ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK CHAPTER

Hello everyone! Here is the first newsletter of the year which brings you new year greetings and a calendar of upcoming events that are of interest to women in science. 

MetroAWIS now has its own web site where you can access the newsletter and keep abreast of current events - www.angelfire.com/ny/awis/index.html. 

Remember - AWIS is the largest multi-disciplinary women’s science, engineering and technology organization in the country that provides the opportunity to network for career advancement and to voice the issues facing women scientists with employers and with policymakers. Join the AWIS registry - a unique database of women scientists that serves as a resource for qualified women scientists. Register by calling 202-326 8940 or at web: http://www.awis.org

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 27

IS THERE LIFE AFTER GRADUATE SCHOOL? -YES!

(ITLAG) - 1999.

MetroAWIS will hold its 9th ITLAG conference on Saturday, March 27th. Come join us for talks and discussions with speakers who have switched from academia to other careers. (See the enclosed flyer for details and post it in your school or department.) 

March 11: Celebration of Women's History Month at the New York Academy of Sciences, 6 PM. For more information go to http://www.nyas.org. If you want to attend the dinner afterwards as a guest of AWIS, please contact Dr. Alice Deutsch at adbio@ultinet.net. There are a limited number of free places available.

March 18: Mentoring High School Girls in Science and Math Conference at St. Francis College, Brooklyn at 6 PM. For details contact Dr. Kathy Nolan at knolan@worldnet.att.net

April 8: The Technology Gender Gap: The AAUW Report at the New York

Academy of Sciences, 6 PM. For more information go to http://www.nyas.org.

April 13: Science Matters! Gender Matters! Anne Fausto-Sterling, at

Barnard College, 5:30 PM

May 19: MetroWomen Chemists, a joint topical group of the New York and North Jersey Sections of the Americal Chemical Society, is organizing and hosting a symposium IS THERE LIFE AFTER COLLEGE? for the 1999 Middle Atlantic Regional meeting at Farleigh Dickinson University. MetroAWIS is a cosponsor of this event, focused on career options for BS, MS or PhDs in chemical sciences including biochemistry. All interested are welcome to attend. Speakers include

Barbara Geromalitas, Pfizer,Inc [The Road to Big Pharma: from the Bench to Women’s Health]; Margie Bright, Mobil Chemical Co. [Analytical Chemistry to Diversity Administration]; Anne O’Brien, Wyeth-Ayerst [What is the Fastest Moving Career Around? Information!]; Christiane Vilardi, STV, Inc. [Current Perspectives in the Environmental Field] and Margaret Brivanlou, Pennie and Edmonds [Biotechnology Patent Law].

Following the symposium on Wednesday morning, MetroWomen Chemists will host a women chemist’s luncheon, with 1999 Garvan medalist Cynthia Maryanoff as speaker. For details contact:

Prof. Nancy M. Tooney
Associate Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Polytechnic University
6 Metrotech Center
Bklyn, NY 11201

pH/718 260 3121
fax/718 260 3063
ntooney@duke.poly.edu

METROAWIS FUTURE WOMAN SCIENTIST AWARDS _

In 1998, the Executive Board of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Association for Women in Science established the annual METRO-AWIS FUTURE WOMAN SCIENTIST AWARD

Award: Two competitive awards of $250 each will be given to support two separate student research projects in a physical or natural science.

Eligibility: Only current active graduate student members of MetroAWIS are eligible for this award. 

Application Procedure: A cover page indicating the name(s) and academic affiliations of the sponsoring faculty and the title of the project. 

A brief description (not to exceed 500 words of the project and the need for funding.

A summary budget.

A brief vita of the applicant and the faculty sponsor(s).

Deadline: All applications for the Metro-AWIS Promising Woman Scientist Award must be received by Sept. 30, 1999 to be considered for this years award.

Send Application to:

Dr. Kathleen A. Nolan, 
Awards Chair
Biology Dept.
St. Francis College
180 Remsen St. 
Brooklyn Heights, NY11201

Announcement of Award:

The MetroAWIS Future Woman Scientist Award will be recommended by the Awards Committee, and awarded at the sole discretion of the Executive Board of MetroAWIS. This award will be announced and presented at the annual Outstanding Women Scientists Ceremony. If no worthy proposals are received, no award will be made. Instead, the funds will be set aside for the following year. 

It shall be the obligation of the award recipient(s) to:

Submit a brief report of how the funds were used and the status of the research funded by September 2000. 

Arrange for a brief student presentation of the sponsored research at the 1999 Annual Outstanding Women Scientist Ceremony.

Acknowledge the award in any publication that results from research funded by this award.

REPORT: Outstanding Women Scientist Awards -1998

-Alka Mansukhani.

On November 11th 1998, MetroAWIS honored three outstanding women scientists for their contributions to the causes and mentoring of women in science. The first awardee for 1998 was Dr. Barbara Gerolimatos from Pfizer Inc. who made her acceptance speech with her two little daughters running about her, a clear and wonderful example of balancing work, awards and family. According to Dr. Mary Moller, Chairperson of the science department at Chapin School, who nominated Barbara for the award, "Barbara was always doing things for women. She exemplifies the right combination of scientist and mentor." As a graduate student in Biochemistry at Columbia university, she played an active role in AWIS and worked at the rape crisis center. Years later she was responsible for initiating the ITLAG series for MetroAWIS. Barbara explained that she loved science but not the benchwork and in ‘83 she made her career transition through medical writing. In ‘89 she joined Pfizer where she is the Director of Scientific Affairs/Women’s Health Issues. Barbara described her career path and how she balanced work and family.

