The WIE Session at 2008 NSS/MIC/RTSD Dresden, Germany Barbara Obryk, 2008 IEEE NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków, Barbara Obryk, Poland Maryam Al Thani, United Arab Emirates

WIE SESSION planned duration 3-4 hours Theme: Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków, New challenges and new opportunities for women scientists and engineers in the world of Internet Era

3 The WIE Session’s objective Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków, The WIE Session is meant to give an opportunity for participants to exchange ideas and information on the topics that are of importance not only to the society of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

4 Simple remarks on this high-flown theme Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków, This topic can be roughly divided into three issues: - - what to do to prepare high school girls to make an unprejudiced choice regarding their study and careers in STEM and give them good background for that, - - how to seal a women academic pipeline to minimize “pipe leakage” phenomena, - - how to overcome barriers for advancement of women already working in STEM. Internet It is already valuable (but could and should be better) instrument in education and information transfer including dissemination of experience on specific issues. According to Freeman Dyson’s predictions about future of science, Internet will create quite new opportunity for science and scientists (e.g. new type of dispersed research programmes).

5 Strategies to attract young women into STEM; Strategies to encourage women scientists and engineers to collaborate in order to share internationally their research and experiences; Dissemination of the experience of women scientists and engineers; Internet and globalization and their impacts on women opportunieties in developed and developing countries; Personal development of women scientists and engineers and their participation in decision-making bodies; Cultural, social and traditional bariers for women in STEM; Importance of women involvement in STEM for themselves and their fields of activity; The WIE Session proposed topics Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków,

6 Opening Keynote speakers’ lecture session (3-5 presentations) when outstanding women guests will share their expertise on the topics of the Session (we have to know what we may offer to our candidates before we invite them) Panel disscussion (6-8 panelists have to be invited) on general theme of the Session Presentation of WIE activities Common coffee and informal disscussion Proposed plan/program of the WIE Session Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków,

7 Jocelyn Bell Burnell – Professor of Physics and Department Chair,Open University, England Some Important Contributions: Discovered the first four pulsars. Using a radio telescope that she helped build as part of her Ph.D. dissertation, Bell (later Burnell) detected a rapid set of pulses occurring at regular intervals. She determined that the position of the unusual radio source remained fixed with respect to the stars, which meant that it was located beyond the solar system. During the course of the next few months, she discovered 3 more pulsating radio sources (or pulsars). These pulsars were later found to be rapi dly rotating neutron stars. For pulsars discovery Hewish get a Nobel Prize in Research at several wavelengths (gamma ray, very short radio, infrared, X-ray) and on many astrophysical topics. Main interest: the astrophysics of neutron star. She describes herself as "a role model, a spokeswoman, a representative, and a promoter of women in science in the U.K.". She held many Professional Honours including several Honorary Doctorates. Candidates for invited speakers Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków,

8 Nina Byers – Research Professor and Professor of Physics Emeritus at UCLA. She is a former Chair of the American Physical Society Forum on History of Physics and also Forum on Physics and Society. Her academic degrees are from University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago. She is known for her sponsorship of the Contributions of 20th century Women to Physics. She is a prominent theoretical physicist involved in promoting women in science and in physics in particular. Some recent non-technical publications present physicists' history of 20th century physics: OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Contributions of 20th century Women to Physics, ed. Nina Byers and Gary Williams, Cambridge University Press EINSTEIN AND WOMEN. APS News Jun PHYSICISTS AND THE 1945 DECISION TO DROP THE BOMB. CERN Courier Oct FERMI AND SZILARD in "Fermi Remembered", ed. James Cronin, U. of Chicago Press 2004 E. NOETHER'S DISCOVERY OF THE DEEP CONNECTION BETWEEN SYMMETRIES AND CONSERVATION LAWS. Invited talk in Symposium on the Heritage of Emmy Noether, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 2-4 Dec ISRAEL MATHEMATICAL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Vol. 12, 1999 Candidates for invited speakers Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków,

9 Wendy Hall – Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, England. She was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002 to One of the first computer scientists to undertake serious research in multimedia and hypermedia, she has been at its forefront ever since. The influence of her work has been significant in many areas including digital libraries, the development of the Semantic Web, and the emerging research discipline of Web Science. Her current research includes applications of the Semantic Web and exploring the interface between the life sciences and the physical sciences. She is a Founding Director of the Web Science Research Initiative. In addition to playing a prominent role in the development of her subject, she also helps shape science and engineering policy and education. Through her leadership roles on national and international bodies, she has shattered many glass ceilings, readily deploying her position on numerous national and international bodies to promote the role of women in SET, and acting as an important role model for others. She is currently Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a member of the UK Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology, a founder member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council, and President of the Association for Computing Machinery. She was President of the British Computer Society (2003-4) and an EPSRC Senior Research Fellow from 1996 to Fellow of IEEE particularly interested in promoting women in computing in particular and science in general. Candidates for invited speakers Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków,

10 Joann P. Di Gennaro – President of the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) She together with the late Admiaral H.G.Rickover (born in Poland, father of the US nuclear Navy) established CEE in 1983 to nurture young scholars to careers of excellence in science and technology, and to promote understanding among future scientific and technological leaders in the global community. CEE sponsors the Research Science Institute (RSI), a six week Summer enrichment program with MIT on their campus. Each Summer approximately 75 high school students selected from the United States and other countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, participate in RSI. CEE helps RSI alumni throughout their academic carriers. Already many of them have achieved high successes (e.g. Terence Tao received Fields Medal in 2006). J. P. Di Gennaro has been instrumental in developing international collaboration in CEE and RSI. She has a unique knowledge of gifted young women carriers in science and techgnology and barriers as well as methods to overcome them. Her expertise should be wide disseminated and the WIE Session may serve this aim. Candidates for invited speakers Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków,

11 Women face a special series of gender related barriers to entry and success in scientific careers that persist, despite recent advances. There is significant evidence of bias: women are paid less, promoted more slowly, receive fewer honors, and hold fewer leadership positions. „The early departure of women from physics research means the loss of an enormous scientific potential. Both society and the universities must create conditions that will help reduce this bias.” (conclusion of the German Physical Society Report) The WIE Session at 2008 NSS/MIC/RTSD Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków,

12 Barbara Obryk, 2008 NSS/MIC SPN Meeting, Kraków, Thank you for your attention! You are cordially invited to WIE Session at 2008 NSS/MIC/RTSD in Dresden!