Past Events

Dear members, In celebration of International Women's Day, we huddle up and connect at Upperz Cafe and Bar near Union Square. Don't worry, we are introverts too. Description If you are a woman working or studying in STEM, or simply passionate about STEM, join us for a meaningful chat & refreshments. Sip our host's signature Women in STEM cocktail while connecting with other female professionals in the NY Metropolitan Area. Complementary pastries will be served. Please note that this is a women only event. Entry & Venue There is no cost for entry. The bar serves non-alcoholic and alcoholic refreshments, coffee and pastries. No drink minimum, but please consider purchasing at least one item to support the local business. Remember to bring your ID for the door! Where to look for us Meet us inside Upperz Cafe and Bar anytime between 5-7pm. We reserved the cafe for our group, so you should be able to spot us immediately. Name tags will be provided. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you, Upperz Cafe and Bar, for hosting us! We're looking forward to seeing you! Daniela & Jenny

This book club is for women in STEM to explore workplace related themes that are centered on women, STEM issues, philosophy and leadership. Through these book explorations we share experiences, exchange new ideas, and empower each other through friendly conversation and community. *** The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir In this classic introduction to existentialist thought, French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir’s The Ethics of Ambiguity simultaneously pays homage to and grapples with her French contemporaries, philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, by arguing that the freedoms in existentialism carry with them certain ethical responsibilities. De Beauvoir outlines a series of “ways of being” (the adventurer, the passionate person, the lover, the artist, and the intellectual), each of which overcomes the former’s deficiencies, and therefore can live up to the responsibilities of freedom. Ultimately, de Beauvoir argues that in order to achieve true freedom, one must battle against the choices and activities of those who suppress it. The Ethics of Ambiguity is the book that launched Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist and existential philosophy. It remains a concise yet thorough examination of existence and what it means to be human. *** Whether you love or hate the book, read one chapter, or happened across this description and found yourself interested, come join us for coffee and conversation! Feel free to reach out for any questions. Sincerely, Jenny & Daniela

This experimental Women in STEM series opens up conversations around the overarching themes in selected essays. *** This month's essay: The Trouble with Friends by Weike Wang August 17, 2024, The New Yorker Additional reading (optional): Friendship by David Whyte Join us for an in depth discussion on friendship. A hot beverage is optional, but recommended. Sincerely, Daniela & Jenny

Join us for a picnic in Sheep Meadow, Central Park! In the spirit of Halloween, we are doing a spooky-themed picnic 🎃 Looking forward to seeing you all! 😋 What to bring Bring a favorite snack/drink to share Bring a picnic mat if you have one so we can have lots of territory 👌 Optionally, dress up in a cool costume 👻 😎 How to find us We will share our specific location on the day of in the chat below. In the case that Sheep Meadow is closed, we will be at the lawn north of Nell Singer Lilac Walk. In case of rain If the weather forecast suggests rain, we may have to postpone or cancel the picnic. We'll monitor the weather a couple of days before the day of the event and announce the decision here.

Join us for a picnic in Sheep Meadow, Central Park! In the spirit of Halloween, we are doing a spooky-themed picnic 🎃 Looking forward to seeing you all! 😋 What to bring: Bring a favorite snack/drink to share Bring a picnic mat if you have one so we can have lots of territory 👌 Optionally, dress up in a cool costume 👻 😎 How to find us: We will share our specific location on the day of in the chat below. In the case that Sheep Meadow is closed, we will be at the lawn north of Nell Singer Lilac Walk. In case of rain: If the weather forecast suggests rain, we may have to postpone or cancel the picnic. We'll monitor the weather a couple of days before the day of the event and announce the decision here.

Dear members, The peak of fall migration is near, and we would like to take this opportunity to organize a birding event with all the nature lovers in our group. Join us to learn about various species of birds, their migration habits and their place in the ecosystem. Our guide will be NYC Women in STEM member Andrea Trigueros, ornithologist and expert in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. This is an introductory guide -- no prerequisite knowledge is needed. However, if you would like to learn more about birding, please check out this beginner's guide. What to bring Dress comfortably for walking and bring a raincoat in case it drizzles. We will provide binoculars, but if you own a pair, bring it along. Accessibility Our observations will be carried out in The Green-wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. We will walk between 1-2 miles with some uphill sections. Where to meet Meet us at the Green-wood Cemetery Main Entrance on 5th Avenue at 04:30pm.

