Category Archives: Interdisciplinary Science

How Much Does the Scientific Ecosystem Change over Time?

Posted on 26 January 2025 by Athene Donald

Desmond Bernal was an outstanding crystallographer. Not himself a Nobel Prize winner, he set the likes of Dorothy Hodgkin and Max Perutz on their own successful paths to that accolade. A Communist, he fell from grace during the 50’s and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in CP Snow, deficit model, Desmond Bernal, Interdisciplinary Science, Londa Schiebinger, macho, Project Implicit, Sage, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, The Social Function of Science, Unconscious bias, Universities | Comments Off on How Much Does the Scientific Ecosystem Change over Time?

Unreactive Audiences and Pertinent Questions

Posted on 19 January 2025 by Athene Donald

Given that it is now a decade or more since I was particularly involved in research, if I am asked to give a seminar – usually to students, sometimes undergraduates, sometimes and more commonly PhD students and early career research … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in careers, deficit model, Interdisciplinary Science, jerks, Londa Schiebinger, macho, Project Implicit, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, team players, Unconscious bias, Universities | Comments Off on Unreactive Audiences and Pertinent Questions

Praise and Possibility

Posted on 15 December 2024 by Athene Donald

Anyone who watched the final of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing will have heard words like ‘resilient’, ‘belief’ and ‘self-confidence’ thrown in the direction of the four finalists by the judges, with all contestants having been on a ‘journey’. It got … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in academic pyramid, careers, deficit model, Interdisciplinary Science, Londa Schiebinger, macho, PhD students, Project Implicit, resilience, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, Strictly Come Dancing, supervisors, Unconscious bias, Universities | Comments Off on Praise and Possibility

Living in Silos

Posted on 8 December 2024 by Athene Donald

When I first started writing this blog in 2010, I imagined I was going to write about the science that interested me, the latest papers in my field that caught my eye, and specifically highlight the excitement and challenge of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Department for Education, education, interdisciplinarity, Interdisciplinary Science, jargon, natural history, People, Roger Pielke | Comments Off on Living in Silos

When to Say Yes

Posted on 30 November 2024 by Athene Donald

I’ve been writing this blog for more than fourteen years now, incredible though that sounds, at least to me. I rarely look back at what has gone before and if I do, it’s mainly to check I’m not repeating myself. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Forum, careers, committees, deficit model, Interdisciplinary Science, learning, Londa Schiebinger, macho, Project Implicit, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, Unconscious bias, Universities | Comments Off on When to Say Yes

Renaissance Man?

Posted on 5 March 2023 by Athene Donald

This week the sad news of the death of physicist and erstwhile colleague Tom McLeish was announced, a soft matter theorist and committed interdisciplinarian – as well as a committed Christian. He is particularly associated with developing theories for the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in ICI, interdisciplinary, Interdisciplinary Science, polymer melts, Research, Tom McLeish | Comments Off on Renaissance Man?

Parliamentary Activity

Posted on 2 May 2022 by Athene Donald

This week has brought some curious interventions into the STEM landscape in Parliament. I will return shortly to the much-publicised, if seemingly ill-informed remarks about girls and Physics made by Katherine Birbalsingh – a headteacher and the Government’s social mobility … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Interdisciplinary Science, Katherine Birbalsingh, Ottoline Leyser, Science and Technology Select Committee, Science Culture, Science Funding, UKRI, Women in science | Comments Off on Parliamentary Activity

‘Pure’ versus ‘Applied’ Science

Posted on 12 September 2021 by Athene Donald

When I started this blog, more than ten years ago, I imagined I would write about physics, and specifically about physics at the interface with biology. Perhaps, I thought, I would write about exciting papers I’d read; indeed, I asked … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Biological Physics, education, Interdisciplinary Science, James Clerk Maxwell, Mike Cates, Pietro Cicuta, Research | Comments Off on ‘Pure’ versus ‘Applied’ Science

How Long does it take to Gain Expertise?

Posted on 3 January 2020 by Athene Donald

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s right-hand man, currently is said to be set on shaking up the Civil Service. The three elements that are rumoured to be on the agenda are: Better training in data science, systems thinking and ‘super-forecasting; Staff … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Service, Dominic Cummings, Interdisciplinary Science, Science Funding, UKRI | Comments Off on How Long does it take to Gain Expertise?

The Interdisciplinary Challenge

Posted on 24 February 2019 by Athene Donald

This week I am talking at an event in London marking (I believe) the launch of Nature Reviews Physics, but the emphasis of this event will be on the promotion of best working practices in ‘physics and interdisciplinary science’, as … Continue reading →

Posted in crossing boundaries, Interdisciplinary Science, nature, Research, starch | Comments Off on The Interdisciplinary Challenge