From COACh Director, Geri Richmond
COACh Workshops "in" Karnal Haryana, India on "Career Advancement for Women in Science and Technology"
July 7-28, 2020
For several years now, Prof. Pushpa Murthy (Michigan Tech University, USA) and I have been trying to make it to Shimla, India, to give COACh workshops. Dr. Punam K. Singh, Regional Director of the IGNOU Regional Centre in Karnal, has been so patient and persistent in getting us to come. Then - COVID-19. So we shifted to two Zoom Sessions and they went great! We had women science and engineering faculty from the region. The first day, we did a workshop on "Women's Career Advancement and Leadership" and the second day on "Mentoring and Networking for Career Success in Science and Innovation". Both went well with good audience participation. Attached are some pictures from the workshops as well as the flyer.
Huge thanks to Dr. Punam for all the incredible work that she put into the event. It was great to also see again Prof. Lalita S. Kumar, Professor of Chemistry, School of Sciences, IGNOU, New Delhi at our event. Best wishes to all! We look forward to working with you on future events.
Cheers and thanks again,
Geri and Pushpa
COACh Virtual Workshop with Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC) Event
August 14, 2020
We were invited to be part of another fantastic event for women scientists working in organic chemistry sponsored by EWOC. I gave a fun workshop on "Honing Your Negotiation Skills for Positive Outcomes" to a large number of women attending the event. Great questions and discussions. Thanks, EWOC for including COACh again in your important work!
2020 PEER Women in Science Mentoring Program
July 7-28, 2020
Congratulations to the 36 women scientists from India, Indonesia, and the Philippines on being chosen to participate in this special USAID PEER Program to Accelerate the End of Tuberculosis. This year, the program is supporting networks of female scientists conducting research on tools and approaches for preventing, detecting, and treating TB in specific countries in Asia. The goal of this program is to support cohorts of women in junior and senior faculty positions. For one year, the mentoring program allows time and space for cohorts of mentors and mentees to build personal and professional skills.
Although originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok, the pandemic caused us to hold the program through a series of virtual sessions. I was fortunate to be asked to facilitate a series of 2-hour sessions held over the month of July with participants. During that time everyone got to know each other, learn about the research in tuberculosis that the women do and learn skills in mentoring. It is an amazing group and so much fun to work with. Big thanks to Lynette Lusenaka (NAS) and Lisa Patel (USAID) for inviting COACh to be part of this event. Lynette was part of the last mentoring workshop like this that was held in Rwanda last summer. As always, big thanks to COACh's Priscilla Lewis for electronically bringing us all together. Best wishes to all as you seek to make the world safer from TB.
Center for Synthesizing Quantum Coherence
June 23, 25, & 29, 2020
Celeste Rohlfing and I virtually gave a series of sessions, "Mentoring for Success in Science and Innovation," to graduate students and faculty involved in this NSF-funded center that involves research groups from Duke University, University of Illinois, University of California, Berkeley, and Northwestern University. COACh is happy to couple with centers and institutes as part of their Broader Impacts plan to help both their students and faculty as well as others in their departments. This was a lot of fun - with lots of discussion and break-out group activities.
WISE Women at Emory University
June 16, 2020
Following up on my visit to Emory a few months ago, when I gave a scientific lecture, Cassandra Zaremba who is a chemistry graduate student and Speaker Chair of their WISE Chapter, invited me to give a virtual workshop on mentorship. While at Emory, my schedule was too packed for me to fit in a COACh workshop, so I was delighted to reconnect with the Emory WISE group to give the mentoring workshop virtually. Was a lot of fun! Happy Mentoring!
The COACh Reach is Amazing!
May 21, 2020
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Claire Benjamin, the communication officer on a large international research project called Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE). It seems that Dr. TJ Higgins from CSIRO in Australia had gotten ahold of our COACh slides on "Persuasive Scientific Presentations" and wondered if they could use them to help train participants on how to give a good scientific presentation at their upcoming (now virtual) Annual International RIPE meeting in New Zealand. I was so thrilled that I offered to give the workshop virtually to interested participants, and they took me up on the offer. Knowing that everyone is getting Zoomed to death these days, I modified the workshop to make it more applicable for virtual scientific presentations. I gave the workshop today, and it went great! Thanks so much to the many who attended and RIPE for the invitation. Best wishes for your upcoming meeting!