For most of human existence, microbes were hidden, visible only through the illnesses they caused. When they finally surfaced in biological studies, they were cast as rogues. Only recently have they immigrated from the neglected fringes of biology to its center. Even today, many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—are invaluable parts of our lives. I Contain Multitudes lets us peer into that world for the first time, allowing us to see how ubiquitous and vital microbes are: they sculpt our organs, defend us from disease, break down our food, educate our immune systems, guide our behavior, bombard our genomes with their genes, and grant us incredible abilities. We learn the secret, invisible, and wondrous biology behind the corals that construct mighty reefs, the glowing squid that can help us understand the bacteria in our own guts, the beetles that bring down forests, the disease-fighting mosquitoes engineered in Australia, and the ingredients in breast milk that evolved to nourish a baby’s first microbes. We see how humans are disrupting these partnerships and how scientists are now manipulating them to our advantage. We see, as William Blake wrote, the world in a grain of sand. I Contain Multitudes is the story of these extraordinary partnerships, between the familiar creatures of our world and those we never knew existed. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it.

The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth by Ben Rawlence For the last fifty years, the trees of the boreal forest have been moving north. Ben Rawlence's The Treeline takes us along this critical frontier of our warming planet from Norway to Siberia, Alaska to Greenland, to meet the scientists, residents and trees confronting huge geological changes. Only the hardest species survive at these latitudes including the ice-loving Dahurian larch of Siberia, the antiseptic Spruce that purifies our atmosphere, the Downy birch conquering Scandinavia, the healing Balsam poplar that Native Americans use as a cure-all and the noble Scots Pine that lives longer when surrounded by its family. It is a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of these species and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe. Blending reportage with the latest science, The Treeline is a story of what might soon be the last forest left and what that means for the future of all life on earth.

For June, we'll be reading The Anxious Generation, the other candidate from the May 2024 bookclub vote! Thank you Lola for suggesting this book.

Dear members, Governors Island is a great place to get away from the buzz of the city while still enjoying its magnificent skyline! If you have ever wondered what secrets are hidden behind the closed doors of Governors Island’s forts and Greek Revival-style apartment buildings, join us on this guided tour of its past, present, and future. Our guide will be Judy Mann, a member and volunteer of the Friends of Governors Island non-profit organization. The tour should last about 2 hours. Feel free to stay and enjoy the island after the tour, or head back at your leisure. Find more details in the Meetup Link below.

We'll be reading Lab Girl, one of the two top-voted candidates from the May 2024 bookclub vote! Thank you Somer for suggesting this book.

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

NYC Women in STEM meets up with girls-only robotics team, Lovelace (@teamlovelace20701), for a panel discussion on career paths, obstacles and success stories, and safe spaces for women in STEM. Career Coach Vicki Aubin presented Eight algorithms to career success, and our panelists, Stuti Misra (Machine Learning Engineer at Apple), Melissa Cirillo (Quality Engineer at Care/of), Jehan Keval (biotechnology M.S. student at NYU), and Somer Falkenstine (Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineer at L3Harris Technologies) gave in-depth answers to Team Lovelace's questions about their career paths, their experiences as women in their industries, advice they'd give to their younger selves, among others. Thank you Lauren Whang and Natalia Murillo for coordinating with us, and to Emma Sun for moderating!

Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious -- even liberating -- book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.

Networking, games and dancing - on IWD we set our lab coats, books and laptops aside and we paint the town red!

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

There is a lifeform so strange and wondrous that it forces us to rethink how life works… Neither plant nor animal, it is found throughout the earth, the air and our bodies. It can be microscopic, yet also accounts for the largest organisms ever recorded, living for millennia and weighing tens of thousands of tonnes. Its ability to digest rock enabled the first life on land, it can survive unprotected in space, and thrives amidst nuclear radiation. In this captivating adventure, Merlin Sheldrake explores the spectacular and neglected world of fungi: endlessly surprising organisms that sustain nearly all living systems. They can solve problems without a brain, stretching traditional definitions of ‘intelligence’, and can manipulate animal behaviour with devastating precision. In giving us bread, alcohol and life-saving medicines, fungi have shaped human history, and their psychedelic properties, which have influenced societies since antiquity, have recently been shown to alleviate a number of mental illnesses. The ability of fungi to digest plastic, explosives, pesticides and crude oil is being harnessed in break-through technologies, and the discovery that they connect plants in underground networks, the ‘Wood Wide Web’, is transforming the way we understand ecosystems. Yet they live their lives largely out of sight, and over ninety percent of their species remain undocumented. Entangled Life is a mind-altering journey into this hidden kingdom of life, and shows that fungi are key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel and behave. The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them.

Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. This means that women's voices are still not heard equally in the decisions that most affect our lives. In "Lean In," Sheryl Sandberg examines why women's progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers compelling, commonsense solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential. Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and is ranked on "Fortune"'s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and as one of "Time"'s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TEDTalk in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which became a phenomenon and has been viewed more than two million times, encouraged women to "sit at the table," seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. In "Lean In, " Sandberg digs deeper into these issues, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to cut through the layers of ambiguity and bias surrounding the lives and choices of working women. She recounts her own decisions, mistakes, and daily struggles to make the right choices for herself, her career, and her family. She provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career, urging women to set boundaries and to abandon the myth of "having it all." She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women in the workplace and at home. Written with both humor and wisdom, Sandberg's book is an inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth. "Lean In" is destined to change the conversation from what women can't do to what they can.

Improve your personal and professional relationships instantly with this timeless guide to communication, listening skills, body language, and conflict resolution. Maybe a wall of silent resentment has shut you off from someone you love. Maybe you listen to an argument in which neither party seems to hear the other. Or maybe your mind drifts to other matters when people talk to you. People Skills is a communication skills handbook that can help you eliminate these and other communication problems. Author Robert Bolton describes the twelve most common communication barriers, showing how these “roadblocks” damage relationships by increasing defensiveness, aggressiveness, or dependency. He explains how to acquire the ability to listen, assert yourself, resolve conflicts, and work out problems with others. These are skills that will help you communicate calmly, even in stressful emotionally charged situations. People Skills will show you: · How to get your needs met using simple assertion techniques · How body language often speaks louder than words · How to use silence as a valuable communication tool · How to de-escalate family disputes, lovers' quarrels, and other heated arguments Both thought-provoking and practical, People Skills is filled with workable ideas that you can use to improve your communication in meaningful ways, every day.

Dear members, How many times have you walked through Central Park and wondered what secrets its rocky landscape holds? Now it's your chance to find out! Join us for a guided geology tour of the city's most cherished park with Dr. Daniel Babin - geologist, climate scientist, and educator. For more details on Daniel's work, check out his Instagram page @geoknowledgy. Event fee All royalties gathered through this event will go to our guide. Organizing and leading a three-hour tour is hard work. By joining this ticketed event you are supporting Daniel's knowledge sharing endeavor. A message from our tour guide There is so much to learn about the history of the earth and its climate from the rocks beneath your feet. I want to transform a lovely fall Sunday stroll through this world famous park into a journey through 500 million years of earth's history. You should walk away from this event with: - A familiarity with basic geological principles such as rock types, stratigraphic principles, and tectonic processes - An idea of the sequence of events from deep to recent history that shaped the landscape of Manhattan and the Tri-State Area - A smile, laughs, and good company :) Meeting point We will meet at 11 AM at the southeast corner of Central Park in the Grand Army Plaza at the General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument. I will have a giant orange flag on it that should make it pretty easy to find me. Difficulty level The total walking distance shouldn't be more than 2 miles. There will be parts of the tour where I will be doing more speaking, and at those times you can sit and rest on the rocks, grass, or a blanket if you choose to bring one. You don't need to wear boots, but some of the rocks are surprisingly steep for such a popular park, and a certain not-yet-to-be-named geological process has made them very smooth. You may want to scramble on them in order to get a closer look at certain features, so I recommend athletic shoes with a decent grip.

