Behind the Laboratory Doors

2021 ◽  
pp. 99-110
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Schindler
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Bacterial Genetics ◽  
The Public ◽  
Faculty Positions ◽  
Joshua Lederberg

This chapter compares Esther Lederberg’s role with that of other notable women scientists whose achievements exhibited creative laboratory skills. Esther’s career peaked in 1956 when the Society of Illinois Bacteriologists jointly bestowed the Pasteur Medal on the Lederberg couple. Usually, Joshua Lederberg was the public face of their research program. Esther’s place was behind the laboratory doors where she managed the lab and performed the experiments. For over a hundred years, this was the typical arrangement for women and their male associates. Prestigious faculty positions and accolades were unattainable for so many women in science. For Esther and many of her female colleagues, the thrill of discovery was enough reward. Esther valued the camaraderie of the brilliant personalities that made up the circle of pioneering researchers. Stanley Falkow called her a kind of Boswell of bacterial genetics. Her extensive photographic collection is a who’s who of molecular biology, many as their younger selves.

Love in the Laboratory

2021 ◽  
pp. 44-51
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Schindler
Keyword(s):  
Research Program ◽  
Cold Spring Harbor ◽  
Bacterial Conjugation ◽  
Bacterial Genetics ◽  
Yale University ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Cold Spring ◽  
The University ◽  
Joshua Lederberg

This chapter describes the marriage of two prodigies and how it represented a fruitful alliance of complementary research personalities: the brilliant theoretician and the skillful experimenter. Esther Zimmer and Joshua Lederberg were two of the youngest scientists to attend the 1946 summer symposium at Cold Spring Harbor. Edward Tatum arranged for his protégé, young Lederberg, to present his stupendous discovery of bacterial conjugation, showing that bacteria could mate and recombine their genes. Zimmer and Lederberg began a short romance and married five months later. The young couple moved near the campus of Yale University, where Joshua wrote up his thesis and Esther researched Neurospora genetics with Norman Giles. The following summer, Tatum negotiated with Yale to grant an accelerated PhD to Joshua. The University of Wisconsin offered him an assistant professorship, and Joshua and Esther moved to Madison in 1947. There they established the first research program in bacterial genetics.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Schindler
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
New Species ◽  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Bacterial Genetics ◽  
Replica Plating ◽  
One Step

This chapter relates how one day in 1950, Esther Zimmer Lederberg cleverly re-purposed her compact makeup pad and invented replica plating. This whimsical experiment led to an elegant technique for duplicating many bacterial clones in one step, a clever invention that epitomized her experimental creativity. The chapter shows how the Lederbergs established the field of bacterial genetics years before the birth of molecular biology and together discovered bacterial sex (or horizontal gene transfer, HGT) the peculiar processes that enable bacteria to rapidly spread their genes, leading to antibiotic resistance and the evolution of new species. The stellar reputation of her brilliant husband and collaborator, however, diminished Esther Lederberg’s legacy. The systematic bias against giving due credit for achievements of women scientists whose work is misattributed to their scientific colleagues is known as the Matilda Effect. Esther Lederberg’s story is sadly similar to those of many exemplary women scientists.

Women in science: from images to data

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Jami
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

Abstract In recent decades research in the social sciences, including in the history of science, has shown that women scientists continue to be depicted as exceptions to the rule that a normal scientist is a man. The underlying message is that being an outstanding scientist is incompatible with being an ordinary woman. From women scientists’ reported experiences, we learn that family responsibilities as well as sexism in their working environment are two major hindrances to their careers. This experience is now backed by statistical analysis, so that what used to be regarded as an individual problem for each woman of science can now be identified as a multi-layered social phenomenon, to be analysed and remedied as such. Over the last five years, international scientific unions have come together to address these issues, first through the Gender Gap in Science Project, and recently through the setting up of a Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES) whose task is to foster measures to reduce the barriers that women scientists have to surmount in their working lives.

scholarly journals ПРОДВИЖЕНИЕ ЖЕНЩИН В СФЕРЕ НАУКИ КАК ВАЖНОЕ УСЛОВИЕ ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ ПРАВ И РАСШИРЕНИЯ ВОЗМОЖНОСТЕЙ ДЛЯ ЖЕНЩИН

2019 ◽  
pp. 29-32
Author(s):  
Ф. Хамдамова
Keyword(s):  
Women Scientists ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Foreign Countries

The article is devoted to the issues of expanding opportunities for women in the field of science, especially in the field of technical and natural sciences, support for women scientists and researchers. The author considers the experience of foreign countries and the recommendations of international bodies, on the basis of which makes a number of proposals for the advancement of women in science.

