From owner-chemistry -A_T- ccl.net Sun Feb 16 19:59:00 2014 From: "Clark, Aurora auclark_._wsu.edu" To: CCL Subject: CCL: ICQC shame Message-Id: <-49708-140216140814-17791-fM5E82kmxzNyHkwU2PAOww###server.ccl.net> X-Original-From: "Clark, Aurora" Content-Language: en-US Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_000_CF26452538CE8auclarkwsuedu_" Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 19:08:04 +0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Sent to CCL by: "Clark, Aurora" [auclark()wsu.edu] --_000_CF26452538CE8auclarkwsuedu_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Dear Sergio - Of course it is true that in a highly specialized arena there will be a non= -even distribution of gender amongst highly qualified experts, ICQC is not = one of those conferences. Further, in this particular instance, it is not = even that there are no female speakers, there are no female Chairs or honor= ary Chairs either (see the original email posting). You may view a conference as being solely a scientific platform =96 but th= e reality of all conferences is that they are just as much about networking= as they are about science. It is where undergraduates see potential gradua= te schools, it is where graduate students learn about people they may want = to work for for post-docs, it is where assistant professors meet future pro= gram officers and collaborators, etc. Thus there are political consequence= s in terms of people's career decisions and the opportunities made availabl= e to them. Working on the premise that there are qualified women scientists in the are= a of theoretical chemistry (which there are, well beyond the ability to giv= e a good "teaching" talk) =96 it should be self-evident that including them= makes your conference makes it a better and stronger conference on many le= vels. It is the responsibility of conference organizers to be aware enough = about the impact that their decisions make upon others in the discipline. W= e do not exist in a vacuum. A Aurora Clark Associate Professor Department of Chemistry Washington State University Pullman, Wa 99164 Ph: 509-335-3362 Fax: 509-335-8867 > From: "Sergio Manzetti sergio.manzetti..outlook.com" > Reply-To: CCL Subscribers > Date: Sunday, February 16, 2014 3:25 AM To: Aurora Clark > Subject: CCL: ICQC shame Dear Aurora, I am not sure that the number of women or the number of men defines the qu= ality of a conference. It is the topics, the level of experience built in e= ach topic, and naturally the experience of the presenters, whether they are= men or women. I have seen both good men and good women in QM, the latter p= articularly in teaching. Conferences should be organized according to topic= s of research, independently of gender. Maybe this conference has topics th= at are mostly covered by one gender. That does however, not stop anyone fro= m organizing another conference, where, occasionally, another gender is mor= e overrepresented. Again, the outfall of this is in the topic, scientific advance and expertis= e, not gender. If one starts finding missing aspects in terms of WHO is behind the researc= h, the research will disappear and be replaced by persons. The person behind the research is not really of outomst relevant, it is the= research, where I guess all researchers would agree one (men or women). Cheers > From: owner-chemistry|ccl.net > To: sergio.manzetti|gmx.com > Subject: CCL: ICQC shame > Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 04:12:00 +0000 > > > Sent to CCL by: "Clark, Aurora" [auclark#,#wsu.edu] > It is important to point out that this issue is much broader than > merely including women in major theoretical conferences, it is about the > repercussions of not including them and the implications to our field by > maintaining a status quo that is closed minded. It is multifaceted, but > inherently about the growth and development of theoretical chemistry as a > discipline and not really about gender at all. > > Omitting women from major conferences affects a very large swath of > scientist's careers, not only politically, but also in terms of the > recognition and distribution of the new work they produce and in the > recruitment and education of talented young people that are badly needed > in any discipline in order for it to keep its relevance to the > ever-changing tides of federal funding and an evolving scientific > state-of-the-art. > > It is harder for scientists to get promoted if they are not invited to > conferences where they are unable to network with potential collaborators= , > program officers, and reviewers of their