gwis international chapter › 2018 › 01 › iota-nus-e-bulletin-vol5n2-1.pdfrobin woo gwis...
TRANSCRIPT
-
1
GWIS International Chapter E- BULLETIN
Volume 5,N° 2
December, 2017
Message from GWIS International Chapter President
2017 is nearly behind us. As ladies of science who are spread across 6 continents, we
must do our best to inspire and help each other across the globe while also inspiring and
helping those in our communities. So many instruments of change: The Women’s March,
the March for Science, the #MeToo campaign. Women are getting out and ensuring their
voices are heard and that they will directly impact change. In Dublin, I have joined a
new exciting group at my university called “Women in Research Ireland” (WIRI). Our
mission is to give women and other under-represented groups a platform on which to
share ideas and discuss solutions to existing obstacles. We run a monthly seminar series
called “Women Should Be Both Seen and Heard” and we have created a solid following.
It is inspiring to be a part of such change.
Enjoy this Issue. It covers 8 months, since our last issue in March. Please join our
next Skype meeting scheduled for January 28, 2018, time to be announced soon.
Susan Fetics
Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Actions Fellow
School of Biochemistry and Immunology
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Message from the International President
Dr. Susan K. Fetics
• - Message from
International
President............................1
• - Quote if the month.......2
• Members in the news........2
• - Chapter news ...............3
• Special report....................7
• This is what a scientist
looks like outside the
lab.................................. 15
C O N T E N T
-
2
Dr. Francisca Nwaokorie was featured in an article written by Kristin Peterson (Associate Professor, Anthropology
Department , University of California ) and Dr. Morenike O. Folayan (University of Ife Nigeria) on “How Nigeria defeated
Ebola”. The paper is available on this link: http://africasacountry.com/2017/12/how-nigeria-defeated-
ebola/
Quote of the month
Members in the news
http://www.azquotes.com/author/3506-Marie_Curie
-
3
Treasurer’s Report
Our chapter dues and donations have amounted to $2,027.39 US. Please join us on our skype call to discuss constructive ways to spend some of these funds to advance international women in science – we need your creative ideas.
Robin Woo GWIS International Chapter is pleased to welcome new members from all around the world.
International members in good standing are listed in the GWIS directory that contains their
contact information. We encourage you to reach out and connect with each other!
Maria E. Adonay, Rho Tau
Sharon E. Altmann, Greater
Maryland
Julie M. Anbarchian, National
Capitol
Marie Arnaud, United Kingdom
Judith Artley, Alpha Omega
Kathleen Baird, South Africa
Terran E. Bergdale, E South
Dakota
Danielle Borg, Australia
Sophie Breton, Canada
Laura Busia, Italy
Charlotte M. Cable, Australia
Danielle C. Claar
Hannah Clancy, United
Kingdom
Anna Czupryna, Eta
Julie Ealy, Penn State Lehigh
Valley
Mariela Faykoo-Martinez,
Canada
Guanqiao Feng
Rozzy Finn, E South Dakota
Heather Flowers, Canada
Victoria Inman, Australia
Yumi Iwadate, Japan
Gurjot Kaur, Germany
Anna E. Kensicki, United
Kingdom
Rina D. Koyani, India
Lindsey Marshall, E South
Dakota
Tara Massad, South Africa
Andrea Mastro, State College
Dee McManus, Twin Cities
Minnesota
Kiera Newman, Canada
Francisca Nwaokorie ,Nigeria
Anne K. Nzioki, South Africa
Katrina L. Okerstrom
Maria Ribeiro, Portugal
Oluwakemi Rotimi, Nigeria
Isabella Scheiber, Germany
Kirsty R. Short, Australia
Patricia Silveyra, Kappa Rho
Maria Solyanik, National
Capitol
Gilda Stefanelli, Canada
Diamond Tachera, Hawaii
Negar Talaei Zanjani, Australia
Shyamala Thirunavukkarasu
Ana E. Torres, At Large
Athina Vidaki, Netherlands
Paddy W. Wiesenfeld, National
Capitol
Heather E. Williams, United
Kingdom
Robin W. Woo, National
Capitol
Chapter News
-
4
WhatsApp, International Members!!!
Contact Susan ([email protected]) and tell
her that you want to join our private WhatsApp
group. We now have 19 participants. This is the
best way to connect with your fellow members
around the globe in an instant.
Save the date! Sunday, January 28, 2018
all members welcome. Connect with other members
Discussion agenda will be sent out a week before
Our Facebook page is still a great way to learn about
International GWIS chapter and hear our latest updates on
meetings and networking / funding opportunities.
