Women in Science and Engineering
From Duke Wiki
Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) is a group of graduate students and post-docs working to improve the climate for women in science and engineering. WiSE sponsors several different programs throughout the school year towards this goal. Programs have included: a lunch discussion series, a distinguished speaker series, a mentoring program, and a reading group. There are no membership requirements; all persons supportive of women are welcome at all events. Most events are held at the Women's Center.
The lunch discussion series covers a variety of topics ranging from professional (e.g. "Writing for Research Dollars", "Funding an Academic Research Lab: From Startup to Tenure") to social (e.g. "Surviving Separation: Long Distance Relationships", "Tour of the Duke Forest") to women centered issues (e.g. "Gender Influences in Academia", "Women in Science and Engineering: Why So Few?"). These events are informal with generally plenty of time for questions and discussion, and lunch is provided free of charge.
The distinguished speaker series is a nearly annual event where WiSE invites a leading person to speak on a gender issues related topic. Past speakers have included Dr. Vasu Varadan, Dr. Joan Roughgarden, Dr. Audrey Chapman, and Jane Smith Patterson.
The mentoring program started in 2005 and pairs women undergraduate students and junior graduate students as mentees with senior graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and professionals as mentors. The goal is to help women network and gain encouragement and information that will help them remain and succeed in science or engineering. This program started as a joint venture between the Duke chapter of the undergraduate Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and WiSE, but it has now been expanded to include all science and engineering disciplines.
The WiSE reading group was a biweekly meeting where articles or books about gender issues in science were discussed. The Women's Center and WiSE sponsored the purchase of books for all the participants. However, the reading group is now defunct, but WiSE is interested in starting it again especially if there is an enthusiastic volunteer to help organize it. In the meantime, articles of interest to WiSE members are posted on their website.
Persons interested in shaping future WiSE events and/or getting involved with WiSE are encouraged to join the WiSE Planning Committee. The current Program Coordinator is Tong Ren, and the Planning Committee Chair is Heidi Holder.