dossiers. Networking works both > ways, in that not only does it help the female scientist, but also the > collaborator...what if you miss out on the next best algorithm for solvin= g > some complicated numerical problem because you had no opportunity to see = a > poster or talk from said female scientist? What if you pay for a grad > student to work on this complicated numerical problem and end up paying > valuable research dollars for this student to solve a problem that has > already been addressed? What if the next Einstein is an undergrad working > in your group and she decides she wants to go into Biology because she > doesn't see anyone that respects her ideas or believes in her potential? > > One of the beautiful things about conferences is that they provide a > platform for showcasing a large group of people working on a problem. If > you omit an entire population, then you not only hurt those you omit, but > also yourself and your own opportunities to learn and develop > a research program, not to mention recruiting new talent to our programs. > Without these things we degrade our field and eventually, it might not > matter anymore because no one will see the value in pure, non-applied, > theoretical chemistry anymore anyways. > > So - I view this string not merely about echoing the chorus of how > terrible it is that there may be discrimination in our discipline, but > also in the health and development of theoretical chemistry and what our > field will look like 20 or 50 years from now. > > > Cheers; > Aurora > > > > > Aurora Clark > Associate Professor > Department of Chemistry > Washington State University > Pullman, Wa 99164 > Ph: 509-335-3362 > Fax: 509-335-8867 > > > > > > > On 2/15/14 2:57 PM, "Kadir Diri dirikadir[a]gmail.com" > wrote: > > > > >Sent to CCL by: Kadir Diri [dirikadir ~ gmail.com] > >Dear Colleagues, > > > >I am posting this message on behalf of professor Anna Krylov -one of the > >many outstanding women in theoretical chemistry- regarding the choice of > >speakers for the upcoming ICQC conference. > > > >I would always like to think of us, scientists, as some of the leading > >figures in the fight for gender equality. I wish the choice of speakers > >for this conference was just a statistical abnormality. Even that would > >be unacceptable... > > > >Professor Krylov's message follows below. > > > >Best regards, > >Kadir > >--- > > > > > >Dear Colleague: > > > >It happened again --- another major theoretical chemistry conference > >features an all-male program. One of us began boycotting such > >conferences 14 years ago and can't believe that 14 years later we are > >still seeing such overt discrimination. This time it is the 15th > >International Congress of Quantum Chemistry (ICQC, > >http://www.icqc2015.org) conducted under the auspices of International > >Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (http://www.iaqms.org), which will > >be held in Beijing, China. As of 02/15/2014, the program features 24 > >invited speakers and 5 chairs and honorary chairs and does not include a > >single woman. > > > >Are there no women in theoretical chemistry? Hardly. The Women in > >Theoretical Chemistry web-directory (http://iopenshell.usc.edu/wtc) > >lists more than 300 female scientists holding tenured and tenure track > >academic positions or equivalent positions in industry and other > >research establishments pursuing research in theoretical and > >computational chemistry, biochemistry, material science, as well as > >theoretical molecular/atomic physics and biophysics. Many of these women > >are far more distinguished than many of the men being invited to speak > >at these conferences. > > > >Feeling as fed up and frustrated as we do? Add your voice to ours by > >signing this open letter (http://chn.ge/NQGKUc) denouncing this biased > >practice, which we had hoped would be obsolete long ago (it will take > >less than a minute). > > > >Thank you for your for your support. > > > >Prof. Emily Carter, Princeton University > >Prof. Laura Gagliardi, University of Minnesota > >Prof. Anna Krylov, University of Southern California> > > > > > > -=3D This is automatically added to each message by the mailing script = =3D-> the strange characters on the top line to the | sign. You can also> > E-mail to subscribers: CHEMISTRY|ccl.net or use:> > E-mail to administrators: CHEMISTRY-REQUEST|ccl.net or use> =3Dr> > --_000_CF26452538CE8auclarkwsuedu_ Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-ID: <793AA107C9CA444B874BE8068301474A!=!ad.wsu.edu> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Dear Sergio -

