STORAGE across from (the U of O
NEW UNITS Personal or Commercial
A-A
It’s to your “advantage” to call:
ADVANTAGE STORAGE
933 I'ranklin Blvd
344-3009
Foosball
Tournament
t Sunday, May 31st at 1:00p.m.
Where: EMU Rec. Center
CSMii $2.00
Refill ml ion; Sign up at the EMU
Rec. Center by
1:00 p.m. on May 3let.
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UNIVERSITY
Women in science are still rare
By Carne Dennett
Emerald Associate Editor
In spile of reports that the United Stains lags
behind in the sciences and despite the fuel that
science remains a male-dominated realm, the
University has managed to attract an exceptional
grouji of intelligent, accomplished women sci
ence faculty.
These women are on the cutting edge of fields
like molecular biology, neuroscience, biochemis
try. artificial Intelligence, psychology nnd human
movcmnnl. Among
them arc recipients of
some of the most presti
gious fellowship and
grants in ihe country.
However, the Univer
sity, should not take
this as prodding to prop themselves up on a ped
estal There are no women faculty in the physics
department, and only throe In chemistry.
One of those throe. Associate Professor Geral
dine Richmond, said the University Is not tops at
recruiting and supporting women science faculty.
But what makes the University different from oth
er schools is that the women here are very good.
"I don’t think you could point to a single fe
male hero that you could question whether she
goi the job here because of a ’token’ situation."
she said. "I think every woman that you look at
hern has been extremely successful.
"That reflects on thu University for recognizing
that we don't need the extra shove, we just don't
want to hassle with people who stand in our
way."
Diane Hawley, an assistant professor in chemis
try. said the University is bettor than many placos
she has experienced
When Hawley was looking for u job eight years
ago, she perceived a negative feeling toward
women at some of the places she interviewed
One school had Hawley tulk to women in an
other academic department, presumably because
there were none in the science departments.
"Sometimes they would ask me if I had special
concerns us a woman." she said. "It made me feel
really uncomfortable, because one would like to
think that in a process liko that, the considera
tions would bo the same for a man and a wom
an.”
When Hawley applied at the University In
lUBS, she saw no indication that her interviewers
wore thinking ubout her gender — a good sign,
she said, one she lias also noticed in hiring of
new facultv.
Ths University's group of women scientists lias
UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH
I third in a series .
jumped the hurdles lo achieve not average ca
reers. but award-winning careers. Togother they
have received many national uwards, including
Guggenheim Fellowship, Searlo Scholar. National
Science Foundation Presidential Young Invosliga
tor, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and Searlo Schol
ar awards.
In 1990. The Scientist magazine discovered that
of the nine Presidential Young Invttstigators on
the University faculty, six were women — giving
the University the highest proportion of femule
PYls in the nation. PYIs receive $25,000 a year for
five yours to help support their labs, with on addi
tional $37,000 a yoar if matched by industry or
private-sector sources.
Richmond, a PYI and winnor of several other
awards, does research using lasers to study what
interactions between liquids and mnturial sur
faces, in the hopes of understanding what proper
ties of a metal or semi-conductor hold it together
or make it corrode.
"Surfaces are what interact with the rest of the
world," she said "Surfaces are whore all the ac
tion is."
Sarah Douglas, an associate professor of com
puter science and information science, studies
human-computer interactions, or "artificial intel
ligence." Originally a biochemistry major, she
first began working with computers after graduat
ing from Berkeley in 196C, and eventually went
on to get hor Ph.D in computer science.
Douglas said that as an undergraduate, she was
interested in mathematics because of its similari
ties to language, and found herself wondering
how to get her computer to respond in English.
"Wo havo not boon able to got a computer to
successfully carry on a conversation,*’ Douglus
said. This is difficult, she said, because no one
really understands how language works.
“Can you reduce human language and human
intelligence to computational mechanistic pro
cesses?” is the driving question behind her re
search. "Are human beings just computers.’’
Hawley is studying the molecular mechanism
that activates only particular genos in our DNA.
Once a gone is activated, a ribonucleic acid copy
of the geno is produced, which ultimately leads to
the production of the particular enzymes that de
termine a cell's kind, shape and function.
The failure to produce the RNA allows different
cells to serve different purposes in the body, but
sometimes it's a mistake that leads to diseases.
“The question we're asking is 'What is involved
in that selection process?’ " she said.
These women ond their colleagues have ac
Turn to SCIENCE, Page 5
$1 million will aid science education
Undergraduate science edu
cation ut the University will
l>o strengthened by a now SI
million grant, announced
Wednesday, from the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute of
Belhesda, Md.
The five-year grunt, among
42 uwurdod competitively by
HHM1 to collogos and univer
sities throughout the United
Stales, is part of an ongoing
effort — tho largest private in
itiative of its kind — to keep
American students competi
tive in science and mathemat
ics.
At the University, the mon
ey will be used in several
ways to make the study of sci
ence a more attractive option
for undergraduates, Including
development of innovative
new teaching methods and
materials.
"Many colleges and univer
sities across the country have
boon criticized for 'abandon
ing' undergraduate educa
tion." said University Presi
dent Myles Brand in a press
release. "In contrast, at the
University of Oregon, through
our Oregon Model, we are re
doubling our long-standing
commitment to quality, acces
sible undergraduate educa
tion in a comprehensive re
search university setting."
In tho ruleaso, Daniel
Udovic, associate professor of
biology, said the grant will
support:
• Activities aimed at at
tracting and retaining stu
dents to tho study of science,
including seminars and activ
ities for beginning students,
peer tutoring to help students
with special needs, indepen
dent research experiments for
advanced undergraduates
supplemented by special sem
inars. and opportunities for
undergraduates to publish
their research results and
present them at scientific
meetings.
• Development of computer
scienco software for introduc
tory biology und related fields
and tutorials in these areas.
• Summer programs for mid
dle school, secondary school
and community college sci
ence teachers that will pro
vide opportunities for curric
ulum development, particu
larly laboratory activities, and
for collaborative research
with University faculty.
Udovic. who heads tho Bi
ology department, said the
HHM1 grant will help tho
University attract and retain
its best students in the sci
ences and load to "an im
proved learning environment.
particularly for first- and sec
ond-year students, that will
encourage a sense of belong
ing in the University science
community."
John Moseley, University
vice president for research,
said the HHMI funds will
“substantially enrich the
UO's ability to provide the
kind of stimulating under
graduate educational experi
ences that are critical to acti
vating a student's intcrust in a
career in the scioncus."
In all, 1B1 public and pri
vate colleges and universities
are now part of the HHMI ini
tiative. which, at $175.5 mil
lion. is the nation's largest
privutely funded science ef
fort.
The HHMI, established In
1953, employs scientists In
cell biology, genetics, immu
nology, neuroscience and
structural biology.
In 1990, HHMI selected Bri
an Matthews, a University
physics professor and director
of the University's Institute of
Molecular Biology, for a sev
en-year term as the first
HHMI investigator in Oregon.
A physicist and crystallogra
pher, Matthews is one of nine
university faculty members
belonging to the National
Academy of Sciences.