Also keep up with news and events by following us on
twitter: @SusanKathleenFe and @GWISci
mailto:[email protected]
-
5
March for Science, April 22, 2017
By Judy Artley
Judy Artley, dual member of the Boston and
International Chapters, participated with about
500 people at the March for Science at
Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. There was a
rally with speeches at Institute Park. US Rep. Jim
McGovern stated, "Science is so important, we
teach it in all the schools." A doctor from the
University of Massachusetts Medical College
said science is to have "Empathy for others [he does research in parasitic diseases]; Economic impact
(the financial benefits to the area from the science grants); and
Explore (the knowledge gained from science)."
About "Science Brain:" this is a 5x8 Soul Collage with images
for the fire of science, the inquisitive brain, the natural spiral
of the Nautilus shell. The graph paper shows mathematics and
data analysis. The brain-woman has evolved four hands: one
pair for conducting research and a second pair to record the
data. The fire also represents the frustration felt when I try to
connect with a less ordered artistic side”.
“After the rally, we walked the perimeter of WPI (Worcester
Polytech Institute), crossed campus and returned to Institute
Park”. Judy carried her "Science Brain" poster, an enlarged
copy of one of her collages.
J. Artley
Chapter News
-
6
Connecting our members in Toxicology
Thanks to our WhatsApp group, we could connect three International members who had never met
before in Baltimore, Maryland. Despite traffic and the enormity of the Baltimore Convention Center,
Oluwakemi Rotimi (Nigeria), Gurjot Kaur (Germany), Patricia Silveyra (Argentina and US) and her
student (right to left) managed to meet at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology. Kemi
experienced her very first snowfall.
Chapter News
-
7
IkalaSTEM - Madagascar
IkalaSTEM (Former Women in Science - Madagascar) is a women-led non-profit association
founded in May 2016 and headquartered in Antananarivo Madagascar. It gathers together
Malagasy women living worldwide who study or work in the field of Science and Engineering.
With a mission to promote education and science in Madagascar, the association mainly targets
young girls and women (although students of any gender also benefit from their action).
IkalaSTEM was created in response to the need of a long-term and continuous support system to
the Malagasy students in STEM. It also champions for women and girls’ economic and social
empowerment through the field of Science.
The objectives of IkalaSTEM are to:
- raise the profile of women in STEM in the Malagasy community,
- serve as a hub of networking and skills transfer for STEM students and
researchers,
- help young pupils and high school students build their future academic careers,
- leverage volunteering and collaboration in the advance of science.
Special report
-
8
Figure 1 The members who recently attended the 2017 GA held in Antananarivo, Madagascar
The association plans to organize various activities and events to meet its goal. These are not
limited to the mentoring program, workshop & conferences, scholarship offer & awards, career
fair and STEM camp. Since its launch, WiseMada has organized an online photo contest themed
“Women in Science at Work” and a primary school STEM awareness in a district not far from the
capital city of Madagascar.
The teams based in South Africa and Madagascar are currently working together to plan the first
edition of IkalaSTEM Annual Workshop themed “Building science skills through volunteering”.
The event was scheduled in November 2017, with the graduate students in STEM as its
participants. The newly-formed USA Chapter is also planning to launch a mentoring program
soon. Finally, the German team will be in charge of publishing a bi-annual newsletter of the
association.
Figure 2 Zara Randriamanakoto, co-founder of IkalaSTEM, leading STEM education outreach activities
https://wisemada.org/2017/05/17/photo-contest-african-women-in-science/https://wisemada.org/2017/05/17/epp-miandrarivo-mahitsy/https://wisemada.org/2017/05/17/workshop-building-science-skills-through-volunteering/
-
9
To date, IkalaSTEM has around 40 permanent members scattered in Madagascar, South Africa,
Germany and the USA. The organization is fully run by volunteers and financial resources to fund
the association activities and planned projects are still mainly covered by the contribution from
members. IkalaSTEM, is therefore, open to any form of collaboration and partnership.
IkalaSTEM is pleased to have been invited to contribute to this e-bulletin and wishes GWIS-
International all the best in your future endeavors. We hope that this is just the beginning of any
further collaboration to the advancement of Women in Science.
Do you want to know more about IkalaSTEM and the volunteers behind this initiative? We invite
you to visit our website www.wisemada.org or follow our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/WiseMada.
