MentorNet News – November 2009 Volume 2

Wendy Neuberger (left) and Gloria Musau at the Grace Hopper Conference in Tucson, Arizona. They met face to face for the first time after a long relationship across continents through MentorNet. By Wendy Neuberger I have been an active mentor for years. I started mentoring years ago at a local elementary school, in a program sponsored by IBM. For several years, I coordinated a local IBM Women in Technology group, organizing and leading technology workshops in area middle schools. I am currently the Corporate Counselor for the Binghamton University section of Society of Women Engineers. I have done a variety of on-line mentoring programs, as well. That is why I was pretty excited when I heard about a new program that IBM was sponsoring, in partnership with MentorNet, called Makocha Minds. Makocha Minds (“makocha” means “coach” in Swahili) was launched in 2007 to provide mentors to African university technology students. I was already a member of MentorNet, so all I had to do was update my profile to indicate that I wanted a Makocha Minds protégé. In the fall of 2008, I was matched with Gloria, a young woman from Kenya. Gloria is studying for her Masters degree in Information Technology. Read more Finding Nemo: Science, Simulation, Splash! Earlier this year MentorNet expanded to support Computer Animation, Game Technology and other "Entertainment Technology" disciplines. This image from The New Scientist -- shown at a recent Siggraph meeting of the ACM -- illustrates why we are excited to have expanded in this direction. It is the product of some very heavy computation of sophisticated algorithms for fluid dynamics. Similar computational feats underlie the breathtaking simulation of water in animated films by The Walt Disney Studios and the kinds of video games produced by the International Game Developers Association and Women in Games International. I'll never forget the exhilarating sense of immersion I got from underwater scenes in Finding Nemo. As an occasional scuba diver, I remember feeling this was a pretty good substitute for the real thing, and without all that gear. Entertainment, science, and technology create a dynamic triple feedback loop. Think of the reliance of virtually all of your disciplines on imaging, modeling, simulation, and the extent to which the computer has enabled us to delve realms and phenomena that were inaccessible just a decade or so ago. This feedback loop has always existed (see this article from The Technology Review about the invention of Technicolor by physicists at MIT in 1908, for instance). But the speed and intensity of the loop are increasing. Next stop: 3D TV. It's gratifying to know that so many of our partners -- MIT, ACM, The Walt Disney Studios, IGDA/WIGI -- meet at the MentorNet crossroads. Recommended Reading Diversity in Science Grinnell College fosters welcoming environment for women and minorities in the sciences Katie Lee, 22, loves surgery -- performing it, that is. Studying biology at Grinnell College, she discovered that the procedure gives her "intrinsic joy." Yet she views the logical next step, a career as a surgeon, with uncertainty. As a woman, she's been told she lacks the "don't feel, just do" personality that seemingly characterizes the male-dominated field. Read more The Math Gap MIT economists find a new reason to think that environment, not innate ability, determines how well girls do in math class When Glenn Ellison’s daughters started middle school in a Boston suburb in 2007, Ellison decided to become a volunteer coach of the school’s math team. While his squad was earning a place in the state finals, Ellison noticed something distinctive about his students. “We would go to math contests, and my team didn’t look like other teams,” says Ellison, who is MIT’s Gregory K. Palm (1970) Professor of Economics. Read more Retaining Women Researchers urge colleges and federal agencies to coordinate efforts for women in science Women with PhDs in the sciences will keep "leaking out" of the tenure pipeline if colleges and the federal agencies that award grant money to researchers don't work together to stop the flow, says a new report from three researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. The report, "Staying Competitive: Patching America's Leaky Pipeline in the Sciences," was prepared with the help of the Center for American Progress. Read more 1275 S. Winchester Blvd Suite E | San Jose, CA 95128-3910 US

MentorNet News Archives

2010:

• May 2010 - Volume 2
  
• May 2010 - Volume 1
  
• April 2010 - Volume 2
  
• April 2010 - Volume 1
  
• March 2010 - Volume 2
  
• March 2010 - Volume 1
  
• Feb. 2010 - Volume 2
• Feb. 2010 - Volume 1
• Jan. 2010 - Volume 1

2009:

• Dec. 2009 - Volume 2
• Dec. 2009 - Volume 1
• Nov. 2009 - Volume 2
• Nov. 2009 - Volume 1
• Sept. 2009
• May 2009
• March 2009
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

MentorNet News

• MentorNet welcomes Miriam Kojnok, our new Finance and Administrative Specialist, to the team!
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MentorNet in the News; Recommended Reading

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Welcome to the September 2008 issue of MentorNet News, the bi-monthly e-newsletter about mentoring and diversity in science and engineering.

What's New at MentorNet

• MentorNet gives a warm welcome to Jennifer Timmons Bell, our newest team member! She is serving as the Communications and Special Projects Assistant.
• Women and Minorities Not Getting Mentoring, MentorNet Study Finds.
• MentorNet has a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Great Nonprofits – join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups and review us at Great Nonprofits!
  

Diversity of Thought Paves the Path to Innovation
Dr. J. D. Garcia, President-elect of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native American Scientists (SACNAS), writes both personally and profoundly about a new 'imperative for science,' the notion that individuals with a different worldview may be the ones to lead to new ideas. His message sets the stage for the focus on learning in the current issue of SACNAS news.

Reprinted by permission of Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. Copyrighted 2006.

Confidence Gap for New Profs Most new Ph.D.'s arrive at their first faculty jobs without feeling that they were effectively prepared in graduate school for such key duties as teaching undergraduates and conducting research, according to a new national study of faculty members in their first five years on the job. Reprinted with permission from Inside Higher Ed.

MentorNet Mentor Best Practices - Marion Thurnauer
We asked our "serial" mentors to share their experiences as MentorNet mentors. The response we've gotten has prompted us to feature a MentorNet mentor each newsletter! If you'd like to contribute contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

What Inspires You?
A new viral campaign on improving education by Intel

MentorNet Matters
Partnerships Update; Call for Mentors; MentorNet Mentions

Bits and Bytes
Girls as Good at Math as Boys; The Black Academic's Guide to Winning Tenure; Autobiographies from Chicanas in STEM and more!

MentorNet thanks its participating campuses, corporations, government labs, professional societies, and particularly its leading sponsors, including IBM, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard Company, Intel Foundation, Texas Instruments, 3M Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, and NSF.

View the list of sponsors and the list of participating campuses.

MentorNet News

• MentorNet welcomes Miriam Kojnok, our new Finance and Administrative Specialist, to the team!
• Check out Women in Engineering ProActive Network's (WEPAN) new knowledge center for women in the STEM community.
• Join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups by clicking on the buttons below and review us at Great Nonprofits!

If you'd like to contribute contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Bits and Bytes
MentorNet in the News; Recommended Reading

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Have a Question or Suggestion? We welcome your feedback.

Subscribe to receive MentorNet News through email
MentorNet News Archive

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MentorNet Social Networking:

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