Do Female Academics Have to Be Role Models?

We talk a lot about the importance of women and minority academics mentoring students and new faculty. But are we expecting too much of them?

Coming to Terms with the Past

Since I had my knee injury I’ve been sitting around pretty much doing nothing. I regularly ice my knee, and do loops around the house on my crutches to keep the blood flowing. I look out the windows at my garden (which I should be out planting!), and enjoy feeling the spring sun come through…

On Power and “Bro Culture” in Academic Science

On the power of language, and the power men hold over women in academic science. *edited 19 Oct to add stats on men being harassed/assaulted in academia. Last night I couldn’t sleep. I lay in bed and listened to the intermittent jingle of the chimes hanging by the front door, as gusts of wind marked…

Managing Your Mental Health in Academia

A few years ago, when I was still in academia, we had a meeting of scholars who were part of the university’s Water Institute. We were each given five minutes and two Powerpoint slides in which to introduce ourselves, our research group, and give a rundown of what we were working on, with the idea…

Are you experiencing science overload?

This week I had a post up on the Canadian Science Publishing blog discussing the current boom in scientific publishing (2.5 million papers published per year!), and how this firehose of scientific information won’t stop flowing any time soon. “Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of research papers in your field? Do you wonder…