Female scientists respond to Harvard president

Responding to ill-fated remarks made in January by Harvard University’s president, four UW researchers will on Thursday, April 14, discuss the scientific evidence behind Lawrence Summers’ claim that fewer women reach the highest tiers of science due to an “intrinsic aptitude” difference between the sexes.

Chancellor John Wiley will wrap up the panel titled “Women In Science & Engineering: What the Research REALLY Says,” with his own comments on women’s status in science and engineering fields.

Jo Handelsman, a UW–Madison plant pathologist and co-director of the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, will moderate a panel of scientists who will each present findings related to research on gender differences.

Panel participants, including Paul Whalen, Linda Oakley, Caitilyn Allen and Molly Carnes, will speak on the influence of gender on brain structure, social competition, disparities in test scores and the impact of unconscious

WISELI and the Science Alliance are co-sponsors of the event, which also is featured through the UW–Madison Science Expeditions initiative.

The panel will run from 7-9:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, at the Biotechnology Center Auditorium. For more information visit the Web site or call 263-1445.