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WISENET NSW
Activities.
Celebration Meeting, November 11, 2002
At this meeting, Sydney WISENET
members celebrated our ten years of responsibility for running WISENET, which in
2002 passed to the Canberra group, headed by Anna Robinson. Those able to come,
comprising Rosemary Sutton, Sarah Miller, Julie Evans, Julianne Crowley, Heather
Rossiter, Gabi Young, Ann Sefton, and Diana Temple were welcomed by Margaret
Hartley at the premises of NICNAS in Marrickville.
The former Central Link team thanked Rosemary Sutton for her sterling work as National Convenor, Julie Evans as Editor of the WISENET Journal, Sarah Miller as Treasurer since 1991, Margaret Hartley who managed the PO Box for many years and all other volunteer workers. At this social meeting, plans for 2003 were discussed over drinks, and members went to dinner at a local Asian restaurant.
A meeting of WISENET's Sydney group, May 5.
This was held again at the impressive meeting room of NICNAS at Marrickville, made available by Margaret Hartley, who is NICNAS Director. Wild weather and mishaps, and a new grandchild for one of us, caused some last minute dropouts but a significant core of members made it, for drinks, discussion and dinner at a Thai restaurant. The meeting was in part a send-off for Sarah Miller, Treasurer of WISENET for the past ten years, who is being uprooted from Sydney by a CSIRO transfer. Sarah, with occasional assistance with banking, carried the financial problems of the network efficiently through most of the 1990s and beyond. We wish her well. We were also able to congratulate another former Central-Link member, Julianne Crowley, on the award of a long-sought PhD.
Discussion of future moves and activities of WISENET at this meeting
included:
Action on
recommendations of the WAIS-2 Conference of November 2002:
We believe that application for funding to assist WISENET in achieving its goals
should be made. Minister for Science McGauran indicated in his opening address
support for the themes of the conference, and the potential for practical
support from the federal government.
The first recommendation of the conference is significant,
that a project be initiated to study the progress of women in science,
technology, engineering and medicine.
We support also the recommendation of the WAIS Conference that the careers of
the young scientists outlined in WISENET's special issue "SCIENCE FUTURES" be
re-visited, to determine how their work or outlooks have changed in the 5 years
since their first interviews.
The results could then form the basis of another special
issue of the Journal. We request that a committee or working group be set up by
the Executive, which could include some members of the original Sydney-based
working group, to carry this out this survey. Some copies of Science Futures
are available for reference. Funding to assist this project should be requested
from the Minister for Science.
Titles for WISENET executive:
It was noted that all the names of executive members listed in recent journals
and on the website are prefixed with the title "Dr". Feedback from potential
members and some scientists remote from academia suggests that this conveys an
unintended impression of elitism. One comment from a representative of
industrial science, shown the list, was "that doesn't look like our sort of
group". We suggest to the Convenor and the central team that consideration be
given to describing all executive members simply by first names and surnames.
University of Sydney Postgraduate Association, Women's Meeting on Careers.
WISENET was represented at this meeting on May 15, 2003.by Meloni Muir, a
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Physiology Department at Sydney University. About 50
women, mostly PhD students, were present. Meloni addressed the meeting about
women's careers in science. Meloni reports that she was able to publicise
WISENET, and receiving several enquiries about it.
Congratulations to Cathy Foley, Eureka Prize-winner
Dr Cathy Foley has won the
prestigious Education, Science & Training Eureka Prize for the Promotion of
Science for 2003 ($10,000). Cathy is a significant member of WISENET, and was
the subject of a 3-page article, "Fields of Dreams" and cover-photo in WISENET
Journal 56, March 2001. She has given hundreds of talks to schools and
community groups, television appearances and regular radio segments; all while
pursuing her day job as leader of a team in high temperature superconductivity
research, and responsibility for her three children. "In fact, Cathy Foley's
scientific career has been one continuous science communication program," said
Brian Sherman, President of the Australian Museum Trust, at the award ceremony
in Sydney in August 2003. "For her many years of commitment to science
promotion, she is awarded the 2003 Education, Science & Training Eureka Prize
for the Promotion of Science." Cathy is a role model to all scientists on how
to both maintain a science career and engage the wider community in her.
We have just heard (August 27) that
Cathy is to be the subject of a portrait painted by Rosalind Brown as an entry
for the Portia Geach Award for women artists. Rosalind contacted Convenor Anna
Robinson to make this offer.
Diana Temple, NSW Convenor