An expert panel that included President Ruth J. Simmons has released its report on bias faced by female scientists and engineers in academia. The panel, convened by the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that women in science and engineering are hindered not by lack of ability but by bias and “outmoded institutional structures” in academia. “The data don’t lie,” President Simmons said in an interview. “We have incontrovertible data that women do have the ability to do science and engineering at a very high level.”

After boosting the ranks of women scientists, Brown University will work to ensure that they go on to have productive careers and leadership opportunities through a major grant awarded by the National Science Foundation. Brown will receive $3.3 million over five years under the foundation’s ADVANCE program, which aims to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers.

Many scientists are concerned about New England’s dying salt marshes. Some suggest the die-off is an indicator of global change. Professor of Biology Mark Bertness, who has been studying the die-off on Cape Cod, isn’t so sure, and offers his perspective in this piece that aired on “NHPR News.” An MP3 file of the segment is available here: http://www.nhpr.org/node/11451

Professor of Engineering Jimmy Xu comments on a new development from Intel and the University of California-Santa Barbara - the creation of electrically driven lasers on silicon. ScienceNOW is the daily news site of Science magazine.

Brown University alumnae Jennifer Richeson (Sc.B. 1994) and Sarah Ruhl (A.B. 1997, M.F.A. 2001) are among the 25 MacArthur Fellows for 2006.

A statewide survey of 578 likely Rhode Island voters conducted Sept. 16-18, 2006, shows Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Sheldon Whitehouse in a dead heat in the U.S. Senate race and Gov. Donald Carcieri leading Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty in the gubernatorial race. The survey, conducted by Professor Darrell M. West, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy and the John Hazen White Sr. Public Opinion Laboratory, also finds a majority of voters opposed to amending the state constitution to build a gambling casino in West Warwick.