Of course it is true that in a highly specialized arena there will be = a non-even distribution of gender amongst highly qualified experts, ICQC is= not one of those conferences.  Further, in this particular instance, = it is not even that there are no female speakers, there are no female Chairs or honorary Chairs either (see the or= iginal email posting).

 You may view a conference as being solely a scientific platform = =96 but the reality of all conferences is that they are just as much about = networking as they are about science. It is where undergraduates see potent= ial graduate schools, it is where graduate students learn about people they may want to work for for post-docs, it is= where assistant professors meet future program officers and collaborators,= etc.  Thus there are political consequences in terms of people's care= er decisions and the opportunities made available to them. 

Working on the premise that there are qualified women scientists in th= e area of theoretical chemistry (which there are, well beyond the ability t= o give a good "teaching" talk) =96 it should be self-evident that= including them makes your conference makes it a better and stronger conference on many levels. It is the responsibili= ty of conference organizers to be aware enough about the impact that their = decisions make upon others in the discipline. We do not exist in a vacuum.&= nbsp;

A

Aurora Clark
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry
Washington State University
Pullman, Wa 99164
Ph: 509-335-3362
Fax: 509-335-8867


From: "Sergio Manzetti sergio.= manzetti..outlook.com" <= owner-chemistry!=!ccl.net>
Reply-To: CCL Subscribers <chemistry!=!ccl.net>
Date: Sunday, February 16, 2014 3:2= 5 AM
To: Aurora Clark <auclark!=!wsu.edu>
Subject: CCL: ICQC shame


Dear Aurora,

 I am not sure that the number of women or the number of men defines t= he quality of a conference. It is the topics, the level of experience built= in each topic, and naturally the experience of the presenters, whether the= y are men or women. I have seen both good men and good women in QM, the latter particularly in teaching. Confer= ences should be organized according to topics of research, independently of= gender. Maybe this conference has topics that are mostly covered by one ge= nder. That does however, not stop anyone from organizing another conference, where, occasionally, another ge= nder is more overrepresented.

Again, the outfall of this is in the topic, scientific advance and expertis= e, not gender.

If one starts finding missing aspects in terms of WHO is behind the researc= h, the research will disappear and be replaced by persons.

The person behind the research is not really of outomst relevant, it is the= research, where I guess all researchers would agree one (men or women).
Cheers