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
May 13, 2020
Today I had the opportunity to work with a great group of early-career scientists in Canada who are part of the CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program. The program supports exceptional early-career researchers with funding, mentorship, a global network, and professional skills development. As part of their professional skills development activities, I had the opportunity to work with the group to provide a "Mentoring for Success in Science and Innovation" workshop and lead a discussion on mentoring today. Although we originally had planned to meet in Montebello, we met today through a ZOOM session. It was fun to be part of such an important Canadian-based program. Best wishes to all.
Life has Changed Indeed
March–May 2020
As I am sure has happened with all of you, the COVID-19 virus is affecting all of our lives in unexpected ways, first as a seemingly small impact to now a global pandemic. I do hope that all of you are safe and staying healthy. It is indeed hard times in ways that we have never experienced. All of our COACh activities after March 15 have been converted to online Zoom/Bluejeans/Microsoft Teams meetings. Although I miss the rich personal interactions that come from face-to-face meetings, it has allowed us to keep active in helping women - and men - scientists around the US and the world through our COACh workshops.
In the U.S., we are also impacted by a long-overdue reckoning and recognition of the injustices that African Americans have been suffering since being brought to our country as slaves. I am hopeful that the Black Lives Matter movement will finally enable sustainable and meaningful changes that are so drastically needed in this country. Our STEM field is not immune from these inequities as can be seen from the small number of African Americans and people of color who are in our country in science and engineering. It is up to all of us to work to make the changes to ensure that unnecessary racial barriers and biases are recognized and removed. In these 22 years of COACh, I have seen the impact of these biases on black scientists and engineers (men and women) through our COACh activities and our research.
In these 22 years of COACh, I have seen the impact of these biases on black scientists and engineers (men and women) through our COACh activities with NOBCChE, AISES, and SACNAS and our research. And I have learned so much about their experiences and challenges from the amazing women of color on our COACh Advisory Board. We have far to go, but listening and learning is the critical first step. Black Lives do Matter in STEM.
Happy International Women's Day!
March 8, 2020
With a special shout out to all the thousands of women scientists and engineers we have worked with through the COACh program around the world!
I spent the day at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, helping researchers in the Energy Sciences area to develop a robust mentoring program. It was a wonderful visit and a super day.
Center for Synthesizing Quantum Coherence Duke University
March 5, 2020
COACh Advisory Board member Celeste Rohlfing and I are helping the NSF Quantum Coherence Center with the broader outreach activities by providing training sessions for their graduate students and faculty on a number of topics. The Center is comprised of chemistry research groups from Duke University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and UC Berkeley. Today's focus was on "Mentoring for Success in Science". It was a super visit with planned upcoming visit to the other campuses in the near future.
Back to Bangkok and KMUTT
January 27-30, 2020
This week brought me to Bangkok and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) for the annual review of its research programs by the International Research Advisory Panel (IRAP). While there, I conducted, along with dear friend Supapan Seraphin, COACh workshops for their students and faculty on publishing and proposal writing. I also gave a scientific presentation on “The Power of Combining Experiment and Computer Simulations”. It was a very successful review and a wonderful time to be in Bangkok.
Brussels and the Solvay Prize
January 14,15, 2020
This week, I had the pleasure of serving on the selection committee for the Future Solvay Prize which recognizes a scientist every two years for major discoveries that lay the foundation for the chemistry of the future while serving human progress. The winner unanimously selected by the committee was Carolyn Bertozzi, Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University for her invention of bioorthogonal chemical reactions that can be performed in living cells. Bertozzi will receive her award on March 10 in a ceremony held at the Palais des Académies in Brussels in the presence of His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium. HUGE KUDOS to Carolyn!! Another amazing woman scientist to celebrate!
There’s Talent in Tanzania!
December 10-13, 2019
I had the pleasure of being part of the 10th International Conference of the African Materials Research Society (AMRS) held this week in Arusha. The conference brings together over 700 materials science researchers from all over the world. It’s a great meeting for scientific and research communities to build knowledge, foster relationships and promote action for further understanding and collaborations in the broad fields associated with materials science and technology. The meeting was held at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology. I gave two COACh workshops, one on publishing and the other on proposal writing. Big thanks to everyone for inviting me to be involved in another Africa MRS meeting.
Visit to IUPUI
November 21, 2019
What an honor it was for me to be the first Frank J. Welcher Lecturer in the chemistry department at the University of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis(IUPUI). I gave a scientific presentation and also a COACh Negotiation workshop for the faculty as hosted by the IUPUI STEM Education Innovation and Research Institute. It was a particular treat to be hosted by Pratibha Varma-Nelson is a COACh alumni who has gone on to be incredibly successful in numerous leadership roles.
