LAWIS: LOS ALAMOS WOMEN IN SCIENCE
Northern Chapter of the New Mexico Network for Women and Science in Engineering
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY 2000

CONTENTS
A.) GENERAL LAWIS INFORMATION

  1. Publishing Information from the Editor
  2. Steering Committee Meetings
B.) PRESIDENT'S SOUPÇON: A MESSAGE FROM JANIE ENTER, LAWIS PRESIDENT 2000
C.) LAWIS COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
  1. Los Alamos County Science Fair
  2. Pojoaque and Taos Science Fairs
  3. Expanding Your Horizons 2000
  4. And Speaking of EYH...
D.) GOINGS-ON
  1. Past Events
  2. Things to Look Forward To!
  3. Community Service Opportunities


A). GENERAL LAWIS INFORMATION

1.) PUBLISHING INFORMATION FROM THE EDITOR

First, the disclaimer: any errors are the responsibility of Laura McNamara, LAWIS Newsletter editor. Please send any comments, corrections, and/or items for inclusion to lauramc@lanl.gov, or call 665-9685. This February 2000 issue is the first of the year; if you're interested in previous issues, many are available on the LAWIS home page (http://home.lanl.gov/lawis/NewsLetters). Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Newsletter will issued electronically during the first week of every month. Announcements or news items must be on my desk by the last Monday of every month to make the next issue. Please contact me if you prefer hardcopy format and I'll be sure to send one out. Lastly, scroll to the end of this newsletter and check out the neat community service opportunities coming up this spring - these are Laboratory-approved activities, so get involved!

And of course, Happy Valentine's and President's Days!

2.) STEERING COMMITTEE MEETINGS 2000

The next meeting of the LAWIS Steering Committee will be Thursday, February 10, 2000 at 7:00 a.m. tentatively in Otowi Sideroom C. We've decided that Thursdays at 7AM are a good time for everyone, so if you'd like to pry open your eyes along with the rest of us earlybirds, please feel free to do so. New Steering Committee Members are listed in the President's Soupçon below - so, you want to talk to one of us? All contact information for LAWIS Steering Committee Members is available on the LAWIS Web Page, scrupulously maintained by Tinka Gammel and Cathy Cleland. The list is located at (http://home.lanl.gov/lawis/NMNWSE_Northern.html). We're glad to hear from you.

B.) PRESIDENT'S SOUPÇON: A MESSAGE FROM JANIE ENTER, LAWIS PRESIDENT 2000

Welcome to the Year 2000! I hope your holidays were fun and joyful. And thanks for your interest in Los Alamos Women in Science (LAWIS). We have elected our 2000 Steering Committee members as follows:

President: Janie Enter
Vice President (President/Elect for 2001): Cathy Cleland
Secretary: Ann Mauzy
Treasurer: Susana Delano
Membership: Cathy Cleland
LAWIS Newsletter: Laura McNamara
Expanding Your Horizons 2000 Chair: Alexine Salazar (Dolores Montano and
Dana Roberson EYH Chairs/Elect for 2001)
Lunchtime Talks: Huyen Dinh
LAWIS Web Wizards: Cathy Cleland and Tinka Gammel
Members at Large: Mary Steincipher Campbell and Angelique Neuman

Many kudos and thanks to the outgoing members of the 1999-2000 Steering Committee:

Cas Mason: Member at Large and coordinator of LAWIS and AAUW
collaborations (Congratulations on the celebration of 25 years at LANL!)
Amy Anderson: Secretary "extraordinaire"
Trish Wright: Treasurer "beyond compare"

Also, there are two more ladies that, while their terms might "appear" to be up, their dedication and commitment to LAWIS is reaffirmed by their willingness to continue on the 2000 Steering Committee in their previous capacities, mentoring their protégés for their future success:

Tinka Gammel: LAWIS Webpage Wizard
Alexine Salazar: EYH Chair

All of these ladies helped LAWIS be an extremely successful organization in the past year. They were instrumental in providing support and assistance to women, both young and old, pursuing careers in engineering, math and science, and acted as mentors and role models for these women. Those of us left on the Steering Committee will sorely miss their expertise and sagacious advice. We thank you.

