Harvard hosts symposium on women scientists

Some of the nation’s top female scientists will gather at the University today (April 7) for the third National Symposium for the Advancement of Women in Science. The sessions, organized by the student group Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe (WISHR), will run through April 10. The symposium will address opportunities available to female scientists, ways to foster scientific talent, and women’s evolving role and leadership in science. The majority of events will be held in the Maxwell Dworkin Building, 33 Oxford St.

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Speakers will include former director of the National Science Foundation Rita Colwell; former president of Doctors Without Borders Carol Etherington; and Harvard professors Margo Seltzer, Barbara Grosz, and Melissa Franklin, among others. Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers is scheduled to give welcoming remarks.

Founded in 1989, WISHR is devoted to fostering community and solidarity among undergraduate women engaged in science at Harvard. This year’s symposium is funded by the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, all nine science departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard College, the Ann Radcliffe Trust in Harvard College, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, the Harvard Undergraduate Council, Microsoft, the Harvard Coop, and Staples.

Harvard students, staff, and faculty are invited to attend, though registration is required.