Women Rule at the US Naval Academy!
November 4, 2019
The 1st WOMEN IN STEM Symposium was held today at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and I got to be there! What an event! See the picture of the fantastic STEM women faculty and students who were part of this amazing symposium at the U.S. Naval Academy. The symposium was the brain-child of Professor Shirley Lin, a fantastic chemistry faculty member there. Takes courage to pull any 1st time event, and she did, and it was fantastic! The symposium preceded the 9th Annual Naval Academy Science and Engineering Conference. Thanks to Shirley and the Academy for inviting me to be part of these two events.
Makes one very proud of all the men and women at the U.S. Naval Academy who are devoting their careers and lives to the Nation.
#HIDDEN NO MORE: Empowering Women Leaders in STEM Globally
November 1, 2019
This is the most amazing program sponsored by the International Visitor Leadership Program (ILVP) of the U.S. State Department! It brings ~50 STEM career women from all over the world for a 2-week visit to laboratories, agencies, companies in various cities in the US. I had the pleasure of presenting two COACh workshops for them in Washington DC today – one on Negotiation and one on Mentorship. It was sooooo much fun working with this incredibly bright and diverse group from 50 different countries.
What a privilege it was for me to meet them and to learn so much about the culture, challenges and opportunities for women doing science and engineering in their countries. You all rock!
Big thanks to Kim Jenkins and Dan Labarca, Project Managers of the ILVP for organizing this amazing life-changing program. It’s amazing what you do and your passion for this project.
Marvelous Malaysia!
OCTOBER 2, 2019
There are many wonderful things about Malaysia! Today and yesterday I had the opportunity to present several COACh workshops here in Bango, Malaysis to students and faculty at the PERMATApintar National Gifted Centre, UKM. I had such a wonderful and bright group of students from special schools here in Malaysia for talented and gifted students the last few days and I will have more to meet here in the days to come. These are just amazing students and their faculty.
Special thanks to Adura Mohd. Adnan for inviting me and organizing my visit.
COACh in Ghana!
SEPTEMBER 13, 2019
Thanks to the Elsevier Foundation, we have been able to continue our Water First! workshops where we bring together women scientists and engineers from all over Africa who are working on water issues – both research and policy. Held in Accra earlier this week, we had two days to learn about water issues around food safety, contaminants and toxins in lakes, rivers, and drinking water, water access, and water policies and management issues.
It was an AMAZING group, and we all enjoyed getting to know each other and learn about our research interests and career aspirations. The younger women scientists were inspired by the senior women and their persistence it battling through their challenges and the more senior women were amazed at how many of the younger women said that they have supportive husbands which contributes to their ability to do their science. It was two wonderful days of developing collaborations, networking, and mentoring. I already miss you all!
Huge thanks to the Elsevier Foundation and their Director Ylann Scheme and Domiziana Francescon her assistant. And of course, a huge thanks to Priscilla Lewis, my amazing COACh assistant.
PRIS’19 at Dead Sea, Jordan
August 7-9, 2019
I was so delighted and honored to be part of this summit, which is an annual gathering of Jordanian and Arab young scientists and engineers who share the passion of creating a strong and vibrant scientific and innovation enterprise in the Arab world. With the theme of “Connect for Science”, over 1,000 were in attendance for a series of plenary sessions, inspirational talks, panel discussions, and competitions.
This event was organized by Phi Science Institute – a non-profit organization focused on fostering a community of emerging scholars in order to enable their pursuit of innovative applied research in Jordan and the Middle East region. Led by Dr. Ahmad Jadallah, Founder and CEO of Phi Science Institute (PHI) and Zaina Muqbel, the PHI Science Institute Research & Innovation Director of PHI is quickly becoming a model for countries seeking to increase the number of young scientists, especially in developing countries.
A highlight of the morning session was a moving speech by HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) and Chair of the Phi Board of Trustees who shared her vision for the youth of Jordan in helping advance the country in science and technology. It was my pleasure to also be part of a panel discussion led by Dr. Rana Dajani on Women in Science.
Overall, it was just a phenomenal experience! I wish I had had more time to meet all the students. Their energy, curiosity and desire to use their talents to the betterment of their countries was infectious.
Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC)
June 28, 2019
EWOC is an exciting new organization that seeks to increase the number and success of women in organic chemistry. It’s great and sorely needed given the few organic chemistry women in leadership roles in academia, industry and government laboratories here in the U.S. The first EWOC meeting was held in Philadelphia today and I was delighted to be part of it. I had a chance to talk about my career path as well as COACh. Many thanks to the organizers!
