Latest posts

Getting Away from the Toxic Lab

Posted on 14 April 2019 by Athene Donald

The journal PLoS Computational Biology recently published an article Ten simple rules towards healthier research labs. Written by a PI it was obviously aimed largely at those who might be just setting out with their own groups, but clearly any leader can benefit from thinking harder about group dynamics and how they, as leader, interact with everyone around them; and, just as importantly, how they Continue reading →

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How to value what cannot be measured?

Posted on 10 April 2019 by Stephen

The post below is a transcript of my opening remarks at the a Great Debate held earlier today at the European Geosciences Union 2019 meeting in Vienna. The debate asked us to consider the question: What value should we place on contributions that cannot be easily measured?

190410-EGU-GreatDebate.Curry.001

As scientists, measurement is what we do. It is how we have built our disciplines and won the admiration and respect of our p Continue reading →

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In which we find out how

Posted on 9 April 2019 by Jennifer Rohn


Science in your pyjamas: bliss

What’s the youngest a person can be exposed to science in a meaningful way? Loyal readers will know that I’ve pondered this question before, especially since becoming a mother.

The other day a colleague told me that his four-year-old grand-daughter had expressed firm interest in “being a microbiologist when she grew up”, and could she and he Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic bliss, Joshua, Scientific thinking, students, Teaching | Comments Off on In which we find out how

On Project Leadership

Posted on 9 April 2019 by Nicola Spaldin

While history is likely to associate March 2017 with the United Kingdom declaring Article 50, it also marked a more constructive event: The launch of the ETH Materials Department “Materials Scientist 2030, Who is She?” project. Here, two years in, are some reflections on project leadership based on what I have learned from making my own mistakes in our project in parallel with watching Continue reading →

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Student Feedback

Posted on 7 April 2019 by Nicola Spaldin

After a few weeks of consolidating and tidying up the ideas generated during the retreat, the project team managed to converge a reasonably coherent curriculum structure, and decided that the next step was to run it past our current students for a feedback. In particular, we realized that our current and recently graduated students would be better able than us to spot if something essential was mi Continue reading →

Posted in education, Materials Science | Comments Off on Student Feedback

Does Leadership Need to be More Touchy-Feely?

Posted on 7 April 2019 by Athene Donald

If our sector is to see more minorities rise through the ranks to positions of power, indeed if any sector is to achieve this and go on, for instance, to remove the typical gender pay gap, then inclusive leadership needs to be the norm not an unusual surprise. A recent article published by the Harvard Business Review reflected on this and looked at what traits make an effective, inclusive leader w Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, group leader, humble, inclusivity, minorities, PhD students, Science Culture | Comments Off on Does Leadership Need to be More Touchy-Feely?

Tears Before Bedtime

Posted on 31 March 2019 by Athene Donald

Tears Before Bedtime

It is a well-worn trope that women weep and men shout. Stereotypical but, although I have occasionally seen women shout I have yet to see a man break down in public when losing an argument (as opposed to when losing a family member, for instance). There is some truth in the stereotyping.

But, in the male-by-default way of the world, shouting is still (largely) seen as somethin Continue reading →

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Leadership for Our Times

Posted on 27 March 2019 by Athene Donald

Much has been made recently of Theresa May’s leadership, or rather the lack of it. It reminds me how when I first took up the reins at Churchill College, several people told me the story of an earlier Master, William Hawthorne. Eminent engineer though he may have been, when it came to sensing the mood of the fellowship over the possibility of admitting women he seems to have got it badly wrong. Ho Continue reading →

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Lady in Red

Posted on 24 March 2019 by Athene Donald

There has been some interesting dialogue over Twitter recently regarding what sort of images may – or may not – inspire future generations of young women to think about the STEM subjects and, in the exchanges I’ve seen recently, specifically engineering. What sort of poster girls work best and which just annoy? The argument seems to be that glossy brochures dreamed up by advertising agencies featu Continue reading →

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How *NOT* to deliver a seminar

Posted on 8 March 2019 by Steve Caplan

It seems that people are apt to try and recreate or relive their greatest successes, and it turns out that I am not immune to this behavior. Some years ago, a combination of exasperation and disbelief coupled with an attempt to educate others led me to publish a satirical piece called “How NOT to get a lab job.” http://www.lablit.com/article/668

In those years I was besieged with a multitude of po Continue reading →

Posted in education, How NOT to get a lab job, how to deliver a presentation, How to give a seminar, humor, postdoc, postdoctoral fellow, presentation, Research, science, talk, tips on presenting a seminar | Comments Off on How *NOT* to deliver a seminar