwick, media reporting, Public Engagement, Science Culture, starch
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A Work in Progress
No science discipline now can (or should) be seen as a silo, content to keep its boundaries closed against marauders from elsewhere. This is just as true of physics as any of the other sciences. For me, working at the … Continue reading
Posted in Biological Physics, education, Interdisciplinary Science, IOP, undergraduate teaching
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Kidding Yourself (The Impact Saga Continues)
This weekend I was persuaded by a member of my family to enter a local Parkrun. If, like me, you haven’t come across these before, I should say they offer weekly timed 5k runs at local venues. You just register, … Continue reading
Posted in aspiration, Communicating Science, education, Outreach, pathways to impact statements, Research, Royal Society, school-teachers, Science Funding
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University Committees’ Dramatis Personae
A little while ago I wrote about those committee members who are ubiquitous but who never would be missed. The cast of characters I described before were those prevalent on grant-giving committees, for instance, and so tended to be a … Continue reading
Posted in committee membership, committee structure, funding, little list, Science Culture, Science Funding
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The Power of Images
The low numbers of female role models to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers is often cited as a major problem in encouraging girls into science and then keeping them there. Comments on this blog have also remarked … Continue reading
Posted in inspirational, Julia King, Robert Taylor, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society, Science Culture, UKRC, Women in science, Women of Outstanding Achievement
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Getting Philosophical
A month or two back, in the editorial for the edition of Eureka discussing science and the media on the back of an event at the Royal Society, it was written We should send chemistry graduates to poetry slams, physicists … Continue reading
Posted in alternative medicine, Communicating Science, Hay Festival, Human enhancement, Interdisciplinary Science, John Harris, Mary Warnock
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