[gwaMIT] gwaMIT Newsletter: November 29, 2021

[gwaMIT]

gwaMIT Newsletter
November 29th, 2021

Become a member of the gwaMIT Executive Board!
Want to get involved with gwaMIT, build your network, and collaborate with an incredible community of womxn graduate students? Apply to be part of the 2021-2022 gwaMIT Executive Board! We are currently focused on recruiting for the Conference, Membership, and Outreach Chair positions. The application form is available here<https://forms.gle/D5rUT277SfCmxrxA7>. There is a link to the official descriptions in the application form.



Did you know? Womxn-related news from around the world

In its continuing effort to correct gender disparities<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/sports/ncaabasketball/ncaa-womens-basketball-tournament-68-teams.html>, starting March 2022, the NCAA will expand the Division I Women’s basketball tournament.

Dr. Zena Stein, who studied the impact of AIDS on women<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/health/zena-stein-dead.html> and explored the effects of famine and poverty on health, passed away earlier this month.

Sika Henry<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/sports/sika-henry-triathlon.html> is the first African American woman to be recognized as a pro triathlete.


Events & Opportunities

  1.  Apply to be MIT/gwaMIT’s rep to NE GWiSE (apply by November 30th!)
  2.  Apply for Activate Global Inc’s Fellowship (apply by November 30th!)
  3.  Attend Graduate Womxn in Biology’s Glass Shards Speaker Event (December 3rd)
  4.  Apply to be on the Executive Board of Consulting Club at MIT (apply by December 3rd!)
  5.  Attend the Ellen Swallow Richards Birthday & Holiday Celebration (December 5th)
  6.  Attend Odyssey’s Hackathon for underrepresented students (December 17th-18th)
  7.  Join the MITxHarvard Women in AI Group!
  8.  Become a gwaMIT Department Rep!


  1.  Apply to be MIT/gwaMIT’s rep to NE GWiSE
About NE GWiSE:
NE GWiSE<https://negwise.org/> (New England Graduate Women in Science in Engineering) is an alliance of graduate women/graduate women in science and engineering groups from universities across New England. They have joined together to support and celebrate women and gender minorities in STEM fields, to increase awareness of the issues they face, and to create positive change within their community. NE GWiSE is a 501(c)3 non-profit based in Massachusetts, founded in 2017.
About the MIT/gwaMIT rep role:
Expected time commitment: 3-6 hours per month (on average)
Benefits: network and collaborate with graduate students, as well as speakers (professors and
professionals), from across New England who care about diversity and gender-related issues; be part of a nonprofit
Responsibilities:

  *   Serve as a representative for gwaMIT
     *   Distribute NE GWiSE information to gwaMIT / MIT
     *   Give NE GWiSE periodic updates on gwaMIT’s activities (events, successes, struggles, etc.)
     *   Recruit new people to join NE GWiSE
     *   Coordinate assistance from your school for planning the major events - if we need volunteers, help us recruit them
  *   Attend monthly exec meetings (currently all virtual)
  *   Help plan at least one event or project throughout the year
  *   Form collaborative relationships with cultural, minority, and DEI groups at MIT
  *   If a voting situation comes up, vote on behalf of gwaMIT
If you are interested in serving as MIT/gwaMIT’s rep to NE GWiSE, please reach out to Molly Bird (mbird at mit.edu<mailto:mbird at mit.edu>) or Morgan Reik (morgan.e.reik.gr at dartmouth.edu<mailto:morgan.e.reik.gr at dartmouth.edu>), who currently serve on NE GWiSE’s Executive Board.


  1.  Apply for Activate Global Inc’s Fellowship
About Activate Global Inc:
Activate Global Inc is a nonprofit funded by the Department of Energy and Department of Defense, which provides funding to scientists and engineers who wish to build their own start-ups. We empower scientists to reinvent the world by bringing their research to market.

  *   Our two-year fellowship is a secure path for fellows to start their journey as entrepreneurs—providing the time, resources, and guidance to develop as leaders and mature their ideas.
  *   103 Activate Fellows have launched 74 new companies since 2015—these companies have raised more than $370M in follow-on funding and created more than 360 U.S.-based high-tech jobs.
  *   With our support, fellows grow their teams and de-risk their technology. Many attract their first financing rounds and hit key product milestones during their fellowship.
  *   Activate Fellows work across industries including Agriculture, Buildings, Chemicals, Computing, Defense, Electricity, Manufacturing, and Transportation.
  *   Today, we support up to 40 Activate Fellows a year through our Berkeley and Boston Communities. For Cohort 2022 we’ve introduced both Activate New York and Activate Anywhere. Activate Anywhere supports entrepreneurial fellows working from qualified research facilities anywhere in the U.S.
  *   In the next five years, we plan to expand to 100 new fellows each year across the U.S.
About the Fellowship:
We are looking for candidates with a bachelor’s degree and 4 years of R&D experience; candidates with an interest in social impact issues are particularly well-suited for this role.
Activate Fellows receive:

  *   A yearly living stipend of $80,000 to $110,000 plus a health insurance stipend and travel allowance. Each project also receives $100,000 of research support at the host laboratory.
  *   Access to research facilities in Berkeley, CA, Boston, MA, or New York, NY, or join the Activate Anywhere Community and work from qualified host laboratories anywhere across the U.S.
  *   A program of intensive entrepreneurial training, mentorship, and networking.
All support is 100% free. Activate is funded by government and philanthropy and does not take equity in its fellows' start-ups.
If you are interested, please apply here<https://www.activate.org/apply?utm_source=social_toolkit&utm_medium=channel_partners&utm_campaign=recruitment22_applications_open_oct15>.