Education and Research for Infrastructure and Public Works

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil S. Grigg
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Clear Vision ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Global Reach

By clarifying roles through partnerships, the neglect of education and research in policy studies of infrastructure can be remedied, and the public works profession can develop a clear vision of its education and research needs and responsibilities. The American Public Works Association (APWA) has key roles to play, and by using their resources in partnership with K-12 schools and higher education, local chapters can reach out to assist in education and research to benefit both the public works profession and educational institutions. A revitalized APWA education and research program could strengthen the organization and have a global reach. APWA should sort out the cross-cutting and common education themes needed by the public works industry, defining roles that can, in partnerships with others, be implemented clearly and effectively.

The IAU Strategic Plan 2020–2030, a blueprint for forging a new social revolution in astronomy and for using astronomy as a tool for building a progressive society

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S367) ◽  
pp. 14-23
Author(s):  
John B. Hearnshaw
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Plan ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
School Level ◽  
Social Revolution ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Frontier ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Astronomical Research ◽  
The Individual

AbstractI discuss the second IAU Strategic Plan for the decade 2020–30 in the context of the overall evolution of the IAU in recent past decades. This article shows how the IAU has evolved dramatically since WW2. It is hardly recognizable in terms of its original organization and goals of a century ago. What was once an inward-looking body engaged purely with the procedures of astronomical research is now a dynamic and outward-looking organization, interacting with people, especially students and the public.A large part of this success must be attributed to the IAU’s unique body of individual members, whose number has grown strongly in recent decades. It is the individual members, especially through the Commissions and Working Groups, who have promoted these enormous changes in the outlook of the Union. This is a model for other scientific unions to follow, and especially for the work to promote the careers of women in science, for promoting the careers of young astronomers, for bringing students into astronomy or into science in general, for helping people with disabilities to have careers in astronomy, for engaging with the public, and for helping to develop astronomy and science in developing countries.Looking to the future, the IAU’s new Strategic Plan for the years 2020 to 2030 has five major goals for the coming decade: 1. The IAU leads the worldwide coordination of astronomy and the fostering of communication and dissemination of astronomical knowledge among professional astronomers. 2. The IAU promotes the inclusive advancement of the field of astronomy in every country. 3. The IAU promotes the use of astronomy as a tool for development in every country. 4. The IAU engages the public in astronomy through access to astronomical information and communication of the science of astronomy. 5. The IAU stimulates the use of astronomy for teaching and education at school level.Future developments will also be engaging with the large number of amateur astronomers and helping to promote astro-tourism, which is perhaps the new frontier now growing rapidly around the world. The Strategic Plan is a blueprint for forging a social revolution in astronomy and for using astronomy as a tool for building a progressive society.

Resources for Historical Background

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannette Brown
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Black College ◽  
Background Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Worth Reading ◽  
Background History

Many historians have written about the history of African Americans in science, but most of the articles focus only on the men and very little is written about the women. It would take additional research to find information pertaining only to the women. However, since both men and women lived through the same era, much of what affected the men also affected the women. The background information about black women chemists could probably fit into another book or at least a paper, but that was not within the scope of this book. Dr. Wini Warren, author of Black Women Scientists in the United States, did some extensive research on the background history of black women in science, which she planned to put into a future book; due to health problems it was never written. However, the Introduction to Dr. Warren’s book is well worth reading for some of the background history of the women. The endnotes in that chapter provide an extensive bibliography about the history of blacks in science. In addition, Dr. Warren includes an extensive discussion about the background history of black women scientists in the introduction of her thesis, “Hearts and Minds: Black Women Scientists in the United States 1900–1960.” Sisters in Science by Diann Jordan features author interviews of black women scientists, some of whom are chemists. The Introduction of her book, discusses the background history. Dr. Jordan also includes a history of black colleges in the section “The Role of the Black College in Educating African American Scientists.” Since many of the women in this book had their first college education in a black college, it is worth reading. Information about several of the African American women chemists in this book can be found in Contributions of Black Women to America, Volume 2. The Introduction and Chapter 1 in the “Science” section give some background information about the history of women in science.

scholarly journals JEM women in STEM: Unique journeys with a common purpose

2020 ◽  
Vol 217 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne O’Garra ◽  
Yasmine Belkaid ◽  
Arlene Sharpe ◽  
Susan Kaech ◽  
Sara Cherry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
Past Experience ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Women In Stem ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Common Purpose

Before one can think of the challenges that face women in science and the hurdles that impair their development into leadership positions, it is worth considering the diversity within the collective of women scientists at the level of culture and past experience and life events.

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