This award provides funds for a COACh Workshop for Women in Combustion to be held on August 2, 2008, the day before the International Symposium on Combustion in Montreal. The COACh Workshop was developed by Prof. Geri Richmond at the University of Oregon and is designed to provide networking opportunities and teach leadership skills to women in chemistry. Combustion researchers work in chemistry but also in various other disciplines, and the workshop will be adapted to these needs.
The project is modeled on the successful organization and highly effective activities of COACh. COACh was formed in 1998 by a group of senior women faculty in the chemical sciences from across the U.S. who are concerned about the slow progress that is being made in reaching gender equity in academia in the sciences. Since 1999 COACh has developed workshops for women faculty that teach skills in negotiation, communication and leadership that empower them to advance their careers. These workshops have been designed to 1) enhance communication and negotiation skills necessary to achieve the professional goals of participants, 2) teach leadership techniques that are effective for women scientists in an academic setting, 3) provide a forum for networking with other academic women scientists, and 4) develop effective strategies for making institutional and departmental change that improves the climate, recruiting and retention of women faculty, students and postdoctoral associates.
The award has both intellectual merit and the potential for broader impacts. Scientific and technological advances will be aided by the interaction among participants and the skills they acquire for research and career development. The workshop will aid women already in the field, but it will further aid the next generation of researchers and educators and alleviate the long under-representation of women in the field of combustion.