> From: owner-chemistry|ccl.net
> To: sergio.manzetti|gmx.com
> Subject: CCL: ICQC shame
> Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 04:12:00 +0000
>
>
> Sent to CCL by: "Clark, Aurora" [auclark#,#wsu.edu]
> It is important to point out that this issue is much broader than
> merely including women in major theoretical conferences, it is about t= he
> repercussions of not including them and the implications to our field = by
> maintaining a status quo that is closed minded. It is multifaceted, bu= t
> inherently about the growth and development of theoretical chemistry a= s a
> discipline and not really about gender at all.
>
> Omitting women from major conferences affects a very large swath of > scientist's careers, not only politically, but also in terms of the > recognition and distribution of the new work they produce and in the > recruitment and education of talented young people that are badly need= ed
> in any discipline in order for it to keep its relevance to the
> ever-changing tides of federal funding and an evolving scientific
> state-of-the-art.
>
> It is harder for scientists to get promoted if they are not invited to=
> conferences where they are unable to network with potential collaborat= ors,
> program officers, and reviewers of their dossiers. Networking works bo= th
> ways, in that not only does it help the female scientist, but also the=
> collaborator...what if you miss out on the next best algorithm for sol= ving
> some complicated numerical problem because you had no opportunity to s= ee a
> poster or talk from said female scientist? What if you pay for a grad<= br> > student to work on this complicated numerical problem and end up payin= g
> valuable research dollars for this student to solve a problem that has=
> already been addressed? What if the next Einstein is an undergrad work= ing
> in your group and she decides she wants to go into Biology because she=
> doesn't see anyone that respects her ideas or believes in her potentia= l?
>
> One of the beautiful things about conferences is that they provide a > platform for showcasing a large group of people working on a problem. = If
> you omit an entire population, then you not only hurt those you omit, = but
> also yourself and your own opportunities to learn and develop
> a research program, not to mention recruiting new talent to our progra= ms.
> Without these things we degrade our field and eventually, it might not=
> matter anymore because no one will see the value in pure, non-applied,=
> theoretical chemistry anymore anyways.
>
> So - I view this string not merely about echoing the chorus of how
> terrible it is that there may be discrimination in our discipline, but=
> also in the health and development of theoretical chemistry and what o= ur
> field will look like 20 or 50 years from now.
>
>
> Cheers;
> Aurora
>
>
>
>
> Aurora Clark
> Associate Professor
> Department of Chemistry
> Washington State University
> Pullman, Wa 99164
> Ph: 509-335-3362
> Fax: 509-335-8867
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2/15/14 2:57 PM, "Kadir Diri dirikadir[a]gmail.com"
> <owner-chemistry{=3D}ccl.net> wrote:
>
> >
> >Sent to CCL by: Kadir Diri [dirikadir ~ gmail.com]
> >Dear Colleagues,
> >
> >I am posting this message on behalf of professor Anna Krylov -one = of the
> >many outstanding women in theoretical chemistry- regarding the cho= ice of
> >speakers for the upcoming ICQC conference.
> >
> >I would always like to think of us, scientists, as some of the lea= ding
> >figures in the fight for gender equality. I wish the choice of spe= akers
> >for this conference was just a statistical abnormality. Even that = would
> >be unacceptable...
> >
> >Professor Krylov's message follows below.
> >
> >Best regards,
> >Kadir
> >---
> >
> >
> >Dear Colleague:
> >
> >It happened again --- another major theoretical chemistry conferen= ce
> >features an all-male program. One of us began boycotting such
> >conferences 14 years ago and can't believe that 14 years later we = are
> >still seeing such overt discrimination. This time it is the 15th > >International Congress of Quantum Chemistry (ICQC,
> >http://www.icqc2015.org) c= onducted under the auspices of International
> >Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (http://www.iaqms.org), which will
> >be held in Beijing, China. As of 02/15/2014, the program features = 24
> >invited speakers and 5 chairs and honorary chairs and does not inc= lude a
> >single woman.
> >
> >Are there no women in theoretical chemistry? Hardly. The Women in<= br> > >Theoretical Chemistry web-directory (http://iopenshell.usc.edu/wtc)
> >lists more than 300 female scientists holding tenured and tenure t= rack
> >academic positions or equivalent positions in industry and other > >research establishments pursuing research in theoretical and
> >computational chemistry, biochemistry, material science, as well a= s
> >theoretical molecular/atomic physics and biophysics. Many of these= women
> >are far more distinguished than many of the men being invited to s= peak
> >at these conferences.
> >
> >Feeling as fed up and frustrated as we do? Add your voice to ours = by
> >signing this open letter (http://= chn.ge/NQGKUc) denouncing this biased
> >practice, which we had hoped would be obsolete long ago (it will t= ake
> >less than a minute).
> >
> >Thank you for your for your support.
> >
> >Prof. Emily Carter, Princeton University
> >Prof. Laura Gagliardi, University of Minnesota
> >Prof. Anna Krylov, University of Southern California>
> >
>
>
>
> -=3D This is automatically added to each message by the mailing script= =3D-
> To recover the email address of the author of the message, please chan= ge
> the strange characters on the top line to the | sign. You can also
>
>
> E-mail to subscribers: CHEMISTRY|ccl.net or use:
> http://www= .ccl.net/cgi-bin/ccl/send_ccl_message
>
> E-mail to administrators: CHEMISTRY-REQUEST|ccl.net or use
> http://www= .ccl.net/cgi-bin/ccl/send_ccl_message
>
>
>
>
> Before posting, check wait time at: htt= p://www.ccl.net
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--_000_CF26452538CE8auclarkwsuedu_--