Month: December 2009

Yesterday on our way home from the airport, Steve pointed out to me that we were at a milestone, the end of a decade.  I found myself reflecting upon the thing that happened in my life this past decade that were important to me in some way.

In the past 10 years, I have traveled to five of the seven continents on the earth.  I have earned a Ph.D. in physics,  did postdoc studies at MIT and Stanford University, and finally became a Professor of Physics at SMU this past year.  I have lived in four different cities spanning each coast of these United States.

I became married.  I have watched my family expand as my siblings married and had children.  I became a godmother to three of my four nieces and nephews.

I completed the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee, WI.

Not all things that have happened this past decade were cause for celebration.  I have seen friends and loved ones struggle with relationships.  Some loved ones have passed away.

As I think ahead to the next decade, I find myself wondering where I will be in the next 10 years.  Will I get tenure (think job security for Professors) or will I need to start an entirely new chapter in my career?  Will I have children?  Will I have visited every continent on the earth?  Will I ever make it to a high school class reunion?  Will I ever be a home owner? 

During my commute last week I listened to an episode of the Diane Rehm show (NPR) “11:00 Nobel Prize Winners:  Women in Science” (episode linked here:  http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/12/02.php#28913).  I am pleased that this topic is being discussed on a national show.

The enevitable topic that is always brought up in discussions of women and minorities in the sciences is the concept of a leaky pipeline.  For those unfamilar, the analogy is that there is one path to success in the sciences, this is the pipeline.  Although we get women and minorities into the pipe early on (high school and undergrad), we loose them at various stages (graduation from undergrad, graduate school, postdoctoral, etc), this is the leak. 

Everyone focuses on fixing “the leak”.  I think we need to get rid of the pipe and replace it with a highway with “on ramps”.  We need to realize, as one of Diane’s guest points out, that a “one size fits all” approach to success does not and can not work if we want to diversify the scientific community.