Cornell woman in computer engineering wins MacArthur
Hi friends,
One of my literary friends alerted me to this story. Michal Lipson, a woman faculty member in the school of engineering and computer engineering at Cornell University, recently was awarded a MacArthur "genius"grant. She uses light engineering and nanofabrication to design better computers. In a story about her in the Ithaca Journal on Sept 28, Rachel Stern said, "When Michal Lipson walked into her first physics class at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, her mouth hung open. She thought her father, Reuven Opher, a professor at the university, had prepared her well after a childhood spent following him around at the laboratory. But there was one thing he left out.
"There wasn't a single woman there," Lipson said. "I thought I was in the wrong place and somehow ended up at an all-male school. It was a shock."
Lipson says when she goes to meetings, she's often the only woman present even today (a subject we've discussed, which has a chilling effect on many women). The dearth of women comes from a simple thing, she thinks, ""Women shy away because they do not think they can do this and have a family." However, she does have a family. Lipson is a divorced mother with two sons, aged 13 and 6.
Her reaction to the award, which relates to our discussions of why we go into science, was, "I get to discover how the world works and get paid for it, so there is nothing better than that," Lipson said. "I can't believe where I am now. It is far from the classroom when I felt like I didn't belong."
I hate to say it, but I didn't have such a good reaction to the congratulatory statement made by her Vice President. He said, ""She is a talented scientist and it is indeed an honor that we have her on our faculty. This is truly wonderful and a treat." I have a hard time imagining him using these words about a male engineer, "a treat??" Wouldn't he say the male engineer was an outstanding engineer with international leadership in his research area? Maybe I'm overreacting.
What do you think?
A. Yes, he praised her, and that's all that really matters. No need to be so picky.
B. I am not sure; I don't think he meant to be putting her down, but it's not the nicest compliment for a genius.
C. I don't think you're over-reacting; sounds like he thinks she's a cute little girl messing around in the lab.
Hi Laura,
Without knowing this dean and how he usually expresses himself, I am agnostic (B). I don't much like the "treat" remark, but then he may say things like that all the time.
Hi Helen,
Yes, I hate "how cute" and also hate, "that goes to show women can really find important things," which implies it's a once in a lifetime experience. I probably just over-react to these things!
cheers,
Laura
A. My first reaction is no way, but I'd have to review his other statements regarding men faculty in awards situations. Perhaps he really is that folksy...but I somehow doubt it. I can't stand when my work is called "cute" either. I'm an imaging scientist, so often when I flash up a slide that shows an important biologically relevant result the comment is "how cute or how darling". When people make those types of comments and it's not regarding a picture of my son, I start to steam around the ears...
I can't believe we're that picky. The dean was praising her for heavens' sake. Come on, don't we have more important issues to worry about here?
C I think the acid test is, would it sound funny to say this to a man? I don't think a man would appreciate it as praise if he were called "a treat" so why should a woman? (I can almost hear the "little woman" sound in this so-called compliment)
Hi Ole,
I know what you mean about dads. My dad inspired me and encouraged me too. And I am glad to see all kinds of diversity in science. I wonder about Michal as a gender-ambiguous name and if that helped her at times, say getting grants? I once was listed as Lauriek as a misprint by ETS. I guess that sounded male. Anyway, I got hundreds more invitations to apply to colleges than my close female friend who had better SAT scores. Made us think! Of course, this was in the dark ages...
cheers,
Laura
I love the fact that she's from Brazil in addition to being a woman. Like so many women in science, it seems that her dad was an inspiration to her. Mine was the same or I probably would be here. Dad's contribute to science diversity.
Well, we can't just agree with things that go wrong or they will never change, right? Worried, I know you mean well, but this guy doesn't even know how it sounds to be called "a treat" when you've worked so hard. Who is going to tell him? Doesn't he want to do it right?
If we criticize administrators who praise WIS, won't they just not even try? I think it was good that he released a congratulatory statement. The first sentence was pretty strong too.
B. It's rare enough to get praise from any administrator if you're a woman in science that I want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Hey, did you see Natalie Angier's attack on the term "STEM" in NYT today, Laura?
C Your antennae are good, Laura, it was faint praise.
