Do you have an outstanding science mentor?
The Association for Women in the Sciences is inviting people to thank those who are doing their best to keep females in science by nominating them for an Award.
Applications are now open for the Miriam Dell Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring. This is the third time the Award has been offered – the Award was presented to Dr Judith O’Brien of the University of Auckland in 2013 and to Dr Roslyn Kemp of the University of Otago in 2015.
The Miriam Dell Award is awarded on a biennial basis to someone who demonstrates outstanding mentoring efforts to retain females in science, mathematics or technology. Nominees can be from any part of the science system – including teachers at primary or secondary schools, lecturers or supervisors in tertiary education, or from commercial science-based organisations. They may have mentored, formally or informally, females at any stage in their career – from school age to the science workforce.
The Award is named for Dame Miriam Dell, Patron of AWIS, botanist, secondary school teacher and advocate for women’s advancement.
“Encouraging women in science is incredibly important,” says Emma Timewell, National Convenor of AWIS. “We need to have a mix of experiences and viewpoints to make New Zealand science successful, and women are currently under-represented, particularly at the upper levels of science. This Award acknowledges those mentors who encourage girls and women in meeting their scientific potential, particularly those who go beyond the call of duty in doing so.”
Nomination forms and more information on the Award are available on the awis.org.nz website. Nominations for this year’s Award close on 31 August 2017.