Author Archives: Athene Donald

Chinese Whispers, Truth and the Media

Posted on 13 March 2011 by Athene Donald

A couple of years ago, when I won the L’Oreal/UNESCO For Women in Science prize for Europe, L’Oreal asked me to prepare various bits of material for press releases and other publicity. Their initial brief press release mentioned both that … Continue reading →

Posted in accuracy, Alzheimer's Disease, Communicating Science, journalism, L'Oreal For Women in Science, the Guardian, the Observer, Women in science | Comments Off on Chinese Whispers, Truth and the Media

Life on a Bicycle

Posted on 9 March 2011 by Athene Donald

It is a particular joy about life for many of us in Cambridge that we don’t need to rely on a car, or indeed public transport. Cambridge is a city whose size and terrain makes cycling feasible, and whose drivers … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, freedom, green living, Life in Science | Comments Off on Life on a Bicycle

Do we want to ‘feminise’ science teaching?

Posted on 6 March 2011 by Athene Donald

This week two rather different (scholarly) articles about women/girls and science were brought to my notice. One, a study of 14 year old schoolchildren began ‘Girls are more interested in studying science if topics are presented in a female friendly … Continue reading →

Posted in education, girls, role models, stereotype threat, teaching material, Women in science | Comments Off on Do we want to ‘feminise’ science teaching?

Read the Question

Posted on 28 February 2011 by Athene Donald

One of the first things we tell children as they start to do exams is ‘read the question’. As they get more sophisticated we go further, and say think about what the examiners want and how to express key points … Continue reading →

Posted in committee work, CV, form-filling, promotion, Science Culture | Comments Off on Read the Question

Remembering the Women

Posted on 23 February 2011 by Athene Donald

This week Yasmin Alibahi-Brown wrote a piece in the Independent entitled ‘This is still a man’s world’ She said At every level, still, even in the West, women are invisible, neglected, kept down, slighted, patronised, objectified, denied and demeaned in … Continue reading →

Posted in committee membership, Communicating Science, Equality, gender equality, media training, Start the Week, Women in science | Comments Off on Remembering the Women

Scientists are Human too

Posted on 18 February 2011 by Athene Donald

As I took a painkiller for a headache with my breakfast the other day, in advance of a first year lecture to 350 undergraduates, I was reminded of the words from the Yeoman of the Guard sung by the mournful … Continue reading →

Posted in caring responsibilities, lecturing, parents, Science Culture, students | Comments Off on Scientists are Human too

Indigestible Committee Paperwork

Posted on 13 February 2011 by Athene Donald

Each summer it is standard for publications to produce lists of exam howlers to remind us just how woefully ignorant some of our students are at all levels. I have never seen a list of comparable statements regarding crass errors … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, hyperbole, industrial collaboration, Outreach, Pathways to impact, Research, research council funding, Science Funding | Comments Off on Indigestible Committee Paperwork

Progression and Backlash

Posted on 9 February 2011 by Athene Donald

One of the blogs that I try to read regularly – beyond my local microcosm of Occam’s Typewriter – is that of FemaleScienceProfessor, also known as FSP for short .  You can guess I would feel a sense of shared … Continue reading →

Posted in affirmative action, Equality, maternity leave, minority, positive action, tenure clock, tenure track, Women in science | Comments Off on Progression and Backlash