The classic #1 New York Times bestseller that answers the age-old question Why is incompetence so maddeningly rampant and so vexingly triumphant? The Peter Principle, the eponymous law Dr. Laurence J. Peter coined, explains that everyone in a hierarchy-from the office intern to the CEO, from the low-level civil servant to a nation's president-will inevitably rise to his or her level of incompetence. Dr. Peter explains why incompetence is at the root of everything we endeavor to do-why schools bestow ignorance, why governments condone anarchy, why courts dispense injustice, why prosperity causes unhappiness, and why utopian plans never generate utopias. With the wit of Mark Twain, the psychological acuity of Sigmund Freud, and the theoretical impact of Isaac Newton, Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull's The Peter Principle brilliantly explains how incompetence and its accompanying symptoms, syndromes, and remedies define the world and the work we do in it.

In partnership with Queens Botanical Garden and Urban Advantages, we are organizing children-friendly science experiments during Family Science Day. Join us at the QBG and learn about pH testing potions, DIY fizzy lava lamps and the fascinating properties of graphene! For more details, visit: https://www.urbanadvantagenyc.org/event/family-science-day-at-queens-botanical-garden/?date=1697328000

What happens when media and politics become forms of entertainment? As our world begins to look more and more like Orwell's 1984, Neil's Postman's essential guide to the modern media is more relevant than ever. Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.

For August's meetup, we are reading Part two of this book - chapters 11 to 20. Douglas Hofstadter's book is concerned directly with the nature of “maps” or links between formal systems. However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will computers attain human intelligence. Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence.

Dear members, On popular demand, we are thrilled to offer you a group hike in Westchester! Let's all take a well-deserved city break and explore the natural landscapes of the Blue Mountain Reservation. Brynja, our experienced and passionate hiker, will guide us though the deciduous forests and cricket-filled meadows along the Blue Mountain Twin Summits Trail. About the trail Length: 3.3 miles (5.3km) Altitude: 600ft (180m) The Blue Mountain Twin Summits Trail is accessible trail for everyone with moderate fitness. We will walk at a steady pace, taking a few breaks for rest and a snack. You can find the map trail here and here. We will also provide physical copies of the trail map for each participant. Where we meet (ATTENTION - Time sensitive!) We gather next to the Information Center in the main hall of Grand Central at 09:30am. We will board the Hudson line train to Poughkeepsie (train no. 8815, scheduled at 09:50am) and disembark at Peekskill (10:56am). Everyone is responsible to buy their own train ticket (Grand Central - Peekskill) before we meet. There are two fare types for the Hudson line: peak and off peak. You should buy the one-way off-peak ticket. It is of uttermost importance to arrive on time (i.e. @ 09:30am). Missing the train to Westchester would lead to a one-hour delay to our trip. When in Peekskill... The Peekskill train station is about 2 miles away from the start of the trail. Brynja offered to shuttle us there in a couple of rounds. After we regroup, we can begin the hike! Return Once we finish the trail, we regroup and Brynja will shuttle all of us back to the Peekskill train station. We estimate that we will take the train back to Grand Central at 02:38pm (+/- 1 hour). Participation Due to the limited number of people we can shuttle to the trail, we need to limit the number of participants. We choose to prioritize volunteers and members of the NYC Women in STEM group who have actively joined our past events. You may join the waiting list and we will approve your request if there are free spots. For your own benefit - Please arrive on time at the Grand Central and make sure you have a train ticket. It is possible to purchase it on the train, but the fair will be bit more expensive. - Some parts of the trail are over meadows, where there is no shade. We highly recommend you to wear protective clothing against the sun, even if cloudy weather is forecast that day. - Wear shoes appropriate for hiking. - Add an insect spray to you kit, if you have it. - We are not aware of any fresh water sources along the way. Therefore bring plenty of water to stay hydrated! - We may take a longer break for having a snack and admiring the surroundings. If you wish, bring a snack, or even a small meal for yourself to replenish your energy.

For July's meetup, we are reading Part one - chapters 1 to 9. We will read Part Two - chapters 11 to 20 in August. Douglas Hofstadter's book is concerned directly with the nature of “maps” or links between formal systems. However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will computers attain human intelligence. Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence.

Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter systems—to relieve ancient people from having to haul their goods to market. The problem with this version of history? There’s not a shred of evidence to support it. Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that for more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors. Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it.

"The Starry Night" is one of the most iconic works of Vincent van Gogh. It has become so popular that people wear it on their coffee mugs, hoodies and even guitars (let's admit, it looks pretty cool). Yet van Gogh's legacy extends far beyond this dreamy scenery. We will explore his lively landscapes of cypresses, wheat fields and country roads together at The Met Museum on Fifth Avenue. The exhibition, entitled "Van Gogh's Cypresses", is temporary so don't hesitate to join us!

