3 PM Wednesday, May 15, 110 EESAT	" 'Don't take this wrong, but you are really good for a girl' and other aspects about being a woman in science."

Joan W. Bennett received her PhD from the University of Chicago and spent over thirty years on the faculty of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana where she taught genetics. Since 2006 she has been a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University and also has served as an Associate Vice President for Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. Between 2018-2021 she was chair of the National Academies Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine. Her research is in the area of fungal genetics including the study of both fungal toxins and volatile organic compounds. She is past president of the American Society of Microbiology and the Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. In 2005, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and in 2021 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This year (2024) she was awarded the Distinguished Mycologist Award by the Mycological Society of America.