Greetings from Beantown–with lots coming up today:
Today is the Future We Create Virtual Conference about the Future of Women in Chemistry and Science at 11 am ET. I’m honored to be one of 60 speakers speaking together for 60 minutes to discuss, debate and define how women can move the field and industry of chemistry—as well as other sciences—forward. Covering topics from work-life balance and gender differences to mentoring young women and fostering executive leadership, Women in Chemistry will inspire, educate and challenge people to think in new and innovative ways about women’s role in advancing chemistry, the sciences and human potential. Details to watch here.
At 6:30 pm, I’m speaking at Tufts University in Barnum Hall, room 008 and will be signing books after. As a Tufts alumna, this will be my first time back to campus since graduation in 2002 and I’m really looking forward to it! Tonight’s event is free and open to the public so if you’re in town, come on by.
Registration is open for Energy at the Movies on March 9, or you can sign up to watch the webcast:
From the gushing geysers of Giant, to the plutonium-powered time machine of Back to the Future, Hollywood has entertained us with unforgettable, often iconic images of energy. Whether intentional or not, films frequently serve as a snapshot of society, capturing sentiments of each time period. Many films have themes or scenes that memorialize collective optimism, fears, and observations about energy. Using film clips as a historical road map, Energy at the Movies is an entertaining lecture that will enlighten audiences about the ways films influence how we think about energy, and in turn, how we influence energy policy.
Dr. Michael Webber will present an engaging interactive lecture followed by our panel discussion:
It’s that time of year once again… The annual AAAS meeting is upon us. This is my favorite conference because I get to visit so many friends from different communities in media, policy, and science. In a few hours I’ll be flying up to Washington, DC and I’m particularly excited for 2011 because it’s been my first year serving on the Program Committee. There will be so many fantastic panels and discussions and I love the interdisciplinary nature of the meeting.
integrates the practice of science, both in research and teaching, that uses multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving, crosses conventional borders, and takes into consideration the diversity of investigators and students. The program will feature sessions with strong scientific content across many science and engineering fields.
On Saturday at noon, I’ll be introducing topical speaker Samantha Joye who will discuss “Offshore Ocean Aspects of the Gulf Oil Well Blowout.”
You can browse the program here. With that, I’m off to the airport… See you in Cap City!
My wonderful publisher, Grand Central, is throwing a Valentines Day Twitter Party for the book! There will be tons of fun tweets all day with trivia, fun facts, giveaways, and more. To join us, attach the hashtag #SciKiss to any related posts and you can find me @Sheril_
At 3:30, I’ll be on BlogTalkRadio for a “Valentine’s Day Roundtable with the authors of THE SCIENCE OF KISSING & SEALING THE DEAL”:
Join us for a special Valentine’s Day interview with Sheril Kirshenbaum (THE SCIENCE OF KISSING) and Diana Kirschner (SEALING THE DEAL). Sheril Kirshenbaum is a research scientist at The Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas at Austin . She blogs on Discover magazine’s website, The Intersection, and contributes to a variety of blogs and science publications. Diana Kirschner, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who has more than 25 years of professional and practical experience doing therapy and workshops for singles and writing relationship articles for women. Dr. Diana appears regularly on the Today show, has been a guest on Oprah and many other national television and radio programs. Her popular Love in 90 Days workshops have been featured in major media around the world. She has been happily married for over 25 years. Don’t miss our discussion as we celebrate the day of love!
And today I have a date with Hofstra University where I’ll be speaking about The Science of Kissing. As a native New Yorker, I can’t think of a better place to spend Valentine’s Day!
You can listen to our full interview here and I encourage readers to contribute to PRI’s forum where I am taking questions from listeners about the history, biology, and chemistry behind locking lips.
We’re bringing Energy to the historic Austin City Limits stage and going live worldwide by webcast…
From the gushing geysers of Giant, to the plutonium-powered time machine of Back to the Future, Hollywood has entertained us with unforgettable, often iconic images of energy. Whether intentional or not, films frequently serve as a snapshot of society, capturing sentiments of each time period. Many films have themes or scenes that memorialize collective optimism, fears, and observations about energy. Using film clips as a historical road map, Energy at the Movies is an entertaining lecture that will enlighten audiences about the ways films influence how we think about energy, and in turn, how we influence energy policy.
A central element of human civilization, energy is critical for water, food, mobility, comfort, and industry. In fact, the emergence of the modern energy sector has been a critical enabler for economic development over the last 150 years. However, the path to affluence came at heavy costs; most notably environmental degradation and persistent threats to national security. Today, society continues to grapple with the consequences of how we produce, use and trade energy. Fortunately, history has useful lessons to teach us, and many of those lessons are captured in film.
