This blog is about science and my experiences with it. As a woman struggling to make good use of a PhD in science, I often run across the “leaky pipeline” metaphor to describe the absence of women at high levels of science (i.e., tenured at major research universities). I’m not thrilled with this metaphor. Why would anyone want to be stuck in some dark, clammy pipe? Science should be about exploring the world, not feeling confined to The One True Path of pursuing tenure. Not that I’m against having a tenure-track gig, mind you. I just want other options, and I believe that many if not most other scientists do to.
My primary fields of interest are mineralogy and materials science applied to environmental and energy issues. My expertise is on nuclear waste, but I’m interested in any and all nasties – arsenic, organics, whatever. The big issue of the day is the BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, which happens to be where I grew up and went to college, so I imagine that will come up.
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