2002 Conference Summary

April 18-19, 2002 

It wouldn't be a WIST Conference without some hard-core science and technology.  The opportunity to discuss science and technology in a small group setting gave conference attendees an idea of what some of the area’s female researchers and engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) do every day.  These sessions were divided into four disciplinary areas: Social Sciences, Chemistry, Life Sciences, and Mathematics and Computing.

More women are needed in economics and sociology research.  There are many opportunities if one is willing to take some risks.  These opportunities include:

• Teach or conduct research at a university

• Work for Congress

• Staff positions at international research centers

• Work for federal agencies such as the USDA, FEMA, DOD, and others

• Work in the private sector

• Work with consulting firms and think tanks

• Do research at national laboratories such as ORNL

It helps to have a multidisciplinary background if you plan to work outside academia.  You will be able to talk with scientists and translate their research to economic and sociological applications.

The graduate school that you choose is important to your future success.  Choose a school that is an obvious leader in your field of interest.  Credentials from key institutions will open doors in future. 

To do research as a principal investigator in the fields of economics or sociology, you will need a PhD. 

Don’t be afraid to change jobs periodically.  Build a network and professional credibility as you move through your career.            

Dr. Sharon Robinson manages a program in energy and environmental research at ORNL.  She received her BS in 1980 and then attended graduate school in chemical engineering at the University of Tennessee while employed at ORNL.  She described work as quite applied; her group often starts with findings from other researchers and tries to develop those ideas into practical applications.  Since this is chemical engineering that usually means starting with a pilot plant and then working with others outside the laboratory who may build the first production model.  The new ideas that they work may deal with processing chemicals or petroleum or wastewater.  The one thing they have in common is that the group is usually seeking ways to do the processing with less energy use and fewer environmental effects. 

Dr. Robinson advised students to expect the unexpected, tracing her career from researcher to program manager, and noting that at most times she has found herself doing something she did not expect five years earlier. 

Dr. Joanna McFarlane is a chemist and a researcher at ORNL.  She received her Ph.D. in chemical physics from McGill University in Canada.  After graduation she worked at a research facility operated by the Atomic Energy Commission of Canada and came to Oak Ridge just last year.  Her current research involves the study of water-soluble organic compounds, and involves chemical thermodynamics and statistics.  In the future, she plans to work on modeling nuclear fuel chemistry for ORNL’s High Temperature Gas Reactor. 

Dr. McFarlane advised students to be flexible, but to understand that you have to focus on a problem to be successful.  She advised them that they have to be entrepreneurial if they want to have a research career. 

Both Drs. Robinson and McFarlane started doing research during the summer as undergraduates. 

Miriam Land and Carol Forsyth provided a great networking session for conference participants interested in the life sciences.  Discussions included opportunities for undergraduate research and where to go to graduate school.   

Miriam works with the Human Genome Project at ORNL.  She described DNA research as looking at genes and their function, specifically using the computer to determine this.  Miriam uses a computer to develop a prediction of an organism gene map and their functions.  Her job is a blend of life science data and the computer.  Her job title at ORNL is computational biologist.   She also maintains web site at http://compbio.orn.ogov/channel for genome research.  Example of research she has been involved with includes studies of the metabolic pathway—how enzymes work together.  She is also involved with research to study mouse and human genetic similarities.  This involves color-coding to compare the human and mouse chromosome.  

Carol Forsyth specializes in developmental toxicology.  This specialty studies what happen to the fetus, and other growing organisms, when they are exposed to toxins.   

She emphasized that education is never wasted.  The more you learn, the better person you will be.  Things you learn at one stage of you life may not appear relevant but later they are.  Physics and math are both important for a life scientist.  To have a career now you need to know more than one discipline.  With increased use of computers for searching and maintaining data there is almost an information overload.  Most advisers now suggest a broad background.  Good communication skills are very important.  Need to be able to communicate with colleagues and the general public about your work.   

Her final point was that change is inevitable through out your career.  She remembered using punch cards with computers and now she uses the WWW.   

To close this session, a discussion of the daily life for researchers was interesting for all in attendance.

Since 1993 Vicky White has been part of the development team for the High Performance Storage System (HPSS) used at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  HPSS facilitates the storage and transfer of large data files needed for large, collaborative research projects.  White shared her work experience as a computer systems administrator.  She emphasized that it is best to share this responsibility with several others because machines have problems 24/7.  Each day consists of standard tasks peppered with multiple crises and work must be prioritized.  Systems administrators make the machine work for the group by customizing features that do not come from the vendor such as in-house security processes.  An administrator also establishes user account policies.  White writes code for the HPSS system.  She explained that features are planned in a design phase, code is written and tested, and then, a group of peers review the code and design.  Systems administrators spend time independently writing code, but also interact with peers in design, testing, improving processes and troubleshooting problems. 

Rebecca Fahey started her computer career with a mathematics background.  She is also involved in HPSS in user and application support.  One day a week she spends in frontline user support by working with users doing coding.  She assists them with programming problems and answers their questions about hardware.  The other four days of the week she manages, creates and disables user accounts.  Fahey keeps all the user documentation up to date and reviews usage of the machine on a monthly basis.  She may install new software packages or revisions to current software.  She spends half of the time writing scripts that automate the business of managing user accounts.  She advised students to be cool under pressure and to become good troubleshooters.  This career is one that is characterized by continuous learning.  You grow and change with the advances and changes in programming languages and hardware. 

During the question period, both speakers emphasized the need to be comfortable working in a team setting, the need for discipline, and thorough knowledge of one programming language and one scripting language.  Having this done this, an employer would realize that you could learn others as well.

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