First, I admit it's easier to follow student-athlete accomplishment - the papers online are full of it. March Madness and Tubby and the Gophers in the NIT.
Hat tip to Strib, for publishing of a unique UMinn Student academic accomplishment. Here.
Because of normal reporting and coverage, I expected news of a successful lawsuit verdict award would go with the headline, "With $250,000 award, U senior has a cosmic future." Not so. This time.
Congratulations to Grant Remming. I did a Google, which led to this, this and this. It appears a number of hopeful young careers are starting, but as in athletics, success at one level does not mean an unhindered future. There are only so many faculty spots that open, and when they open and how the search looks for particular talent means there will be disappointment, as with talented young athletes not ending up with a professional career. Winnowing happens, and talent alone, nor past achievement is any guarantee of lifelong bliss. Let us hope each of the featured scholars prospers.
That said, a focus upon the young gentlemen raises one concern. If the gender distribution is the result of individual choice and attraction to a discipline, then that's okay. Yet if it is in any way suggestive of some institutional bias or stereotyping, women don't look to physics careers because "it's not done" or such, that needs a change. Not that some quota system needs implementation - graduate as many female as male majors in any one school or discipline, but any and all doors should be equally open and gender blind.
That said, young women at the U, look at the sciences, math, and engineering as possible majors. Do the work, get the degree, gain the awards, and become faculty for following generations. I refuse to believe there is some gender based nervous system limit to what women can do in any particular discipline - that brains are wired differently when it comes to intellectual achievement. I first would look at social norms, biases, and stereotyping as an explanation of the fact that the elite physics scholars at UMinn presently happen to be all male.
__________UPDATE_________
Gender Reassurance. Going back to another recent year, 2007, School of Physics and Astronomy again, this link, the gender distribution is not out of line. The small sample effect may be at play for the most recent all-male achievement recognition.
Now, back to square one. Grant Remmen deserves community recognition and praise. His award reflects talent and hard work. No matter how smart, one cannot coast to excellence. It takes dedication and work.
