science fit for a princess

I've known there are journals that have some air of royalty, such as those published by the British Royal Society, or the scientific journal of King Faisal University, but I may have just discovered my new favorite obscure journal title, the Princess Takamatsu Symposia.

Princess Takamatsu's mother died of cancer, and she founded a cancer research fund that sponsored these symposia and other lectureships, which continue to this day. She also spoke out against male-only royal succession in Japan. She sounds like she was a scientifically-literate, civic-minded feminist. Her journal seems moribund since the last volume was published in 1995... and that combined with my not doing cancer research seems to assure that I'll never be able to add this title to my CV.


Princess Takamatsu of Japan, born Tokugawa Kikuko, 1911-2004

those shoes are just covered with bacteria...

While there are many reasons I can't, and wouldn't want to compete with Dr. Isis' shoe of the week, I felt I had to post this pair I saw on Etsy.



There are many creative people in the MSOE -- Mad Scientists of Etsy -- and some of the creations make perfect gifts for the hard-to-buy-for scientists in your life.

holy sh%t!

So I'm reading Blue Lab Coats on my lunch break today, and I'm smiling because DrDrA has been (very deservingly) selected as one of the top 50 must-read female science bloggers. I was perusing the list, recognizing most of the names (I'm not as plugged into the geology women as I could be)... and then I came upon my own blog's name and did a double take. And then I came upon DrugMonkey's name and did another double take! (He deserves an honorary second X chromosome...) I'm startled and flattered to be in such incredible company (FSP! Isis! Rosie Redfield, a microbiologist that I've met in real life!). I will use this as motivation to blog more interestingly and regularly...

There are many blogs that I would have put on such a list before mine... including Professor in Training and Young Female Scientist, two women who are very frank about their trials and tribulations in our chosen profession.

As an aside, I'm visiting a lab this week which has blue lab coats, and they do look fabulous on all of the women here (the men don't seem to wear their lab coats).

job interview dressing advice

I'm not surprised that Isis is the big sister of the science blogosphere, whom people go to for fashion advice for job interviews. She's got some good points, and I'll leave it to the ladies commenting over there and the fashionable academic to give advice on tailoring and suits. Instead, I'll be the girl scout and throw out some more practical advice on interview dressing for women on the circuit this year.

Bring band aids. Even if you're bringing the most comfortable shoes you own, just in case.

Consider the possibility that your luggage will get there after you, either en route to the interview, or on your way home when you have a very short turn around between flights. I had a problem when my airline made me check in my carry-on because the flight was full, and my luggage stayed overnight in Detroit without me, and I was flying to another interview the next day... Think about what your backup interview outfits/shoes/undergarments/luggage might be, try not to book back-to-back interviews, and try to get direct flights. Consider wearing an outfit/shoes on the plane that you could interview in, if necessary. (Though, the interview-ready shoe backfired on me on the very next interview after the lost luggage. I had to run through a very linear airport at break-ankle speed in order to just catch another infernal connection. This point is just up to your consideration, as opposed to the band aids, which are non-negotiable.)

If you're wearing bottoms without functional pockets, consider bringing a wristlet for the times you'll be without your labtop bag/briefcase. I found mine so useful, a neutral coach wristlet might become my standard PhD graduation gift (for females). It's perfect for dinner, it fits your room key, your phone, a lipstick and emergency money (for some reason I always brought this, even though I felt it was very unlikely that the committee would abandon me at the restaurant and I'd need to call a taxi).

This isn't dressing, but bring your own fancy shampoo/conditioner/soap. Choose ones you're sure you love, but that you usually can't afford on your postdoc salary. If you love the smell of l'occitane en provence's verbena, it will make you feel more special and more ready to be charming for 16 straight hours.
Note to friends of those interviewing... travel sized fancy toiletries would be a thoughtful gift.

Of course, feeling sharply dressed is only one small component of being ready to interview. There are many good places on the internet for more complete perspectives on the academic job search including here and here. Everyone says this, but it's really true -- try to have fun with your job interviews. If you are yourself on the interview, and you get the job, you know the department wants you... not the contortion of you that you felt would get you the job. So wear professional clothing you feel comfortable in, and don't second guess yourself on some small expression of your personality: a unique piece of jewelry, a splash of color.

A microbiologist in woman's clothing?

There's been another round of science blogs talking about the way woman present themselves as scientists... whether as a group we're too androgenous right now to attract modern young women to science professions, whether we're not taken as seriously as scientists if we dress in too feminine of a manner. I think we're all doing a fine job being ourselves, and that the younger generation of profs, at least, wouldn't think less of a professor who wears the latest fashions or sparkly shoes. Just as we don't think less of heavily tatooed scientists.

But... my only (anonymous) comment that failed to pass Female Science Professor's filter was one on how women in science's clothing is perceived by male scientists. The point of the comment was that men do look at female scientists (students) differently than they do male scientists (students), but the problem is we don't know whether or not that affects their bottom line opinion about the research, intelligence or contribution of those women. And I think this is more of an issue when the male and female scientists don't know each other well. At a conference a few years ago, I overheard two male professors discussing the necklines of female graduate students and their visible figures during one of the presentations. I hope that these men remember that the slender grad student with the plunging-neckline dress and jeans combo was presenting a poster on milk microflora... for at least as long as they remembered what her bust looked like. I always wore more modest clothes to conferences than I might wear at home, but now the incident comes up in the back of my mind when I'm packing for a meeting... because I would like to be remembered for my science and my mind first, and anything else -- being female, being American, being an able drinker, anything pertaining to my secondary sex characteristics -- second.

I don't worry about this with people who interact with me on a regular basis. If I'm wearing a nicer fabric, low-cut v-neck one day, my colleagues know from experience a crumpled t-shirt and fleece might emerge tomorrow. Even when I'm on my more modest behavior, I do wear clothes I like and that match my style. For my tenure-track job interviews, for instance, I wore very modern pantsuits with shoes I adored: Paul Green angular-cut heels, and Etienne Aigner strappy mary jane heels. And as I become more senior in my field I am sure I will care less and less about meeting clothing, both because I'll have had so many interactions with the people at the conferences, and because, I'm assuming, fewer male professors talk about the body shape of 50 year old women scientists they have known for 20+ years than the 25 year old grad students they just met.