As advocates for women students and resources for help and conversation, it was a natural extension of Wurster and Thom-Levy’s duties to support WIP by taking over its organizing functions. “Students need someone they can turn to for advice, or just someone to listen,” she says. When Patterson was chair of the physics department, she established a system of faculty mentors for female and minority students, appointing teaching support specialist Jenny Wurster and Julia Thom-Levy, associate professor of physics, as work-life mentors. Society continues to give messages to girls that they’re not as capable and brains are not their thing, so being in a group that’s encouraging can make a difference.” Says Ritchie Patterson ’81, professor of physics, “WIP organizations can make an enormous difference in inspiring young women to continue in physics, and science obviously benefits enormously from realizing that potential. These meetings helped the women develop important skills, says Sparks: “Even now, a small fraction of the questions at physics meetings are asked by women.” ’83, a WIP founder, recalls that at every meeting of WIP one member would practice giving a talk while the others practiced asking questions and offering feedback. Grad school is really trying and it’s important to have people you can trust and rely on.” I’m not sure I would have gotten through graduate school without this group. ’84, chief scientist of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, president-elect of the American Physical Society and a founding member of WIP. The keynote speaker will be Laura Greene, M.S. The changes – and similarities – in physics since WIP began will be reflected upon at an anniversary celebration, the Cornell Women in Physics and Related Fields All-Class Reunion, Saturday, Oct. They formed the Women in Physics (WIP) group, still going strong four decades later. Of the 150 or so graduate students, only six were women, five of them in their second year. Forty years ago, Cornell’s physics department had no female faculty or postdocs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |