Blog Roll Update

I've been kind of neglecting the list of women science bloggers in the sidebar. If you asked to be included and I'm just now getting around to adding you, I apologize. I've done a bit of spring cleaning, and removed blogs that either have gone dormant (not updated for at least 6 months) or have been deleted completely. I also added the new Blogger widget that shows the most recent post for each blog. I like it, for the most part, but the one drawback is that it can only include blog feeds - blogs without feeds (and there are some out there) aren't included, and there usually aren't separate feeds for individual authors in multi-author blogs.

What's exciting to me is the sheer variety of women science bloggers. Some talk about their personal experiences, while others are purely science. Some bloggers are pseudonymous, others blog under their real names. The authors are undergrads, college students, grad students, post docs, faculty members, scientists in industry, programmers, teachers, science writers, and more. And what are all these blogs good for (other than interesting reading, of course)? Fairer Science's Building Web Communities has some suggestions for "Using Women in Science Blogs to Encourage Girls in Science" (and I'm not just mentioning because they link back here). There's also a good discussion of using "Women in Science" blogs as a recruitment tool at Sciencewomen.

Please let me know if there are blogs you think should be included (I apologize if your blog vanished in the transition to the new widget), I've miscategorized your blog, misspelled your name or you'd rather not be included in the blog roll at all.

So without any more ado, here are the most recently added blogs:

General & Miscellaneous

This category is for blogs that are about science or women in science in general, or it's unclear whether author is a life scientist, physical scientist or other.

Parsnip Parsimony is a "vegan baking and science blog". Her most recent post is about donuts and chemistry. Yummy!

Inside Higher Education's Mama PhD is a group blog by mothers "attempting to balance motherhood and academics", that includes "ABCs and PhDs: Biologists at Home" Liz Stockwell, Dana Campbell, and Susan Bassow, as well as "Math Mom" Della Fenster.

Scientia Matris is "A female post-doc in some field or another. A mother of two divine little creatures who sometimes I refer to as 'career killers' (they are my highest impact productions whose citation rate will long outlive me and possibly also my science!). I work in a big group at present but am about to take the big leap and set up on my own."

Jennie at Just a Girl is "in the last year of my Ph.D. dissertation
and have currently moved from the East Coast to the Midwest for my
husbands job." She turned in her dissertation on June 2 - congrats!

Becky at Sweet Life in Seattle is a "postdoc in science trying to navigate being a full-time working mom and wife and all of the minutia that entails."

Kate's Controversies "is a place for conversation and discussion about controversies in science, technology, engineering, and many other topics. Kate, the blog's owner, will use this blog to publicly ask "WHY?" to controversial topics that catch her eye."

Life Sciences

This is definitely the largest category. I'm not sure if that's because there are more women who blog about the life sciences (which would make sense because there are more women life scientists than physical scientists), or if it's because I'm most interested in biological science topics.

Neurotic Physiology is a blog by "SciCurious", who is "a graduate student struggling through the vagaries of a PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology at a southeastern university. She tried to stay focused on her work, but she can’t help it, she’s sci-curious. In her free time, she is a nerd, a geek, and also a dork. And every once in a while, she talks about herself in the third person. "

R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H.E.R.S is a co-ed blog by postdocs Dr. A and Dr. J. What their blog is about:

Dr J and I used to work on the same floor in the institute where I did my Ph.D. and where J came for a postdoctoral position from across the pond. The last year for me, and the first for him were very busy times but we helped each other through by providing counseling over a pint or 5, a bottle of shiraz, chocolate and sushi. These sessions were instrumental in getting me through the hardest year of my life and now that I have moved for my own postdoctoral work, and we are unable to chat, bitch, wine, or cry in person - why not start a blog!

Scientist Mother is pursuing a PhD at "a university in Western Canada". She's an indo-Canadian, and, as the title of her blog indicates, a mother. Her latest post is on the Validity of Leaving Academia.

The About.com biology blog is written by Regina Baily, who is "active in the development of biology and science related content for a Web content development firm. She has written the forward for a book from the well known Complete Idiot's Guide series: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Cloning." Her goal "make biology meaningful and fun, and to provide you with fresh, up-to-date information that will make you wonder why all of those science courses were so boring."

Biotech Brazil is written by Luciana di Ciero, "an Agronomic Engineer with a Masters Degree in Agronomy and Doctorate Degree in Science."

Tina at Raising Scientists is 'Full time post-doc. Part-time teacher. Mother of two. And sleep deprived."

Julie R at In My (Not So) Abundant Spare Time . . . is "Postdoc by day. Wife and mother of twins by night."