" Be all that you can be, volunteer and join professional organizations," she urged, "and always mentor young women in science".

The second awardee, Dr. Hiroko Ito Karan, Dean of Science, Medgar Evers College of CUNY was nominated by Dr. Harini Patel, also from Medgar Evers College who described Hiroko’s research, and her role as a wonderful mentor for students. Hiroko got her degree in pharmacy in Japan where she said the commonest occupation for a woman at that time was to be a stewardess, tea-server or receptionist. She always knew she wanted to be a scientist and described the role of a great mentor who introduced her to quantum chemistry and helped realize her dream to pursue her studies in the USA where she got her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Brown University. Hiroko described the importance of mentors throughout her education and the challenges at Medgar Evers of balancing her research on biosensors and teaching, and finally of the gratification of seeing bright students succeed. In her closing remarks she advised, "find good mentors, no matter how old you are, and keep an open mind." 

The final award for 1998 went to Dr. Mary Virginia Orna of the Department of Chemistry, College of New Rochelle who was nominated by Gene Delphine who described Mary Virginia as "a teacher who not only passed on knowledge but taught with her heart". Along with her many accomplishments in the field of chemistry and education, Mary Virginia Orna is also a religious educator. She described her life growing up in new Jersey, how her mother insisted she learn to type - which helps her with her emails, and her graduate experiences in the 1960’s. She belongs to a religious order for women that was involved in educating women since 1535, a time whenwomen were considered uneducable. Through humorous visual aids, Mary Virginia discussed the importance of nurturing for each individual. She also urged an international perspective on the role of women in science and math. "It’s a hard job but teamwork can help us do it," she noted, bringing an end to a warm and energizing award ceremony.

Career Profile: Tasha Hightower, a beginning student in the Masters Degree Program at Hunter College in Environmental Health and Occupational Safety

- Kathleen A. Nolan, Ph.D.,Instructor of Biology, St. Francis College, Bklyn, NY 

Tasha Hightower, a St. Francis College alum, recently gave a presentation concerning the above program and subsequent jobs in the field to our Biology Club. Tasha gave us a personal saga as to how she decided to enter into this field. She originally attended St. John's University in Queens with the intention of becoming a pharmacist. She then found that she was becoming interested in the environment, and decided to explore career opportunities in that area. She found out about the Hunter program through the Internet. (There is a lot of career information that can be found over the Internet). She decided to transfer to St. Francis College and pursue a major in Special Studies. She fulfilled all the requirements for what is now a new major in Health Promotion at St. Francis. 

I met Tasha when she was taking my Ecology and the Environment course for non-science majors last spring. When she told me that she got accepted into the Hunter College program, I was ecstatic for her, and decided to ask her to speak to our students after she had been in the program a couple of months. She is a very enthusiastic and articulate speaker. 

When I called her this past fall to ask her to speak, I asked her, "Can you give me an example of how some of your courses at St. Francis College have prepared you for the Hunter College program?" She said, "Learning about environmental regulations in the Ecology course has really helped me in my law-related courses. Learning the meaning of anatomical terms such as "medial" and "lateral" in Anatomy and Physiology has really prepared me for Ergonomics. In this course we study the optimal placement of the body for optional function in different work situations. Carpal tunnel syndrome is an example of something that we have studied." 

Tasha gave the Biology Club a handout that provided the following information: "This program is designed for individuals seeking careers as environmental and occupational health professionals. The student will learn tools that emphasize the recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental and occupational factors affecting health. Graduates of the program are qualified for research, management, and planning positions in a variety of private and public institutions. Career options include: air and water pollution control, hazardous waste management, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safety, environmental planning, and environmental public health. The program prepares graduates to sit for a number of examinations to become: a. Certified Industrial Hygienists, b. Certified Hazardous Material Managers, c. Certified Safety Professionals, d. Registered Sanitarians, and e. Registered Environmental Auditors. Examples of the current courses include: Biostatistics, Environmental Health and Safety, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Law,Toxicology, solid Waste Management, Epidemiology, Ergonomics, Occupational Health Law, Environmental Microbiology, Indoor air Quality, and Noise and Radiation Hazards. The phone number for the program is 212-481-5119." As Tasha continues in this program, I am sure that she will narrow her focus. Currently, she is considering several possibilities. I am anxious to see how she develops in this field, and would love to have her come and speak in the future at one of our MetroAWIS career symposia 

METROAWIS NEC GRANT The Metro-NY chapter of AWIS was chosen to participate in a grant from the NEC corporation. The purpose of the grant is to mentor girls in middle and high school who are interested in science. Our chapter used the grant to provide additional funds for two projects. The first was an after-class high school course in marine biology dealing with careers in marine biology. It was taught by Dr. Kathy Nolan at the Museum of Natural History. The second project is a Saturday morning chemistry lab for high school girl scouts. It is taught by Dr. Mary Maier at St. Josephs College, Brooklyn.