Happy International Women’s Day from Sri Lanka
March 8, 2019
What a treat it is for me to spend this special day with an amazing group of women scientists and engineers in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The morning has been spent giving a COACh workshop on mentoring, networking, and negotiation. This evening we are having a special Anniversary Sessions and thematic Symposium of the Sri Lanka National Chapter of OWSD on “Balance for Science”.
It’s been such fun and so interesting for me to learn about the lives of these wonderful, smart, and highly motivated professional women.
HUGE thanks to Dr. Nadira Karunaweera of the University of Colombo and President of the Sri Lanka OWSD Chapter and Dr. Hermal Silva of the University of Colombo and Secretary of the Sri Lanka OWSD Chapter for hosting and organizing the events.
Shout-out to the BYU Women in Chemistry Club
February 27, 2019
I had a great time visiting the chemistry department at Brigham Young University and giving a couple of talks. While there, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with undergraduate and graduate student members of the newly formed BYU Women in Chemistry Club for lunch and discussions about lots of topics, including how to combine a career and family. Although I hardly have all the answers for that topic, we have a fun and engaging conversation about options and opportunities. What a great group!
It was also wonderful to be with my dear friends on the BYU chemistry faculty, Steve Goates and Julia Boerio-Goates. We met back in 1973 when we were summer research interns at IBM in Essex Junction, Vermont. We have stayed friends all these years – amazing how fast the time has gone by.
Big thanks to everyone who made my visit so enjoyable.
Making New Friends in Malaysia
January 28, 2019
My first trip to Malaysia has been amazing. During my visit to Kuala Lumpur, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with Dr. Ayu Abdullah who I first met at the IVLP State Department sponsored COACh workshop in Washington D.C. A former aerospace engineer she now works in Malaysia to help rural communities plan for installation of solar energy equipment to power their homes. I also had a chance to learn more about science and engineering in Malaysia through my visits with officers at the U.S. Embassy. Big thanks to Duden Freeman and also Dr. Ayu for their extra time spent with me and also Farizan Zulkifli at the U.S. Embassy for arranging my visit there!
Another highlight of my visit was to meet with Dr. Rahmah Mohamed, CEO of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency that accredits universities and her colleague Dr. Adura Adnan, Director of the Permata STEM Talent Center. Dr. Rahmah, Dr. Adura, Dr. Ayu and Ms. Duden provided me with a valuable perspective on the status of women in science and engineering in the country. My final fun event was to meet and talk with some amazing high school students at the Permata Pintar National Gifted Center, UKM.
These students are assessed to be some of the brightest students in Malaysia, with many of them seeking to go abroad for their college education. They were wonderful and so inquisitive. You can see all the wonderful pictures of them. I owe a huge thanks to both Director Prof Dr Noriah Ishak and Deputy Dr Rorlinda Yusof for hosting me at their school.
I cannot thank everyone enough for how generous they were with their time and hospitality. I entered the country knowing so little about Malaysia and left with a head full of information and a very positive impression of the country and Malaysians. Dr. Rahmah, Dr. Adura, and I are brainstorming on how we can bring COACh programs to Malaysia. I hope we can make it work.
Honoring the Amazing PROF. MARGARET ANN ARMOUR
January 25, 2019
A few days ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the University of Alberta chemistry department where they have created a lecture series to honor the amazing contributions of Prof. Margaret Ann Armour to the University of Alberta, the chemistry department there and women in science. She founded Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology (WISEST) at the University of Alberta in 1981, and since its inception, the WISEST programs have reached more than 15,000 participants with 85% of their Summer Research Participants pursuing undergraduate degrees in Science or Engineering.
It was a pleasure to be part of this inaugural event at the invitation of the chemistry department graduate students. Huge thanks to Meagan Oakley, her friends, and faculty for the wonderful hospitality. And especially to have the chance to get to know and honor Prof. Armour.
Greetings from Dammam, Saudi Arabia
November 15, 2018
This week, I had the pleasure of visiting with students and faculty at Mohammad Al Mana College of Health Sciences (MACHS) in Saudi Arabia. MACHS is a new college founded by Dr. Aisha Almana to increse the number of health-related workers in fields such as nursing and pharmacy in Saudi Arabia. It’s a heroic effort by a woman who is heroic in her own right. A prominent Saudi businesswoman, Dr. Almana is a longstanding activist and campaigner for Saudi women’s rights, particularly in health and education and also in getting women the right to drive in Saudi Arabia. She is considered the ‘founding mother’ of the Saudi women’s reform movement and has supported numerous efforts to further the education of Arab women
While at the college, I gave two COACh workshops, one on Effective Proposal Writing and the second on Mentoring for Success. They were both well attended and with lots of questions. The faculty at the college are so devoted to their students and the students are really passionate about their studies. The University of Oregon has a collaborative project with the college which was also part of my visit.
