geocognition

Hoping for Federal Agency Change on Sexual Harassment

It is September of 2022. I recently wrote an email to the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) about NSF’s lack of policy around sexual harassment. “LACK OF POLICY?” you exclaim. “I thought NSF had the best policy to prevent sexual harassment!” You wouldn’t be alone in thinking NSF was a magical agency thatContinue reading “Hoping for Federal Agency Change on Sexual Harassment”

Negotiating the Job Offer

I have blogged about the unwritten rules of academia before. I often share advice to colleagues and students about how to negotiate when a job offer is made – at least in the U.S., negotiation is expected for almost every job, academic or otherwise. Here is my best advice (geared towards U.S. organizations): LEARN. ReadContinue reading “Negotiating the Job Offer”

Limiting alcohol during professional events

Recently, the Geological Society of America (GSA) published a news item. At the bottom was this note: “In keeping with its ongoing commitment to ethics and inclusion, Council approved a recommendation from the Committee on Diversity in the Geosciences to prohibit alcohol being served in the oral and poster session areas at all GSA meetingsContinue reading “Limiting alcohol during professional events”

Your Silence is Telling on You

#BlackLivesMatter #BlackTransLivesMatter Your silence is racism. Your silence is telling on you. Your silence is complicit with a system built on the backs of the oppressed and which continues to oppress. “But I can’t” “But my job” “But my hopes and dreams for the future” You can. No job is that important. You’re lucky youContinue reading “Your Silence is Telling on You”

Pushing for change in academia

I wrote the following email to all members of my department. I share it here in case anyone else is living in a space that would benefit from having the difficult conversations about racism that we all need to be having. The system WILL NOT CHANGE unless those of us who benefit from the systemContinue reading “Pushing for change in academia”

Contingency Plan for COVID Geocognition Research Lab

Geocognition Research Lab Contingency Plan for COVID Updated Aug 25, 2020 Space Planning Where possible, lab members will work from home. Lab members wishing to work in the lab must get prior approval from the lab PI. This will include providing a schedule for when you intend to be in lab. If a lab memberContinue reading “Contingency Plan for COVID Geocognition Research Lab”

Writing Manuscripts – Our Spreadsheet Approach…

One of the most difficult parts of academic writing is getting the manuscript organized. I have authored or co-authored over a hundred papers and I STILL have difficulty figuring out what to include in methods and results, or how to connect my findings to the broader research literature. I have written posts on writing beforeContinue reading “Writing Manuscripts – Our Spreadsheet Approach…”

Update on Sexual Harassers in NASEM

As I noted in a previous post, there are SIX (6) sexual harassers who are members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Now that the Science academy has had an initial vote to implement procedures for removing members who have sexual harassment findings against them, perhaps the Engineering and Medicine academies wouldContinue reading “Update on Sexual Harassers in NASEM”

NOT A FLUKE: THAT CASE OF ACADEMIC SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SEXUAL ASSAULT, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, STALKING, VIOLATIONS OF DATING POLICIES, VIOLATIONS OF CAMPUS PORNOGRAPHY POLICIES, AND SIMILAR VIOLATION IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT!

6/7/19: Thanks to the amazing team at METALMARK WEB & DATA (https://metalmarkweb.com/), a new searchable online database is now available: https://academic-sexual-misconduct-database.org. Last Updated: 7/25/18 670 documented cases and counting… Related Posts: SEXUAL HARASSMENT – DEAL WITH INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE Sexual Harassment in Academia – Not Just Words What I learned from a week of slogging throughContinue reading “NOT A FLUKE: THAT CASE OF ACADEMIC SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SEXUAL ASSAULT, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, STALKING, VIOLATIONS OF DATING POLICIES, VIOLATIONS OF CAMPUS PORNOGRAPHY POLICIES, AND SIMILAR VIOLATION IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT!”

Applying for NSF Funding – PI perspective

I recently collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of colleagues to write an NSF proposal. The process had all the best characteristics of science: learning each others’ language, building a common understanding of our project goals, building trust and respect for very different forms of expertise. I am so excited to work with this project teamContinue reading “Applying for NSF Funding – PI perspective”