The academic legacy of Heather Munroe-Blum
I wish to reflect upon the academic legacy of Principal Heather Munroe-Blum. I appreciate deeply the Principal’s contributions to McGill, which have changed us for the better. How has the academic leadership of the Principal been expressed? It is both more subtle and more pervasive than one might think. Of course the academic impact of [...]
If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, why are scientists from Earth?
I was lucky. When I was looking for an academic job in the early to mid-eighties, I looked to the success of the people who had graduated a few years before me to get some idea of my chances, naturally enough. To first order, it was pretty easy to calculate my chances. All the scientists [...]
Why isn’t it hard to rip a piece of paper in half?
Interesting scientific questions come in at least two categories. The first category comprises those big questions that everyone knows. Things like the origin of the universe, how consciousness works, ways to ensure that our brother and sister species – and we – survive and prosper, how to build better computers with better algorithms, build better [...]
Reflections on WISEMS, the first annual Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine Symposium
by Katharine Yagi On Saturday October 13th, I attended the first annual Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine Symposium (WISEMS). I am a graduate student, studying in the field of ecology and conservation biology. I’ve had a passion for biology since I was three years old, and I haven’t wavered in my choice to follow [...]