|
Karen Klincewicz Gleason, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
ABSTRACT
In 1999, a study on the status of women faculty in Science was released. Part of this document was made public
( http://web.mit.edu/fnl/women/women.html#TheStudy ) and generated intense and widespread interest. A distinguishing
feature was that the report's conclusions and recommendations were derived from hard data. This methodology won the acceptance
of the dean of science and the president of MIT and resulted in a number of significant changes. In a single year, the percentage of
tenured female science faculty increased by 40% and for the first time women held more than 10% of the tenure-track faculty positions
in science. Additional actions were taken to improve the lives of these women. A similar process is ongoing in the School of
Engineering at MIT, where the percentage of women faculty is even lower. Key features of the methodology employed will be discussed.
BIO
Dr. Karen K. Gleason is presently a Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). Previously while at MIT, Karen received a B.S. in chemistry, a M.S. in chemical engineering and All-American
honors in swimming. Her Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley was supported by Amoco Foundation and NCAA postgraduate
Fellowships. After joining the faculty at MIT received both the NSF Presidential Young Investigator and ONR Young Investigators
Program awards. Her research focuses on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and thin film characterization, with an emphasis on solid-state
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). She is the author of more than 80 papers in these fields. In August 1998, Karen chaired the Gordon
Conference for Diamond Synthesis held in Oxford, UK. Currently, her laboratory is focusing on fluorocarbon and organosilicone thin films
for dielectric, resist, and biopassivation applications. Prof. Gleason is a thrust leader in the NSF/SRC Engineering Research Center for
Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacture.
|