Dopamine is the chemical of desire that always asks for more—more stuff, more stimulation, and more surprises. In pursuit of these things, it is undeterred by emotion, fear, or morality. Dopamine is the source of our every urge, that little bit of biology that makes an ambitious business professional sacrifice everything in pursuit of success, or that drives a satisfied spouse to risk it all for the thrill of someone new. Simply put, it is why we seek and succeed; it is why we discover and prosper. Yet, at the same time, it’s why we gamble and squander. From dopamine’s point of view, it’s not the having that matters. It’s getting something—anything—that’s new. From this understanding—the difference between possessing something versus anticipating it—we can understand in a revolutionary new way why we behave as we do in love, business, addiction, politics, religion – and we can even predict those behaviors in ourselves and others. In The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and will Determine the Fate of the Human Race, George Washington University professor and psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Georgetown University lecturer Michael E. Long present a potentially life-changing proposal: Much of human life has an unconsidered component that explains an array of behaviors previously thought to be unrelated, including why winners cheat, why geniuses often suffer with mental illness, why nearly all diets fail, and why the brains of liberals and conservatives really are different.

Sparking a flurry of heated debate, Hannah Arendt’s authoritative and stunning report on the trial of German Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann first appeared as a series of articles in The New Yorker in 1963. A major journalistic triumph by an intellectual of singular influence, Eichmann in Jerusalem is as shocking as it is informative—an unflinching look at one of the most unsettling (and unsettled) issues of the twentieth century.

Dear members, Spring is in the air and we would like to invite you to explore the New York Botanical Garden and Little Italy of Bronx together. Hiking route Taylor will be our guide as we stroll through the parklands of the Mosholu neighborhood (“smooth stones” in Algonquin and designed by Olmstead) on the way to the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden to take in the Rock Garden, Reflecting Pool, Azalea Way, etc. We'll make sure to take a few breaks for coffee, restroom and, most importantly, appreciating nature. After exiting the garden, we make our way to the original Little Italy neighborhood of Belmont to visit shops where fresh pasta, mozzarella, prosciutto, biscotti, and oysters can be had. Bring your appetite! Tickets for the NYBG Admission to the NYBG grounds is free to borough residents, or can be obtained at no cost through culturepass.nyc. The culture pass is available to all NY state residents and for people who work or study in NYC and has to be obtained in advance. Participants are responsible for their own admission fee (free or not). To make the best of this experience Wear comfortable shoes. This is an easy walk but make sure your shoes don't work against you. Bring along a bottle of water. It can get really warm during the day, so stay hydrated. Arrive on time. Make sure you don't miss us by being punctual. Finding us later may be difficult. Let's stroll! Your NYC Women in STEM organizers

Everything we’ve previously been taught about negotiation is wrong: you are not rational; there is no such thing as "fair"; compromise is the worst thing you can do; the real art of negotiation lies in mastering the intricacies of No, not Yes. These surprising tactics—which radically diverge from conventional negotiating strategy—weren’t cooked up in a classroom, but are the field-tested tools FBI agents used to talk criminals and hostage-takers around the world into (or out of) just about any scenario you can imagine. In NEVER SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, former FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss and co-author Tahl Raz break down these strategies so that anyone can use them in the workplace, in business, or at home.

In celebration of International Women's Day, we thought we'd host a fun-centered meetup! If you are a woman working or studying in a STEM field, meet us at Barcade Chelsea to grab drinks, have fun, and connect with other female professionals in the NY Metropolitan Area. Entry There is no cost for entry or minimum Games cost around $0.25 - $1.00 Remember to bring your ID for the door! Where to look for us We will try to grab a table and order a la carte - Look for a table with name tags on it! If you come at a later time, look for women wearing name tags as well; since it is an arcade bar, we will probably be spread out. If you cannot find us, write a comment on the event page and we will give you directions. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We're looking forward to seeing you! Jenny