As President, I thank all of the members of the 1999 Steering Committee for their commitment and hard work year. Since this was my first year on the Steering Committee, I had lots to learn. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

As president of LAWIS, I am available for your suggestions, questions, concerns, or if you just need someone to talk to. Feel free to contact me at 665-0756 or via email at volcano@lanl.gov. I look forward to working with all of you. Please let me know how I can help LAWIS become an even better organization to meet the needs of a new millennium!
(jae)

C.) LAWIS COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

1.) LOS ALAMOS COUNTY SCIENCE FAIR

Historically LAWIS has supported the Los Alamos County Science Fair and given awards in the following amounts: Ten $5.00 awards for honorary mention; one 3rd place award of $10.00; one 2nd place award of $15.00, and one 1st place award of $25.00. The amounts aren't changing, and neither is the philosophy behind them: awards are given to encourage participation in science, particularly among younger girls, and we keep the amounts small to give out as many awards as possible. Tinka Gammel will be handing out the prizes but would probably enjoy having company at the LA County Science Fair on February 5th, 2000. It's fun! If you would like to help judge, or if you want to organize "Northern Chapter" awards at your County's or School District's Science Fair,  contact Tinka Gammel, jtg@lanl.gov, 667-9149.

2.) POJOAQUE AND TAOS SCIENCE FAIRS

Many thanks to the generous donor who anonymously gave LAWIS $100.00 to be used for even more science fair awards. The Steering Committee decided that this extra award money should be used for branching out to science fairs in other Northern New Mexico schools. And since Cas Mason was involved in the science fairs at Pojoaque and Taos, we've started there. The Pojoaque Intermediate School Science Fair took place on January 19th, 2000, with entries from the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Cas Mason, Julie Wilson and Andy Montoya helped out as judges. Cas brings good tidings for the future: 'In general, the standards were very high, making selections of WIS winners difficult.'

The results? Sixth grade winners were Alexis Martinez for 'Tapping into the Sun,' a project about wind powered electric turbines; and Maclovia Quintana's 'Chili Breakdown,' which looked at how fast chili can break down cholesterol. Julia DePaula's fifth grade winning project, entitled 'Do Birds of a Feather Use Color Together?' studied the feeding habits of magpies. Lastly, two fourth graders, Tess Montoya and Reida Powell, each won a prize for their projects 'Let the Sun Shine In' and 'Bird Diner.' The first project explored the heat capacity of some natural materials, while the second looked at what kind of bird food birds prefer - just in case you're wondering, it's NOT bird food, but dog food - 'the solid crunchy stuff,' Cas says. 'Magpies can handle it.' Hmmm! The Taos Science Fair takes place on January 28th, and Cas will have a report for us in the March issue. Congratulations to all the students who participated, and especially to both teachers and judges for encouraging children to be inquisitive about the world around them.

3). EXPANDING YOUR HORIZONS 2000

Awesome EYH chairperson Alexine Salazar is busy planning for this year's EYH Conference, which will take place at the Oppenheimer Study Center on Monday, March 6th, 2000, from 8:30 until 3:30. EYH is a great opportunity to disrupt those nasty gender stereotypes that keep young women out of the science and engineering pipeline. If you'd like more information, please contact Alexine, 667-1785 or e-mail, alexine@lanl.gov. Janie Enter has registration information: volcano@lanl.gov, 665-0756, while Becky Parker is in charge of the Teacher Conference: beckyp@lanl.gov, 665-5194. Information is also available on the LAWIS Web Page: (http://home.lanl.gov/lawis/EYH/). Check it out!

4.) AND SPEAKING OF EYH...

Ann Mauzy is trying to update the Expanding Your Horizons Career Booklet but is having problems getting the electronic files open. She's looking for someone with PageMaker installed on a PC and a ZIP drive... if you've got this equipment, Ann would very much appreciate hearing from you. Contact her at mauzy@lanl.gov.

D.) GOINGS-ON: TALKS, EVENTS, ETC.

1.) PAST EVENTS

Juliet Schor, a professor of Women's Studies at Harvard University and author of The Overworked American and The Overspent American, spoke at Fuller Lodge on Friday evening, January 14th, to a full house. A PAC-8 video of the lecture should be available through Mesa Public Library soon. Schor's talk was sponsored by several Los Alamos organizations, including the American Association of University Women, the LANL Foundation, and the League of Women Voters.

2). THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO: UPCOMING TALKS AND EVENTS

President Janie Enter writes, "Onward! The Year 2000 is already gearing up for excitement and tons of activities. Mark your calendars!" So without further ado....
Remember: for all Lunchtime Talks, Sideroom C is open from 11:30-1:30 for an early or late lunch and socializing. Nonmembers are invited join us, so bring a friend!

January 27th at 12:00, Otowi Sideroom C, Lunchtime Talk: Tessa Dowell of BUS-8 speaks on "ReefNews Presents - Bimini: Jewel of the Gulf Stream." This talk is a chance to learn about the unique marine habitat of Bimini, as well as ReefNews, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching children about the ocean. Bring your lunch!

