New College of Florida Professor Mariana Sendova Attended National Summit to Advance Women’s Leadership in the Sciences

(December 8, 2010) — New College of Florida Professor Mariana Sendova was among a select group of 51 senior women professors in chemistry and physics from 46 liberal arts colleges to participate in a two-day summit in Washington, D.C., last summer. The summit focused on the advancement of senior women scientists at liberal arts colleges, where full professors of physics are rare.

“Only eighteen out of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. have one female full professor of physics,” says Sendova. “Only two of these campuses have two female full professors of physics.”

During the summit, participants considered the practices, infrastructure and campus climate needed to support and enhance the professional careers, visibility and leadership of female science faculty on liberal arts campuses. They also examined time and stress management and identified institutional resources and personal career support networks. The summit was part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation and Dissemination (PAID).

“At this meeting I became empowered by the thought that I am a part of a long process of changing the way people think and tearing down historically accumulated prejudices,” says Sendova. “Not only in the minds of the average person on the street but, most importantly, the perception of the scientific community and its administrators about the role and place of female professors in the physical sciences.”

At New College Sendova is currently managing a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of the Army on nanotechnology research. It is the largest federal grant in the history of the College. Sendova also started the first experimental physics research laboratory at New College. She has two patents and more than 40 publications in renowned peer reviewed journals, and she has worked on cutting-edge research involving raman spectroscopy with the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla. A native of Bulgaria, Sendova received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Sofia University.