With the various problems of today (the abysmal economy, various wars, global warming... best not to dwell), we could all use a little inspiration. On September 24, 2010, the Office of Research of the City University of New York , the Graduate School and University Center , the Feminist Press, and the National Science Foundation hosted a day-long forum in New York City called “Inspiring Women Scientists”.

For those who weren’t able to attend, here are some reasons for women in science to feel inspired:

1. People care about you and your professional success. About 200 people, mostly women but also quite a few men, attended to connect with and support women in science. The program included not only academic scientists, but also Claudia Dreifus from the New York Times, Carol Hymowitz  from Forbes Woman, Jane L. Snowdon  and Tal Rabin  from IBM, and Sandra Brown from Hewlett-Packard. Everything, including lunch, was free, and postdocs received goody bags as part of Postdoc Appreciation Week .

2. Women as a group are starting to gain ground. In her introductory remarks, Gillian Small , a forum organizer and the Vice Chancellor for Research at CUNY, noted that women now represent 46% of the total work force and 23% (up from 9.5% not long ago) of college presidencies, and in 2009 three women became Nobel laureates in science .

3. Inspirational mentors abound. Maribel Vasquez , a panelist and associate professor of biomedical engineering at CUNY, distinguished between an ordinary role model and what she calls an “inspirational mentor,” someone whom she looks up to professionally and aspires to emulate.

The forum highlighted the work of two stellar examples. Elaine Fuchs , a professor at Rockefeller University and recipient of numerous awards, gave a keynote speech about her work on skin biology, stem cells, and how to make an ultra-fuzzy mouse. In the afternoon, the author and astronomer Janna Levin gave an exceptionally engaging speech called “Black holes play the drums”.

Many other potential inspirational mentors exist. All you have to do is look.

4. Interdisciplinary research may offer opportunities. Vasquez , who was often the only woman in her mechanical engineering courses, spoke about how exciting and positive working in an interdisciplinary field has been for her. She attributed some of her success to a lack of preconceptions about the appearance of scientists in emerging disciples.

5. Satisfying science careers exist both inside and outside of academia. Yes, the job market is awful, and universities are over-producing PhDs  however, many options exist outside of pursuing a PhD and/or an academic position. The afternoon panel, which will be described in more detail in an upcoming story, showcased a few possibilities.

6. Pursuing science is “a vibrant way to live” according to Myriam Sarachik, a distinguished professor of physics at CUNY. Through her science, she is constantly interacting with others and has come to feel deeply involved in a community. She urged the audience to “choose something you like and invest yourself in it”, and of science, she said, “Sure, there are problems, but to me, the problem is not doing it.”

Image courtesy of Tunisia L. Riley
Image Caption: (front) Shirley Mow speaking with Elaine Fuchs, as Gloria Jacobs of the Feminist Press (back middle) speaks with Claudia Dreifus & a forum participant.

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