I also had the very special opportunity to be a part of their graduation ceremonies. It is the custom of the country to have separate graduation ceremonies for the female and male graduates. I was honored to be able to give a brief speech at the female graduation and also to experience the excitement and emotion that always accompanies a graduation. It was wonderful!
Huge thanks to everyone involved with my visit and especially Dr. Aisha Almana, Fatima Alabdullaziz, Jenan AlMatouq, Amal Kholaghassi, and my University of Oregon colleague Lori O’Hallaren.
HIDDEN NO MORE: Advancing Women in STEAM Fields
November 2, 2018
This is a wonderful program sponsored by the International Visitor Leadership Program(IVLP) of the U.S. State Department that brings together female science and art students, teachers and professionals from 50 different countries for a whirlwind two-week tour of the U.S. They get to visit laboratories, universities, museums and companies all over country and learn what life is like here in the U.S. I had a chance to overlap with this amazing group today when I gave two COACh workshops, one on Mentoring and the other on Effective Negotiation while they were in Washington DC. It was so fascinating to conduct these workshops with these women from such a variety of countries and cultures. Wow. And what an amazing group they are.
I look forward to visiting a number of them in their countries. In the meantime, happy travels and success in your career adventures.
HUGE thanks to Dan Labarca and Lia Lumauig of the Institute of International Education for coordination and especially Kimberly Jenkins in the Office of the ILVP in the U.S. State Department who extended me this wonderful invitation.
COACh at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) annual meeting
October 3, 2018
What a pleasure it has been to attend my first AISES meeting held in Oklahoma City. It has really been a unique experience for me to meet with the native American undergraduate, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty that came to the COACh workshops that I facilitated on “Mentoring for Success” and “Career Launch and Acceleration”.
One of the best parts of the day was to meet with the students involved in Prof. Mary Jo Ondrechen’s program “Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM” program. Sitting in a circle together, I had a chance to hear the wonderful and often challenging stories of these young native american STEM students aspire to be our next generation of science academic teachers. What an honor it was for me to be part of all of this. And Kudos to Mary Jo for her leadership.
Bangkok, Thailand – Inspiration, Motivation, and Creativity
August 22, 2018
Inspiration, motivation, and creativity are the themes for the 15th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness (APCG) that I had a chance to be part of this week at the National Convention Center. There were many great talks given to hundreds of teachers and young students from all over the Asia Pacific Region. I gave a talk on “Curiosity”, highlighting the amazingly gifted teenager named Agnes Pockels whose fundamental studies in the late 1800s, conducted while washing dishes as a teenager in her kitchen was fundamental in establishing the modern discipline of surface science. It was a wonderful conference with many new teachers and students to meet and greet.
My thanks to the APCG conference for the invitation and a special thanks to the APCG Conference Secretariat, Ms. Charinya Saichan.
Revisit to Brookhaven National Laboratory
August 9, 2018
It was a quick visit, but a very fun one visiting Brookhaven National Laboratory with both my science and my COACh hat on. Had a fun time giving both a scientific talk, having lunch with the Brookhaven Women in Science group (wow! Have they made progress since I last visited a couple of years ago – go BWIS!) and giving COACh workshops on Mentoring for Success.
Thanks to everyone for the great visit!
Women in Science and Innovation in Science in Uganda
July 17, 2018
What an additional treat it has been for me to visit with women scientists and innovators in Kampala, Uganda following our USAID Mentoring Conference in Rwanda. I met with about 30 women in all stages of their STEM careers to learn about the challenges women face in Uganda in their aspiration to be successful in STEM fields. I gave a short presentation on “Women in Leadership Roles in Science and Innovation” followed by rich discussions and insights from those in attendance on women in STEM in Uganda. I was so honored that many came from far distances (and roads in Uganda are a challenge in themselves!) to attend my session that was held at the amazing Resilience Africa Network (RAN) center at a Makerere University site. I learned so much for all of you and hope that we have a chance to meet again
And a huge thanks to Dr. Sheila Desai, Director, Office of Economic Growth, Dorothy Ngalombi, and Khadija Mohamud of USAID in Kamapala and to Dorothy Okello and RAN for hosting the event.
