Nano Girl

What if scientists were celebrities?

Michelle Dickinson • May 23, 2015

As a new columnist for Villainesse, a digital magazine for young women, I have been thinking a lot about the power of influence and who our youth look up to as role models. I remember my teenage years consisted of watching Judith Hann explain technology on Tomorrows world, and Katherine Janeway command the Starship USS […] … Read More

Dresses for Science and Tech loving women!

Michelle Dickinson • May 21, 2015

As a female engineer I’m very aware of being a minority in my field, and as time passes I seem to have become less sensitive to some of the comments, and inappropriate questions I’ve been asked during my career. Studying the recent numbers makes for very sad reading as a lowly 13% of professional engineers […] … Read More

How exercise is good for your brain as well as your body

Michelle Dickinson • May 21, 2015

In this age of screen driven office life, it’s easy to forget that we are actually built to move all day. Our caveman self didn’t sit hunched over a desk staring at the same spot, our caveman self was aware of our environment around us, listening, seeing, smelling, touching, stimulating all of our senses to […] … Read More

Can you blame your parents for being a ‘drama queen’?

Michelle Dickinson • May 18, 2015

I’m using the term ‘drama queen’ for both genders by the way, it’s not just a female issue as the name implies, but we all know those people who seem to blow things out of all proportion, who overreact to a negative situation as if its much worse that it actually is and those who […] … Read More

The power of success

Michelle Dickinson • May 14, 2015

If you ask a child what being successful means to them, they typically describe things that involve money, power or fame. It’s what society seems to strive towards, that big pot of money and celebrity at the end of the rainbow. You only need to watch reality TV, or read celebrity gossip magazines to see […] … Read More

Spiders create super-strong webs with nanotechnology!

Michelle Dickinson • May 11, 2015

Take two fascinating strong materials, spider silk and carbon nanotubes, and mix them to create a material with a combined strength, toughness and ductility that’s just not been seen before. If you just want to watch this story, click on the picture video link, otherwise keep reading. It sounds like a happy weekend in Italy […] … Read More

Are you a leader?

Michelle Dickinson • May 09, 2015

I was being interviewed this week about leadership, and asked if I set out to be a leader or it’s something that just came to me later in life. The truth is I was just doing what I loved and felt passionate about, then one day I turned around and realised there were a bunch […] … Read More

Public speaking, do men and women need to do it differently?

Michelle Dickinson • May 04, 2015

I ask myself this question as a woman in tech who is constantly working on her public speaking and presentation skills whether I’m presenting live to an audience, or for a radio or TV interview. I watch men speak, I watch women speak, I write down what they do that I like, what seems to […] … Read More

Sexism in Engineering and Science – you only know what you know

Michelle Dickinson • May 03, 2015

Being a woman in engineering I’m in the minority. Only 11% of practising engineers are female and although I’ve never had my ponytail touched as an engineer (but I have as a bartender and waitress), I do come across situations that do not make me feel welcome based on my gender. Studies show that 40% of […] … Read More

Catching oil in a net with nanotechnology

Michelle Dickinson • Apr 19, 2015

Catching liquid in a net may seem like a crazy idea, but by adding a fine dusting of silica nanoparticles to a metal mesh, researchers have been able to create a new type of net. Hydrophobic surfaces (surfaces which repel liquid) are not new and several sprays can now be bought in your local hardware […] … Read More

About Nano Girl

Nano Girl is the blog of materials engineers and science communicator extraordinaire Dr Michelle Dickinson.

The views expressed on this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the owners of SciBlogs.co.nz, the Science Media Centre or the Royal Society of New Zealand.

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