Helena Pettersson is Ph.D in ethnology and gender studies. She works as post-doctoral scholar and start her new research project during fall 2007 at University of Calfornia, Los Angeles (UCLA). In her new project, Helena study dual science careers among plasma-physicists in the United States, Japan and Sweden. During the academic year 2007-08, she will conduct fieldwork in the United States.

With dual science careers, I refer to couples, trying to find academic positions and develop careers on a similar basis. The study will compare how plasma/fusion physicists and their partners work and organize their lives in each of these countries, and investigate how mutual career coping is related to national research immigration policies. My point of departure is that parallel science careers and national policies for research immigration are both constituted with gender as an important structure.

The study is based on three kinds of data: 1. Observations. 2. Deep interviews. 3. Immigration policydocuments for foreign researchers on national and institutional levels. The main material will be collected from ethnographic fieldwork. An advantage of choosing the plasma/fusion physicists as informant group is that the physicists are highly internationalized, publish in English and are therefore accessible for me to interview without me speaking each informant’s first language.

Analyzing a group as physicists is a challenge of reflexivity. Because I am studying another academic group, it will be important for me to consider my own academic identity. Another relevant issue concerns ethics when researchers conduct research about other researchers. To avoid discussions concerning ”essential characters” of different disciplines and sectors, it is important that I continually bring forth an open debate on meetings and co operations between the arts & humanities and science & technology. The project itself can be seen as part of this dialogue.

In this project, I will work together with Professor Sharon Traweek at the History Department, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During my stay at UCLA, I will work as research scholar at The Women Studies Program (WSP). I am financed by a post-doctoral scholarship from the Sweden-America Foundation.

Key words: Dual science careers, gender, physicists, migration, culture, politics, policy

> Read press release (in Swedish).

Doctoral dissertation May 11 2007
On May 11 2007 I defended my doctoral thesis during a public dissertation act. The name of the thesis is Boundaries, Believers and Bodies. A Cultural Analysis of a Multidisciplinary Research Community. The faculty opponent was Professor David Hakken from Indiana University, Bloomington. The members in the grading committee was Professor Alf Arvidsson, professor Åsa Bergenheim and professor Jonny Holmström. Read more about the defence act on Jonny Holmströms blog. Also, see pictures from my dissertation here.

During my time as Ph.D Student, I have been employed at the Dept. of Culture and Media/Ethnology and the National Graduate School of Gender Studies, Umeå University in the northern part of Sweden. My employment as Graduate Student included 80% research and 20 % teaching and course planning.

Read more about my Ph.D project in Aktum Magazine p. 12-15 (in Swedish)

> Read press release (in Swedish)

Other areas of interest
- Expert systems
- The communal knowledge of science and research
- The image of the researcher and the scientist in society and culture
- Networks of knowledge producers and globalization of research
- The construction of history and memory
- Masculinity and technology
- Women and science

Nominations / Rewards
Receiver of Dr. Seema Sharma (from Science Next wave) for participation in the AAAS/Science Program for Excellence in Science 2006. this program rewards deserving graduate students and post-doctoral scholars, working in life science research laboratories.

Fellowships
2005 May-June: Visiting Ph.D student at the department of Technology and Social Change, Linköping University.

2004 Winter/spring quarter: Visiting Research Scholar at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). My supervisor dusing my stay was Professor Sharon Traweek at the History department.

2004 and ongoing: Research Associate at the Center for the Study of Science and Values (CSVOV), Umeå University.

2007 and ongoing: Advising Associate concerning gender and reflexivity at Umeå Advanced Gender Studies (UAGS) and the research program Challenging Gender, Umeå University.

> Publications