In this provocative, utterly original work, Kai-Fu Lee, the former president of Google China and bestselling author of AI Superpowers, teams up with celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan to imagine our world in 2041 and how it will be shaped by AI. In ten gripping short stories, they introduce readers to an array of eye-opening 2041 settings, such as: • In San Francisco, the “job reallocation” industry emerges as deep learning AI causes widespread job displacement• In Tokyo, a music fan is swept up in an immersive form of celebrity worship based on virtual reality and mixed reality • In Mumbai, a teenage girl rebels when AI’s crunching of big data gets in the way of romance

Dear members, Join us on our visit to the Museum of the City of New York to explore the history and culture of NYC. Tickets Due to the NYC Winter Outing, you can purchase two tickets at the price of one using the code MSW23 (more info here). Bring a friend or contact us to find you a match for your 2-in-1 ticket. To take advantage of the offer, the tickets must be purchased online. Full price tickets may also be purchased on spot ($20 each). Where to look for us We meet inside the MCNY museum, in front of the gift shop. We'll be wearing name tags. If you cannot find us, write a comment on the event page and we will give you directions. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We're looking forward to seeing you! Jenny & Daniela

From renowned physicist and creator of the YouTube series “Science without the Gobbledygook,” a book that takes a no-nonsense approach to life’s biggest questions, and wrestles with what physics really says about the human condition. Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely. According to Sabine Hossenfelder, it is not a coincidence that quantum entanglement and vacuum energy have become the go-to explanations of alternative healers, or that people believe their deceased grandmother is still alive because of quantum mechanics. Science and religion have the same roots, and they still tackle some of the same questions: Where do we come from? Where do we go to? How much can we know? The area of science that is closest to answering these questions is physics. Over the last century, physicists have learned a lot about which spiritual ideas are still compatible with the laws of nature. Not always, though, have they stayed on the scientific side of the debate.

'We are taught that medicine is the art of solving our body's mysteries. And as a science, we expect medicine to uphold the principles of evidence and impartiality. We want our doctors to listen to us and care for us as people, but we also need their assessments of our pain and fevers, aches and exhaustion to be free of any prejudice about who we are, our gender, or the colour of our skin. But medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. The history of medicine, of illness, is a history of people, of their bodies and their lives, not just physicians, surgeons, clinicians and researchers. And medical progress has always reflected the realities of a changing world, and the meanings of being human.' In Unwell Women Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women's bodies, and traces the journey from the 'wandering womb' of ancient Greece, the rise of witch trials in Medieval Europe, through the dawn of Hysteria, to modern day understandings of autoimmune diseases, the menopause and conditions like endometriosis. Packed with character studies of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical orthodoxy - and drawing on her own experience of un-diagnosed Lupus disease - this is a ground-breaking and timely exposé of the medical world and woman's place within it.

*** Event premiere *** If you are a woman working or studying in a STEM field, join us for our first networking event in an informal setting! Have a drink, share your stories, and make connections with other female professionals in the NY Metropolitan Area. We will provide name tags for all participants. If you cannot find us, ask the bar staff to guide you. Space is limited, so make sure to sign up on time! If you decide not to attend after all, please change your RSVP. In doubt? Contact us! We would be happy to answer your questions. Cheers, Daniela, Jenny & Yan

Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn. We surround ourselves with people who agree with our conclusions, when we should be gravitating toward those who challenge our thought process. The result is that our beliefs get brittle long before our bones. We think too much like preachers defending our sacred beliefs, prosecutors proving the other side wrong, and politicians campaigning for approval--and too little like scientists searching for truth. Intelligence is no cure, and it can even be a curse: being good at thinking can make us worse at rethinking. The brighter we are, the blinder to our own limitations we can become.

Leadership is not about titles, status and power over people. Leaders are people who hold themselves accountable for recognising the potential in people and ideas, and developing that potential. This is a book for everyone who is ready to choose courage over comfort, make a difference and lead. When we dare to lead, we don't pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don't see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it and work to align authority and accountability. We don't avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into the vulnerability that’s necessary to do good work. But daring leadership in a culture that's defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty requires building courage skills, which are uniquely human. The irony is that we're choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the same time we're scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines can't do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection and courage to start...

Things aren't as bad as we think. Fact. When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, legendary statisticians Hans, Anna and Ola Rosling offer a radical new explanation of why this happens, and reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we let the bad news take on outsize proportions instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.