My University colleague Megan Povey died very recently and although I didn’t work in her area and knew her only from being in committee meetings she was a constant force for good. Megan was also the first trans woman I remember from my workplace (where I’ve been working for nearly 30 years and knew her both pre and post transition).
aip.org/inside-science/a-pione…
Here is an extract from an oral history she was interviewed for which sums up her honesty and principled pragmatism:
"I think, to survive in this academic world, you have to, on the one hand, have a very consistent point of view, you know, on the other hand, be a complete opportunist. I mean, that sounds like a really weird combination. But if there’s money, you would be foolish to turn it down. Let’s put it like that. I mean, I did turn some money down, but that was—I wouldn’t have anything to do with the defense, so-called defense industry, for example. But that’s why I came to work in food because I thought I’d do less harm as a physicist."
aip.org/history/june-5-2024
repository.aip.org/node/150803
#transrightsarehumanrights #transgender #academia #physics #food
AIP History Weekly Edition: June 5, 2026
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