While in Kampala, I also had the chance to meet with the Permanent Secretary of the newly formed Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, David O. Obong and his staff to give them ideas and best practices for their efforts in increasing the science and innovation research in Uganda. What a wonderful group!
And to top it off, lunch hosted by Sheila Desai with the US Ambassador to Uganda, Deborah R. Malac.
Best wishes for great success to you all!
Greetings from KIGALI, Rwanda
July 13, 2018
It’s been a wonderful opportunity to be part of the USAID-sponsored Mentoring Workshop for groups of women scientists from different countries in Africa. I was privileged to be invited to lead several COACh sessions on topics such as mentoring, networking, negotiation, and publishing at the 3-day workshop in Kigali. Approximately 45 women scientists came as cohorts from South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tunisia. Each cohort from each of the countries consisted of 3-5 mentees and one mentor. This unique workshop was the brainchild of Dr. Anjali Kumar of USAID. The goals of the workshop were to learn and practice best practices of mentoring and for each cohort to develop a one-year plan for working together with their senior mentor to address issues that would help them advance in their careers.
From all accounts, the workshop was an amazing experience for everyone – including me. Anjali felt that it went well beyond her expectations. Everyone left with dozens of new friends from different countries that they could stay in touch with as the months and years go forward. More importantly, they now have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a mentor, sponsor or coach for each other and have a plan developed for group mentoring in the coming year.
Once again, it proved to me that magical and powerful things can happen when women scientists get together and share their stories, aspirations, and friendship.
BUSY in BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan
May 23, 2018
A whirlwind trip to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, allowed me to visit a number of laboratories and meet with many STEM researchers and students. As in Uzbekistan, finding resources for science is difficult and equally difficult to find collaborators in the US. My first visit was to the highly esteemed Academy of Science with it’s beautiful and artful representations of the atom outside. Many laboratory and institute directors attended my presentation on science in the U.S. including the president of the Academy.
A visit to the highly regarded Polytechnic Institute was very exciting, especially being on a campus with many STEM students engaged in their courses and also studying for their exams. I was quite impressed with their agricultural oriented laboratories and their facilities in general that prepare students for agricultural jobs while also conducting research. I am so grateful for their warm welcome.
At the Sapat primary and secondary school in Bishkek, I had another opportunity to meet with many dedicated teachers and with women in technology at the American Center that is co-located with the Bishkek Children’s library. Too many wonderful people to list so please see them in the pictures.
Everyone that I met would like to connect with scientists in the US but they don’t know how. All ideas are welcome. Although english can be an impediment for some, the younger generation is working hard to learn english and with much success.
Big thanks to everyone who was so generous in coming to my talks and engaging in conversations. Many traveled many hours from different provinces to come to Bishkek to see my, including my dear friend Myskal Sagynbaeva. And a special thanks to Cori and Manas at the U.S. Embassy for all their help with my visit and the US Charge d'Arraires Alan Meltzer for meeting with me.
STEM and COACh in Osh, Kyrgyzstan
May 18, 2018
Kyrgyzstan is a beautiful country with over 90% of the landscape covered with gorgeous mountains. Beautiful farm fields cover much of the remaining land. Like Uzbekistan and many neighboring countries, much of the STEM academic research and educational endeavors mirror the structure of the former Soviet Union. Transitioning to a research and educational structure that is updated and more like western countries has been long in coming but clear signs of recent progress are apparent.
Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, has about 10 universities. The last two days, I have had a chance to meet with scientists and students one of the best, Osh Technical University, with a group of young inventors at the American Center and with high school STEM teachers from the southern region of Kyrgyzstan at the highly regarded Sapat school. There are 16 Sapat schools in the country and they graduate some of the best students in the country – their students winning many STEM local and international Olympiad awards.
I am so grateful for all of the visiting arrangements made by the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan (and a big shout-out to magnificent Manas Kaarav from the Embassy who shephered me around and helped with my shortcomings with Russian and Kyrgyz languages). I also want to thank the institutes that hosed my events and the students and teachers that came to my events and shared with me their knowledge about STEM in the country, their aspirations, and the challenges that they have in elevating the science and innovation ecosystem in their country.
COACh’s First Visit to Central Asia – Tashkent, Uzbekistan
May 16, 2018
I have learned much in the past few days about science and innovation efforts in this wonderful country. My visit to the region is a result of a very special International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the U.S. State Department called #HiddenNoMore: Empowering Women Leaders in STEM. While speaking about COACh to the 2017 class of women scientists from all over the world, several women from Central Asia asked if there was anyway that I could bring COACh to the region. With funds from the University of Oregon, I have finally been able to make the trip and am so glad that I did.
