Women Chemists of Color Symposium
ACS
The American Chemical Society Women Chemists of Color, Division of Professional Relations, Committee on Minority Affairs and Women Chemists Committee are sponsoring a symposium at the fall ACS National Meeting in Denver — Empirical Studies on Women of Color in STEM. The symposium will be held 8:25–11:45 a.m. MDT Aug. 29 at the Colorado Convention Center, room 111.

The symposium features five speakers from varied backgrounds:

Attend the Committee on Minority Affairs Luncheon Aug. 29
ACS
The Committee on Minority Affairs will host a luncheon Aug. 29 during the fall convention in Denver. Please join the conversation on how scientists with disabilities have broken boundaries and used their talents to make significant and successful contributions in the workplace. More

August Chemist of the Month: Javier Macossay
ACS
Javier Macossay, a Hispanic chemist, is an ACS member with affiliations in the POLY and PMSE divisions. He has also served on the Polymer Nomenclature Committee and the Committee for Minority Affairs. Macossay is currently a professor of chemistry at the University of Texas-Pan American, which is a Hispanic-serving institution that educates the most Mexican American students in the nation. UTPA is located in the Rio Grande Valley, which unfortunately is one of the most economically disadvantaged regions in the U.S. Macossay performs research with undergraduate students of Hispanic, African-American, Asian, and Anglo backgrounds. He is committed to promoting diversity within his research group and, ultimately, within the chemical sciences.More

Receive travel money to participate in an ACS national or regional meeting
ACS
Apply for a CIBA/YCC Young Scientist Travel Award for attendance to an ACS national or regional meeting held in 2012. Young scientists under the age of 35 who have postdoctoral appointments or are within the first seven years of their professional career are eligible. Applicants have the opportunity to receive $500 to attend an ACS meetings and network with other young chemists, professionals and chemist elite. Online applications for the Spring 2012 CIBA/YCC Travel Award opened Aug. 1. Don't miss out on this great opportunity. For more information, please visit the Web page or contact ycc.exec@gmail.com.More

WCC/Eli Lilly Travel Grant applications available
ACS
The application deadline for the American Chemical Society's Women Chemists Committee/Eli Lilly Travel Grant is coming up fast. Don't miss this opportunity to receive up to $1,000 to present at an ACS meeting between Jan. 1 and June 30. If you travel to the ACS National Meeting you will be among elite women chemists. There you may network with them and learn firsthand about their experiences. Visit the acs.org/diversity for more information and details. Application deadline is Sept. 15.More

Chemistry: The human science
Scientific American
Chemistry is the human science. What the general public refers to as "chemicals" have a profound effect on our way of life. Chemistry is the science that most directly engages with our senses, the discipline that confronts us face-on every single day of our lives and demands that we react. Chemicals delight, enrage, tease, beguile, provoke, subdue, reward, bully, soothe, punish, kill and save as directly and dramatically as human beings. Just like humans they have personalities that manifest themselves under the right circumstances.More

Making the work of black scientists accessible to the public
Diverse
Since 2000, The HistoryMakers Web campaign has been conducting interviews with prominent African-Americans in fields such as business, education, entertainment, law, music and religion. So far, 2,000 people have been interviewed. Two years ago, HistoryMakers put a focus on the field of science with the mission of using the life stories of individuals in the sciences as a way to encourage people to enter professions in STEM fields. A $2.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation has made the ScienceMakers project a reality.More

Women's wage gap smaller in science, technology, engineering
The Kansas City Star
Women hold just one-fourth of the nation's science, technology, engineering and math jobs and earn, on average, 14 cents less per dollar earned by men in those fields. But according to a new report by the U.S. Commerce Department, that's a smaller wage gap than the 21-cents-per-dollar gender gap in the workforce at large. On average, men in STEM jobs earn $36.34 and women $31.11 an hour.More