WomanScientist is a graduate student "Trying to figure out what it means to be a woman and a scientist. Trying to figure out how this career fits into real life. Trying to convince myself that I can do this.

Physical Sciences

This category includes physics, chemistry, geosciences, astronomy, and related sciences.

Magma Cum Laude is written by Jessica, a soon-to-be graduate student in volcanology.

Science writer Jennifer Ouellette, who blogs at Cocktail Party Physics, has a second blog at discovery.com called Twisted Physics.

Physicality of Words is a blog by postdoc Åka, who writes about "physics, about going abroad for postdoc, about literature and ideas, and about fandom and Sweden and related things that I find interesting."

Dr. RMC, Non-Fiction Scientist is written by "a female postdoc in the general area of env. chem."

Nerd-land is a blog (in English) by Darwi, a Bosnian scientist now working in the UK. Read about her experience as a woman in science.

A Wallflower Physicist's Perspective is written by "a female undergraduate about to begin the stressful journey of applying to and then trying to survive graduate school in physics. If all goes as planned, I will earn my Ph.D. sometime within the next decade and go on to enjoy a life of research and unabashed nerdiness."

Nancy Atkinson @ Universe Today is freelance writer and journalist who writes about space exploration and science. She's also a NASA Solar System Ambassador.

Emily Lakdawalla pens (keys?) the Planetary Society Weblog.

Feminist Chemists have a manifesto (my term, not theirs):

Feminist Chemists believe that all women are created equal too.

Our site is a central repository of information that will educate and inspire and likely infuriate.

We are astonished that there is still a debate about the existence of discrimination against women in chemistry. If anyone still doubts this fact, our site provides irrefutable proof from diverse credible sources.

As Feminist Chemists we are opening chemistry to all people.

We are challenging the status quo of the androcentric field of chemistry and demanding that the conscious and subconscious gender bias operating within the field be acknowledged, addressed and stopped!

We emphatically believe that ending gender bias in chemistry is of the utmost importance to our national interest and the realization of our species’ potential.

This is a call to action.

Silver Fox at Looking for Detachment is a "fifty-something exploration
geologist working here and there in the West, mostly. Geologist,
exploration- ist, artist. Former pool player, Austin Rules (no slop,
bank the 8)."


Mathematics and Computer Science

For those of you who want to make suggestions for this category, note that "computer science" doesn't include blogs that focus on gaming or technogadgets.

Isobel Lugo - a "third-year PhD student in mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania" - blogs at God Plays Dice, "A random walk through mathematics -- mostly through the random part."

Girly Geekdom is a group blog associated with Girl Geek Dinners.

Geek Girl Blogs is an aggregate of blogs by and for Women in IT.

We know that there are many amazing women working in the IT industry, across all areas, countries and backgrounds. Many of these amazing women have decided to keep blogs that give insight into their daily life: some purely technical, some social, others cover dealing with the constraints of working in this so called mans world, balancing work with family and achieving amazing personal & career goals, while others are just damned entertaining.

The Haxr Chick Blog is "a hacker chick's thoughts on life and software" written by Abby Fichtner, who is a "writer, runner, cyclist, boxer/kickboxer, book worm, couch potato, food lover, perpetual dieter, hacker, software engineer, ScrumMaster extraordinaire".

The about.com Math blog is written by Deb Russell "an experienced teacher having taught both elementary, middle and high school students. Deb has presented math implementation and math exemplar inservices to hundreds of teachers throughout her school board and educational jurisdiction. " She says:

I love teaching and learning all about Mathematical concepts. As an educator, parent and math enthusiast, I'm committed to providing you with the best mathematical resources. A solid foundation in Mathematics can pave the way to success and is an important factor in many careers. The problem solving strategies required in math help prepare us for today's complex, information age. After all, it's the wealth of rich resources used appropriately that improves mathematical understanding.

Rivikah at Life and Then Some is a mathematician.

Engineering

This is currently the smallest category, so more links to women engineers who blog would be appreciated.

Also Worth Reading

Educated Woman is a series of articles Science Minority Scientists Network about the "grad school adventures" of the pseudonymous Micella Phoenix Dewhyse. I'm kind of late to the game, since the series started in 2002 and is on its next-to-last installment, but it's definitely worth reading.

The PBS Wired Science Correlations blog has a few women bloggers (but no individual feeds), including antarctic meteorologist Tasmin Gray (who also blogs at Melted Cheese), biologist Tara Smith (of Aetiology), and marine biologist Sheril Kirshenbaum (who also blogs at The Intersection).

Tags: women in science, blogs