While here, I have given several talks and visited with professors, researchers, and students from the Uzbekistan Academy of Science, the newly formed Center for Advanced Technologies, and the Tashkent Chemical Technological Institute. I have toured laboratories and even had a special event with you students from around Tashkent who are practicing their English skills through the English Conversation Club at the U.S. Embassy. Like in many countries the number of women in the biological sciences is nearly at gender parity but men far outnumber women in the physical sciences and engineering. Women are even fewer in number when it comes to leadership posts, Academy of Science membership and directorships. That said, I met some amazing women who are leading the way in science in Uzbekistan and are serving as role models for those to come.
Thank you so much to Claire Thomas from the U.S. Embassy and her assistant Ekaterina Biryukova for hosting my visit and also Shahlo Turdikulova, Director of the Center for Advanced Technologies and member of the 2017 class of IVLP that invited me to come. It’s been a wonderful visit with lots of great pictures to remind me of all of you.
Greetings from the ACS Spring Meeting in New Orleans
March 17, 2018
What a great way to spend St. Patrick’s Day, meeting, reconnecting, and working with women scientists at our COACh workshops here in New Orleans. Jane Tucker and I gave workshops today on mentoring, leadership, and networking to a really wonderful group. Especially gratifying were the participants who had previously attended other COACh workshops and shared their success stories with us. Thanks everyone for being part of our COACh program.
Happy International Women’s Day from Delhi
March 8, 2018
Greetings and warm wishes to all as we all celebrate the wonderful women and girls in our lives. I am spending these two days at a wonderful celebration and update of the status of women in STEM in India. It has provided me a unique opportunity to get the national perspective on the importance of women in STEM and the efforts being expended to increase their numbers. I am honored to have given an address at the conference and to meet so many highly committed people attending the meeting. The meeting was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in India. Big thanks to the organizer: Dr.(Mrs.) Manju Sharma, Former Secretary to the Govt. of India, Department of Biotechnology, Principal Advisor to the Dept. Science and Technology, Gujarat, Distinguished Women Scientist Chair, NASI, Allahabad
Back to Tunis, Tunisia for another wonderful visit!
February 26-28, 2018
Thanks to the Elsevier Foundation, we are back in Tunisia to coach PhD students at INSAT ( University of Carthage) on career-building skills in STEM. Thanks to all the wonderful participants at our workshops and my wonderful partner, Professor Rim Cherif. Be sure to check out the video too!
Visit to the University of Syracuse
February 13, 2018
Today I had the honor of being the Prins Lecturer in the chemistry department of Syracuse University. I got to meet with many faculty and students who are very excited about their research – and for good reason. I also had the pleasure of having lunch with women faculty in the WiSE program at the university – which was an added treat. Big thanks to all those involved in my visit.
During our workshops, the participating graduate students gave 2-minute talks and Flash talks on their research. THEY WERE SUPERB!! Great projects and great communication skills. We presented several of them with awards for their talks. Take a look at all the great pictures on the COACh Facebook page.
APS CUWiP at the University of Oregon
January 12, 2018
What a treat it was for me to be the kick-off speaker for the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) held at the University of Oregon last weekend. Over 200 female undergraduates from Northern California and the Northwest came to hear scientific talks, attend career-building workshops, have a Physics Slam and poster sessions. These Many CUWiP simultaneously occurred across the US.
It was a huge success with a turnout much larger than the organizers expected. Huge thanks to all the sponsors and local organizers, including the amazing Prof. Stephanie Majewski, Kara Zappitelli, and Amanda Steinhebel. (Link to the We Love Physics video)
Aloha and Happy New Year!
January 10, 2018
What a great way to start the new year – in Honolulu at the University of Hawaii’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).
It was a fun day and a half giving COACh workshops to graduate students, postodoctoral associates, and faculty on “Mentoring for Success” and “Launching a Career in Science”. Big thanks to Dr. Barb Bruno and her staff for hosting me and organizing the event. Best wishes for future success to all the participants.
COACh Going Nuclear at SNMICON 2017 in Delhi, India
December 17, 2017
I met some truly amazing women scientists and doctors at the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Imaging Conference at the end of this week in Delhi. The focus of the conference is to promote pragmatic approaches for advancement in precision nuclear medicine for the visualization and treatment of clinical pathologies.