February 5th, Pueblo Gymnasium, Los Alamos. LAWIS Awards at the Los Alamos Public Schools Science Fair. See discussion above, check the LAWIS website or contact Tinka Gammel for more information (jtg@lanl.gov).

February 15th, 7:30p.m. to about 9:30p.m. Second Floor Meeting Room at Los Alamos National Bank, 1200 Trinity Drive. Branch Meeting of the American Association of University Women: Panel Discussion on Issues Related to Pay Equity and Diversity. This meeting will be a panel discussion of issues relating to pay equity and diversity. Questions and interaction with the audience will be very welcome. We are extremely fortunate to have four very dynamic and informed panelists: Gloria Cordova, Caroline 'Cas' Mason, Gloria Mirabal, and Jaqueline Paris-Chitanvis. Natalie Markin will serve as the moderator. If the main entrance of the bank is closed, please use the west door, the door nearest to the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. Bring a friend for this exciting and informative evening.
February 17th at 12:00, Otowi Sideroom C, Lunchtime Talk: Barbara Henderson of ESH-6 talks about "The Criticality Safety Information Resource Center at LANL."

March 6th: Expanding Your Horizons, 8:30-3:30. See discussion above. Don't miss great guest speaker Sethanne Howard from the National Science Foundation, who will teach us about, "4000 Years of Women in Science, Technology and Other Altogether Creative Stuff!" Contact Alexine Salazar (alexine@lanl.gov), or check out the LAWIS EYH website for more information.

March 14th at 12:00, Otowi Sideroom C, Lunchtime Talk: Claudia J. Lewis of EES-1, "Using Quaternary Dating Methods, Stratigraphy and Patterns of Stream Inclusion to Constrain Models of Post-Orgenic Rock Uplift: Preliminary Results from the Ebro Basin, Spain."

And For Quality People... Johnson Controls Quality Analyst Catherine A. F. Sidoti is offering a course to prepare you for the American Society for Quality Certified Quality Engineer Exam (CQE). She's already held the meeting for prospective students, but if you're looking for a class like this one, you can contact her at csidoti@lanl.gov.

3.) OTHER COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Careers And Curiosity At Espanola Middle School. The Espanola Middle School parent group has contacted Denise George of T-1 about offering a Careers and Curiosity Day (http://home.lanl.gov/dcg/CC/C+C.html) for the seventh grade students at their school. The goal of Careers and Curiosity is to foster interest of girls in science and math by providing an interactive scientific experience guided by adult women who use math and/or science in their careers. Presenters are asked to prepare a demonstration, activity or display related to her career. This is a great way to share your enthusiasm for your career with young people who are making important decisions about their futures. Denise says this event is '...very energizing and just plain fun!' But before she goes go too far along in the planning, she'd like to make sure that she has the enough interested presenters for a successful event. Some details:
- Date: Specific date TBA; probably a half-day in April at Espanola Middle School.
- Training: Offered to new presenters (including suggestions and help on designing the station).
- Format: The students (male and female) rotate through the stations in small groups; each group spending on the average 5 minutes at a station. This format has worked well in elementary schools in Los Alamos and Santa Fe over the past several years. Denise believes it has the potential of working well also for seventh grade students.
- Time: This is a Laboratory sponsored activity, so Laboratory employees can charge time to community service!
- Contact: If you are interested in helping out, or just plain intrigued by the whole concept, please e-mail to Denise: (dgeorge@lanl.gov), or call her at work: 667-6248.

You be the Judge... It's that time of year again when young minds searching for the perfect science fair project need your guidance. The Laboratory is asking that you take some time out of your busy schedule to help American Indian children learn about the wonders of science. Somewhere out is another Einstein or Hawking, and you might find her! There are several schools in the state that need assistance, and if you would be interested in helping out at a school science fair, please contact Linda Anderman of CRO - anderman@lanl.gov or call 665-9196 for more information about what the schools need. If you decide to help out, Linda will submit a list of names and contact information to the appropriate organizations, and they will get in touch with you. You can take personal time, be sponsored by your group or division, or you may use community service time, which is covered under AM 322.21 - just make sure it's pre-approved!

REMEMBER: THANKS TO WEBMASTERS TINKA AND CATHY, WE HAVE UP-TO-THE-MINUTE LAWIS NEWS. CHECK THE LAWIS HOMEPAGE AT (http://home.lanl.gov/lawis/).