Harvard: Academic Freedom, Feminists and Science -- & -- Winning Scientists in the Maritimes

Barbara Kay on Harvard Pres. Lawrence Summers, Academic Freedom, Universities, Mobbing -- Excellent! -- in the spirit of enquiry and free speech, a must read

Mob rule at Harvard Barbara Kay, National Post, Mar. 2, 05

As everyone by now knows, on Jan. 14 Harvard University president Summers opined that the low number of women at the pinnacle of math and science research might be due in part to innate differences between men's and women's cognitive abilities in those areas.

He didn't say that women are dumber, but that, on average, they are less likely to be either hypersmart or hyperdumb. What's more, the available data suggests Summers is entirely correct. [. . . . ]

Search the paragraph beginning "In a classic mobbing episode " and do read the "12-point profile Professor Westhues has developed to identify true mobbing"

Finally, read the last paragraph, advice Kay offers to Professor Summers. Another voice of common sense.

In the same spirit, the next time some neanderthal suggests I am a redneck, would Ms. Kay please give me a snappy comeback? -- Something other than "I am simply stating what I believe based on extensive reading and some experience, along with using my powers of deduction" -- which certainly lacks a certain je ne sais quoi -- perhaps zing. It won't be picked up as a media sound bite -- and isn't that what everyone wants?





Winner of AUPAC/2005 Prize is a Female in Physics--All are Winners -- APICS Undergraduate Physics and Astronomy Conference, Saint Mary's University, Feb. 4 - 6, 2005

Would you not be proud if one of these students were yours?


For those who, like me, wondered about the acronyms, here it is: AUPAC (APICS Undergraduate Physics and Astronomy Conference 2005).



AUPAC/2005 Prize Winners

Prize Winners
Best Poster

1st Place: Bobby MacDougall (Acadia)
Title: "Charge Density Waves in ZnXNb3Te4: Effects of Zn Interaction"

Best Talks (NSERC Atlantic Representatives Undergrad Student Awards)

1st Place: Heather Hickey (UNB)
Title: "Magnetic Resonance Measurements to Determine Oil and Water
Content in Model Starch Food Samples"

2nd Place: Aaryn Tonita (Acadia)
Title: "The Solar Neutrino Problem"

3rd Place: Roderick Chisolm (SMU)
Title: "Utilizing digital in-line holography to investigate polymer
crystallization"

APICS Undergraduate Science Communication Award
("best able to communicate a science topic to the general public")
as voted on by conference participants:

Markus Baker (Mount Allison)
Title: "Heavy Metal- It's Not About the Music"

Participating students by university and a list of presentations

All of these students--male and female, note--spent a weekend in Halifax for this this. Is this not heartening? Congratulations to all these winners!