What if you could go back to college?
The Wall Street Journal
Employers are more reluctant than ever to hire workers. Except, it seems, if they're technology workers. Yet, at the undergraduate level, the percentage of students going into computer science and engineering has hovered at under 10 percent for decades. If you could go back to school, would you do it differently? Recently, The Wall Street Journal put that question to a Facebook group. Here's a look at what they had to say.More

How to make diversity and inclusion real
Harvard Business Review
Douglas R. Conant, recently retired president and CEO of the Campbell Soup, believes that when a CEO visibly stands for openness, diversity and inclusion, it sends an essential message to the organization. In many companies, the managerial ranks lack role models for women, people of color and the LGBT community. But in Campbell Soup's case, diversity is about more than breaking glass ceilings. It's about mirroring its consumers. How can the company possibly serve them well if managers don't viscerally understand them?More

How to solve the 'women in science' gap? Teach girls to love science
R&D
Women in sciences — or the lack thereof — is a topic that draws constant controversy. No matter what's causing such a low number of women to enter science-related fields, the numbers speak for themselves. One solution for changing this ratio sounds simple, but is often overlooked: Make more of an effort to interest girls in hard sciences from an early age. Which was precisely the goal of the inaugural GE Girls at MIT Summer Education workshop.More

Women in science: STEM taking root
Educationoption.com via Metro
As demands for advances in engineering and science grow, women are increasingly interested in joining those fields. According to the National Science Foundation, the amount of women engaging in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics has grown significantly since the 1970s. Fewer than 78,000 women were enrolled as graduate students in science and engineering in 1977 — compared with nearly 232,000 in 2008. More

Diverse, to a fault? University of California's 'diversity bureaucracy' questioned in critical paper
KPCC
A provocative article by Heather MacDonald in the City Journal claims that the University of California system has a bloated and corrupt "diversity bureaucracy." The impetus for her writing the article was the creation of a new full-time vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion at the University of California, San Diego. MacDonald and Lisa Garcia Bedolla, associate professor at UC Berkeley discuss the new UCSD diversity initiative.More

Microsoft's Imagine Cup competition seeks diversity
Diverse
After nine years, Microsoft's Imagine Cup competition boasts a strong international presence, with students from more than 70 countries competing. Begun in 2003, Imagine Cup challenges undergraduates to use technology — with the aid of Microsoft platforms — to solve worldwide challenges. Now, Microsoft plans to reach out to more minority-serving schools to ensure minority students have a place at the table.More

Bias gets a bad rap
Diversity Executive
Hunting bias down like an organizational fugitive won't achieve the goal we hope it will. It's better to focus on understanding biases and managing the differences that surface.More

Study finds Asians occupying few corner offices
The Wall Street Journal
Despite an outsized share of Ivy League degrees, Asian-Americans are underrepresented in executive suites, according to a study. Roughly 5 percent of Americans identify themselves as Asian, but less than 2 percent of executive roles at Fortune 500 companies are held by Asian-American professionals. Only eight Asian professionals currently lead Fortune 500 companies.More

A practical approach to diversity programs
Human Resource Executive Online
Diversity has become a business best practice among the most successful corporations as well as a critical factor in the recruitment and retention of a talented workforce. Companies are constantly rated on the basis of their commitment to diversity — and their actual and perceived commitment to diversity can enhance their public image. The reverse is true as well: A perceived lack of this commitment can severely tarnish an organization's image. More

Science in Namibia
Science
Namibia remains a developing country where money is tight and most university laboratories are dedicated to teaching, not research. But Namibian scientists are beginning to draw upon their country's natural resources to make gains in science and finding ways to treat disease. Namibia is also the site of one of the largest and most sensitive gamma ray telescopes in the world. More

Rock-paper-scissors: You vs. the computer
The New York Times
Computers mimic human reasoning by building on simple rules and statistical averages. Test your strategy against the computer in this rock-paper-scissors game illustrating basic artificial intelligence. Choose from two different modes: Novice, where the computer learns to play from scratch; and veteran, where the computer pits more than 200,000 rounds of previous experience against you.More