This two-part event builds on Dr. Michael Webber’s successful university honors course of the same title. By incorporating clips from various films, humorously interspersed with snippets of energy history, technology, policy and observations on current affairs, he shares universal truths and trends about energy. The evening begins with a fun-spirited multi-media lecture, followed by a moderated panel discussion with filmmakers, historians, and commentators. Join us as we navigate through 70 years of energy on the big screen.
Day: Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Time: 600 pm
Where: KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, Studio 6A
Schedule: 600-730 pm Dr. Webbers’ Energy lecture with film clips
730-800 pm Reception
800-930 pm Moderated panel discussion
(with interactive global Q&A)
Panelists:
• Sheril Kirshenbaum (co-author of Unscientific America)
• Turk Pipkin (producer of Nobelity Project & One Peace at a Time)
• Matthew Chapman (great-great grandson of Charles Darwin, screenwriter and director for such films as Runaway Jury and 2011’s The Ledge)
• Charles Ramirez Berg (film historian and distinguished UT professor)
This will be a terrific event! The website will be live soon, and you can Follow & Friend E@TM for updates: Twitter Facebook
Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that I frequently write about women in science and the unique challenges for female science bloggers. And there have been many moments over the past four years when I’ve felt as if I was shouting into the wind.
I “Came Out” in 2007, was “Singled Out” in 2009, and went “Under The Microscope” in 2010, with lots of related posts in between. Each piece initially garnered an enormous response, high blog traffic, and echoed across the blogosphere–until a few days later when everyone seemed to forget and move on. The Internet has no memory after all.
So I can’t say I expected things would be any different when I proposed a panel entitled “Perils of blogging as a woman under a real name” for Science Online 2011. But two weeks later I’m wondering if maybe we’re reaching critical mass as attitudes are beginning to shift. As more of us stand up and speak out, transgressions become harder to ignore. If we raise awareness collectively, we shift cultural mores. And I’m encouraged that we’re moving in that direction.
Suddenly I feel as if I’m not shouting against the wind alone anymore. Sure, this week’s enthusiasm will ebb at some point, but times are assuredly changing. Along with the blogosphere. We still have a long way to go, but I’m optimistic at how far we’ve already come…
If you haven’t already caught Bad Project by Zheng Lab, watch this and compare to the original fabulous videoBad Romance by Lady Gaga (produced by my brilliant cousin Nicole Ehrlich).
There is much I’d like to write about ScienceOnline2011 and the sessions I participated in. However, there’s already an outstanding blog post by one of my co-panelists Kathryn Clancy that’s a must-read. She hit a home run reporting on our session entitled, “Perils of blogging as a woman under a real name” where we shared the floor with Anne Jefferson and Joanne Manaster. Here’s a sample, but I strongly encourage everyone to visit her blog for the entire piece:
..while I think all my co-panelists had some very important things to say, and some great stories (and awful stalker stories), the audience is what made the panel. Here are a few things they had to say:
We need to be clear about how bad it really is to write under your own name — some women have had no problems at all where others have been driven out. Depending on the topic you write about and the kind of audience you write for, you will have different experiences, and many women will have only good experiences. We shouldn’t be too negative.
Some people think writing for a female audience is lame. Apparently there is a listserv of science writers, and about once a year a conversation starts up about whether science writers should write for women’s magazines — apparently many people come down on the side of not thinking science writers should write for them. (My take? Any time anyone says there is anything wrong with writing for women, it is sexist.)
One fantastic young woman talked about how she avoids discussing her blog with her peers for fear of becoming the “soft skills chick.” Doing anything other than the hottest science seems to delegitimize women very quickly; however in some cases men get rewarded for doing the same thing (examples that come to my mind are picking up extra teaching and service, or having offspring, the latter being empirically supported).
Robin Lloyd already mentioned this in her article, but Ed Yong attended our panel (one of, I think, only three men). He mentioned that he gets DMed on Twitter regularly by men who want him to Tweet or promote their posts. He said he had never been DMed for promotional reasons by a woman. I was completely flabbergasted by this comment (and I don’t think I was the only one), because it had never occurred to me that I could even do that sort of a thing.
The brilliant Zuska made several great comments (as Sheril pointed out, she really should have been on the panel!). One that really struck me is that we need to interrogate assumptions about women and provide empirical evidence against them. The reason this came up was that we were discussing where attacks can come from, and how sometimes the attacks come from women as well as men. I believe someone made the comment that women can be worse, and alluded to the idea that women make bad bosses for women. Zuska pointed out that when you look at the evidence male bosses are still worse to women than women are to women. And of course, towards the end of the panel Zuska also used what is likely her most famous and beloved line, “I want to puke on their shoes.”
It was an honor and privilege to spend the hour with such the incredible group of women and men in the room. This is not a new subject, but one I hope we will continue to address on- and offline as science–and the blogosphere–continue to evolve. Now go read Kate’s full post…
At noon, I’ll be at Boston’s NPR studio to appear on The Emily Rooney Show on WGBH-FM talking about “The Science of Kissing.’’ Locals can tune in on 89.7 FM.
