Volume 17, Issue 11

November 2006
 

Opportunities and Choices

(MCB 3961 and WS 3961) Women in Science and Engineering: A Professional Seminar: The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a topic of discussion in many forums. In spite of impressive gains over the past two decades in the number of women in some scientific disciplines, such as biology, women continue to be largely absent from the majority of STEM fields. How can more women be recruited to and retained in the nation's STEM workforce?

This course will examine some of the factors that may account for the relative absence of women in STEM fields both nationally and locally. The course will acquaint students with efforts taking place on the UA campus to encourage women to advance in STEM fields. Students will:
  • network with scientists and engineers at UA and learn about current research
  • participate in e-mentoring with scientists and engineers around the country.
  • participate in a series of three science and engineering career panels to acquaint them with the panoply of options available to them in STEM fields
  • examine their career goals and develop a resume
  • learn what graduate admissions committees look for in applicants and hear from current graduate students about what is important in choosing a graduate program
  • become acquainted with research opportunities on the UA campus
  • learn about negotiation
  • outline a program to retention of women in STEM fields
Offered Spring 2007, 2 credit hours, Mondays 4:00 - 7:00 PM, LSS 340, Instructors: Kathy Powell and Carol Bender.

The 18th annual UBRP Conference will be held Saturday, January 20, 2007. If you would like to present, please submit an abstract by November 27, 2006. The abstract should be submitted electronically. To do this, please go to the UBRP website http://ubrp.arizona.edu and enter your user name and password. This will bring up a page that invites you to submit an abstract. Click on that link and the abstract form and directions will come up. Abstracts are due Monday, November 27, 2006. Students not currently in UBRP can do this also by creating a UBRP account for themselves via the website. I encourage any student involved in research to present at the conference. Sharing experimental results is part of the scientific process and this is a wonderful place to do that. In addition to gaining valuable experience in explaining your project, you can learn about other research on campus.

The Council on Undergraduate Research wishes to remind you that the 2007 Posters on the Hill will take place April 25, 2007 at the Rayburn House Office Building. Proposals must be submitted by November 10, 2006. Posters on the Hill is a program for undergraduate researchers and their faculty advisors. Research teams from across the nation gather in Washington D.C. to share presentations with Congress. The poster session is a way to communicate our thanks for federal support for undergraduate research, and to share the knowledge that has been learned with our nations elected officials. In addition to congressional visits, we are also planning to offer special optional behind the scenes tours of Washington D.C. facilities. To participate in this exiting and competitive program, please submit the application form found at http://www.cur.org/pohab.asp. Should you have any questions, please contact the National Office (202) 783-4810, or visit the Posters on the Hill website: http://www.cur.org/postersession.html for more information. Last year UBRP student James Cherwa's poster was accepted for presentation (one of only 60 students nationwide to be offered this opportunity to present). His account of the experience can be found in the UBRP Gazette at: http://ubrp.arizona.edu/gazette/2006/05/a2.html

Undergraduate Summer 2007 Internships at Institute Pasteur in Paris for US citizens: These 10-week internships at the Institut Pasteur, one of the world's leading private, nonprofit centers for infectious disease research, offer hands-on laboratory experience to undergraduates contemplating a scientific career. Applicants must be US citizens. See website www.pasteurfoundation.org for information and downloads. Deadline: December 15, 2006.

2007 Post-doctoral Fellowships in Paris: These three-year fellowship positions are open to American post-doctoral scientists wishing to pursue research at the Institut Pasteur. With 2500 people of 60 nationalities, the 130 research labs of the Institut Pasteur are devoted to the basic science of improving global health with particular emphasis on infectious diseases. For a list of labs and further application information, visit the website (www.pasteurfoundation.org). Deadline: February 2, 2007

Every year, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awards sixty fellowships of $5,000 each and forty Awards of Excellence of $2,000 each to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Each Phi Kappa Phi chapter may select one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for the Society-wide awards. Check the website for more information: http://phikappaphi.org/Web/Scholarships/graduatefellowship.html Deadline: February 1, 2007


Undergraduate Biology Research Program
The University of Arizona
bender@email.arizona.edu

http://ubrp.arizona.edu/
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