Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn

About Jennifer Rohn

Scientist, novelist, rock chick

In which I look ahead

Posted on 29 March 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Wishing something will not make it real. But its opposite is a very powerful force: if you decide something is out of your reach, it’s never going to happen. I am not ascribing some New-Age prophecy or supernatural barrier here: … Continue reading →

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In which we rev up again

Posted on 18 March 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

It’s been a long, cold winter. Science Is Vital has been in hibernation, but now we’re back. After half a year since the government’s Autumn Spending Review, the implications of the science budget’s cash freeze are starting to kick in. … Continue reading →

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In which I go native

Posted on 16 March 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

We scientists are an itinerant bunch, wafting from job to job, city to city and – frequently – country to country, in search of that elusive permanent position. Because of that, our sense of ‘home’ – a place where we … Continue reading →

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In which I lose my temper

Posted on 14 March 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Late last year I blogged about the new health and safety rule handed down on high from the research council that funds our institute: all staff must wear safety glasses at all times while in the laboratory – regardless of … Continue reading →

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In which I assert my right of interpretation

Posted on 9 March 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

In doing research for my previous World View piece for Nature about the lack of female science pundits, I came across the notion that women might be discouraged from expressing their views in public in part because they didn’t want … Continue reading →

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In which I do my bit

Posted on 1 March 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

For me, one of the highlights of Science Online 2011 was meeting @HistoryGeek – Holly Tucker, an Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University who teaches French and the history of medicine, and whose upcoming book Blood Work, a tale of murder … Continue reading →

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In which I ask my due

Posted on 21 February 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

When has good writing become such a cheap commodity that people seem reluctant to pay for it? I still remember the first piece of proper science writing I ever did. The year was 2003, the place was Amsterdam, and my … Continue reading →

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In which I wait for spring to come

Posted on 13 February 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Dusk was already falling, along with a light drizzle, earlier this afternoon as I pushed brown ovoid objects repeatedly into heavy wet earth. Carelessly dressed against the cold, my muddy fingertips going numb, I worked the trowel and hoped I … Continue reading →

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In which the truth hurts – or does it?

Posted on 7 February 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

As crocuses push through muddy earth, the air softens on campus and the undergraduates wake up from hibernation to resume clogging up the pizza queue in the refectory, I feel the weight, yet again, of the swift passage of days … Continue reading →

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In which we fail to meet expectations

Posted on 26 January 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Sometimes you find yourself in a crowd, experiencing the unreal sense that you’re wearing a disguise, or acting out a part in a play, or watching yourself in a web-cam feed. Last week I attended the biennial meeting of Wellcome … Continue reading →

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