  1.  Attend Graduate Womxn in Biology’s Glass Shards Speaker Event
When: December 3rd, 2021 11AM-12PM EST
Where: 68-181
Details: The Graduate Womxn in Biology (gwiBio) student group is putting on a speaker series for graduate womxn in the biology department on career paths and professional development called The Glass Shards, featuring womxn scientists who have broken through the glass ceiling. Our next speaker will be Prof. Lindsay Case on Friday December 3rd at 11:00am in 68-181. Lindsay recently joined the biology department, and her lab studies how cells regulate the spatial organization of signaling molecules at the plasma membrane​. At the end of the event, there will be an open Q&A, and you can submit questions anonymously in advance here​<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkzKMyUwA6aYAQwpG6cjEZ9w1PCM-3HWCJzj58z5v7qf1caw/viewform?usp=sf_link>. This will be a wonderful opportunity to hear from Lindsay and have an open dialogue about womxn in science.​


  1.  Apply to be on the Executive Board of Consulting Club at MIT
The Consulting Club at MIT is recruiting for 2021-2022 Executive Board positions. We have multiple roles open, including event organizers in the professional development team, external relations team and case competition team. If you are interested in learning more about consulting, planning events, or meeting like-minded people, please join us! The position description is listed below.
We are looking for enthusiastic team members, so do not worry if you do not have any experience. If you are interested, please apply here<https://forms.gle/Vb3kjrw4FXHkgyWG6>. The application closes at 11:59 pm on Dec 3rd and we will interview selected candidates during December. Please email exec-ccm at mit.edu<mailto:exec-ccm at mit.edu> should you have any questions.


  1.  Attend the Ellen Swallow Richards Birthday & Holiday Celebration
When: December 5th, 2021 4PM-5PM EST
Where: Virtual
Details: Join AMITA and the Graduate Womxn at MIT (gwaMIT)<https://gsc.mit.edu/gwamit/>, Sunday, December 5th, to celebrate the legacy of Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman admitted to MIT. Not only was she MIT’s first woman graduate, but she was also MIT’s first woman instructor.  Richards was a pioneer in public health and environmental science, whose research helped set the first water-quality standards in the United States.
Our guest speaker will be Marina Psaros MCP '06, Unity’s global sustainability lead and the author of The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis<https://thenewpress.com/books/atlas-of-disappearing-places>. Psaros has conducted climate change action programs across the public, private, and non-profit sectors for over fifteen years and holds a Master’s in Environmental Policy and Urban Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her mission is to unite science and technology with creativity and empowerment to solve our most pressing environmental issues.
Register for the event here<https://amita.alumgroup.mit.edu/s/1314/bp19/interior.aspx?sid=1314&pgid=58281&gid=20&cid=95748&ecid=95748&post_id=0>!


  1.  Attend Odyssey’s Hackathon for underrepresented students
When: December 17th-18th, 2021
Details: Odyssey's Hackathon for underrepresented students is a perfect opportunity to connect with top employers, learn from workshops, meet professionals and other students, and enjoy building a project that could win prizes up to $2,000!
Members can claim their free spot today here: https://join-odyssey.com/hackathon-students?refer=gwamit-exec@mit.edu


  1.  Join the MITxHarvard Women in AI Group!
Are you interested in Artificial Intelligence? Curious about neural networks, reinforcement learning, or neuro-symbolic approaches? If you don’t know what any of those are, but want to learn, think, and discuss not only the technical side of machine learning and AI, but the ethics of AI and applications to biomedicine, cognitive science, environmental sciences, and more, then we’d love to have you join the MITxHarvard Women in AI Group!
Undergrads, grad students, postdocs, and affiliates of either MIT or Harvard (or both!) are welcome! We are inclusive to all genders, including non-binary folks. If you are interested, fill out this short form<https://forms.gle/3zeN6zMGHQN1YLbJ7> to be added to our mailing list and Slack.


  1.  Become a gwaMIT department rep!
gwaMIT is accepting applications for the position of department representatives! As a gwaMIT department rep, you'll build connections across MIT and help in the personal & professional development of graduate womxn. It is also a powerful means to bring about department-level change and strive towards a more equitable and inclusive MIT. The position lasts for one year, with an option for renewal. Read more about the role and responsibilities here<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BepM4QWy2tUO7ju1dkIOt69lb9wJb_DIs9Us_ljVqUA/edit>. Fill out the short application form here<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfxO1KrUGe7rS_tvZsAW8jOOMFNBnv5BdAi4ssn1svoKUqV9w/viewform>. Womxn who are members of underrepresented and minoritized groups are encouraged to apply. The departments with openings are: Architecture, EECS, ChemE, PolSci, HASTS, Humanities, NSE, CTL, CCWCE, CMS, CSB, MAS, CRE. If the position is currently filled, but you are still interested in being involved with gwaMIT, email us to let us know! We have multiple avenues for engagement in gwaMIT's activities and initiatives.


“All careers go up and down like friendships, like marriages, like anything else, and you can’t bat a thousand all the time.”
-Julie Andrews

To unsubscribe or change your mailing preferences, please visit: http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/gwamit


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/gwamit/attachments/20211129/8763c9c1/attachment-0001.htm>