Yesterday afternoon, I had a chance to be part of a special session on Women Scientists in Nuclear Medicine and gave a COACh Negotiation workshop to a wonderful group of women prior to the session. I always enjoy learning about women scientists in India at these events.
Huge thanks to Cathy Cutler of Brookhaven National Laboratory for inviting me to be part of the SNMICON 2017 meeting and arranging the special afternoon for women scientists. And also to Anil Kumar Mishra and Puja Hazari for all their welcoming and generous hosting of our event.
COACh in Botswana for the Africa MRS Conference
December 14, 2017
What a treat it has been to be here in Gaborone at the African Materials Research Society Conference! There are over 500 participants from all over Africa- students, researchers, and faculty with lots of great science to report. And a good number also from the U.S. I am inspired by all the enthusiasm and excitement of the young scientists here. Wonderful science indeed!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to give three COACh workshops on Publishing, Proposal Writing, and Scientific Presentations to a very interactive and engaged group of researchers. Was really fun! In the evening, we had a conference celebration at a nearby restaurant where we were entertained by this amazing group of Botswana dancers and drummers that performed some amazing traditional dances.
What a WONDERFUL country. A huge thanks and shout out to Africa MRS for inviting COACh to be part of the conference.
Greetings from Dehradun in Northern India
October 28, 2017
It’s been a fantastic visit to the Uttarakhand State Council for Science & Technology (UCOST)in Dehradun, India, where Pushpa Murthy and I gave a full-day workshop on “Leadership and Career Development for Women in STEM Fields.” We were given such a warm welcome from the leadership of UCOST, their staff, and women from a variety of different institutions in the region. We continue to be impressed with the many amazing women scientists and engineers that we work with in India! Thank you all for hosting us! We look forward to staying in touch.
The workshop was the brainchild of Dr. Punam Singh, Regional Director of IGNOU Regional Centre in Shimla, India. Dr. Singh had attended our COACh workshop in Pune, India a couple of years ago and urged us to come back. While visiting with her in Dehradun, she reported that our visit to Pune had resulted in the formation of a Women in Science group among the Pune participants and lots of continued interactions. We look forward to hearing from all who attended our workshop here in Dehradun and also from the former India workshop participants. We are at your service to help Indian scientists in any way that we can.
A HUGE thanks to Dr. Kirti Joshi Bhatt, Scientific Officer of UCOST for the amazing effort that she put into organizing this workshop on quite short notice. And her wonderful staff who were invaluable. It could not have happened without Dr. Bhatt and Dr. Singh.
And also a big thanks to the very inspirational Dr. Savita, Director of the Forest Research Institute of Dehradun. She is the first female director of this amazing Institute.
COAChing from Nepal: Hidden No More: Empowering Women and Girls in STEM Fields
October 26, 2017
While working in Nepal this week, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak through a video conference with the most amazing group of 48 women scientists from all over the world who spent the past three weeks in the U.S. to explore ways to increase the participation of women and girls in STEM fields. The visitation, with the label “#HiddenNoMore: Empowering Women Leaders in STEM” and was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). It followed in the wake of the successful screenings of the film “Hidden Figures” about a black female mathematician working at NASA during the Space race.
I caught up with them in LA near the end of their three-week visitation. What a treat it was to speak with them, to tell them about the COACh program and AAAS. It’s an amazing group! There was much interest expressed in our COACh international programs! I do indeed hope that we can come and help those interested in bringing our career development workshops to your countries.
SO a very big salute to these amazing women, their accomplishments, and their aspirations.
A special thanks to Kimberly Jenkins from the U.S. State Department for her leadership on the project and the invitation to be a virtual part of the meeting. And also to Welela Makonnen from 21st Century Fox in LA for helping with the events in Southern California.
MPOWIR-Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention
October 19, 2017
Had a wonderful time with the women in physical oceanography at the Pattullo Conference for female early-career women scientists in Virginia in early October. I provided a COACh workshop with elements of negotiation, mentoring, and networking to a very welcoming group of women. I learned as much from them as they did from me. The field of physical oceanography is a challenging field for women, in part because of the field work that can extend for long periods of time and additional gender related issues. But what great and important science they are doing!
A huge thanks goes to Sara Clem, Sonya Legg, and Colleen Mouw for leading the MPOWIR effort, organizing the workshop, and inviting COACh to come. And a big thanks to NSF, DOE, ONR, NASA, and NOAA for sponsoring the Pattullo Conference and MPOWIR.
Wishing you all great success!