Figure 3 Some members of the advisory board who live in Madagascar
http://www.wisemada.org/http://www.facebook.com/WiseMada
-
10
From Stella Akiteng: Wednesday, 8th March 2017 found us on the road to meet women living in the
oil region of Northern Uganda
News from the desk of Susan Fetics:
Special report
-
11
News from the Desk of Susan Fetics
On 21 May 2017, we held a Skype meeting. Six of us attended: Susan from Trinity College Dublin, Ana
from Texas A & M, Heather from University of Ottawa, Lea in Athens GA, Gurjot in Germany, and
Emelda in Nigeria. Once we introduced ourselves, we discussed the issues of traveling for work: visas,
family considerations, etc. We talked about building our program called “Common Ground” in which
we plan to pair our members according to subject matter and location. We also discussed different
ways to participate in public outreach events in which a general audience can be educated about
important aspects of science.
On 23 July 2017, I attended the online National Leadership meeting. It was hosted by Michelle Booze,
GWIS National president. In 2021, just three years away, it will be the 100-year anniversary of GWIS.
How cool! There is already a committee in place to begin events scheduling. The International
chapter is up to 150 members! All members are encouraged to follow the national chapter on
Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and Instagram.
On 22 June, 2017, I gave a lunchtime seminar at Trinity College Dublin Entitled “Get the word out!
How to educate the public about your research” as part of the “Women should be both seen and
heard” seminar series. It was attended by over 70 people. I spoke about the various public outreach
events I have participated in and I shared the lessons I learned over the years.
Special report
-
12
March 8, 2017 was International Women’s day. This year we put out a call for our
members to send us pictures on the day. We were thrilled to have so many responses.
Below are all the members who participated. Some of us who worked wore red to show
support for women who stayed home from work in order
to display the important role they play.
Emelda Chuckwu
Robin Woo
Nastaran Shakeri
-
13
Sherly Diana da Costa
Toochi Ogbulie
Julie Ealy
Judy Artley
Mariel Bazzalo
Patricia Silveyra Hershey
PA
-
14
Yitong Liu
Watch for our announcement as we will be doing this again March 8,
2018.
But for now, we are calling for you to send your holiday picture with a
sentence description to [email protected]
Please share your pictures with us!
Susan Fetics and her dog Sweet tea
Paddy Weisenfeld
mailto:[email protected]
-
15
Anja Rakotoarisoa - Madagascar: Besides my studies in entomology, I am engaged in two different Gospel groups because I love singing. During the weekend, I mostly spend my time on rehearsal.
Dina Ratsimandresy - South Africa: Beside being a student, I am part of a Youth Christian group in my parish in Madagascar. The picture has been taken
during our outreach to Nosy-Be Hell Ville three years ago. The youth group enables me to help
people and share the gospel but it also gives me an opportunity to explore different places I have
never been or have never thought of going before.
This is what a Scientist looks like outside the lab!
-
16
Mireille Razafindranaivo - Madagascar: I am engaged in environmental education having as
objective “Green world”. I did reforestation with people in a little village last
year.
Miangola Ramanantoanina Madagascar: In this picture, I did animations during the YEM (Youth Eucharistic Movement) day two years ago in my
church.
-
17
Mialy Razanajatovo - Germany: Besides being a scientist, I enjoy doing different outdoor activities such as hiking and swimming. Here I swam across Lake Como in Italy from Tremezzo Parco Meier to La Cappelletta (c. 2km) on July 10th 2014 at 19:00.
My coach is another woman scientist, Eva Malecore, who is now preparing for a 10km swim.
Photo credit: Claudio Malecore.
Tinah Martin - USA: I am a General Bathymetry Chart of the Ocean (GEBCO) scholar, I follow a
Postgraduate Certificate in Ocean Bathymetry at the University of New Hampshire. Outside of my
training, I enjoy discovering the world around me. American Football is one of the first things that
comes to my mind when you say the United States of America. And having the opportunity to have
some kicks and throws with the UNH Wildcats was a huge discovery for me.
-
18
“GWIS International Chapter member of
the Month” and “This is what a Scientist
looks like outside the lab”are two sections
designed especially to enhance the visibility of all
members.
If you are willing to be featured in the next Iota
Nu bimonthly bulletin, send your information to
the corresponding secretary at
Don’t hesitate, we would love to hear
from you!
-
19
Subscribe to the FREE bimonthly electronic newsletter, GWIS
International chapter E-Bulletin!
Send an email request to: Tsiory Andrianavalona
[email protected] Corresponding Secretary
Volume 5: No 2. , December, 2017
mailto:[email protected]