Women In Astronomy: AASWOMEN Newsletter for January 22, 2016

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 22, 2016
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Elysse Voyer, & Heather Flewelling

This week's issues:

1. Mindfully Responding to Microagressions
From: Joan Schmelz via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

[Today's guest blogger is Anonymous. Anonymous has a PhD in chemistry and recently completed a postdoc at an unnamed national lab. She has since transitioned to a non-science career and is enjoying it! She’s interested in community organizing, the bugs in our neural programming, and the ways we transform our painful experiences into growth and value.] Last time, I wrote about confronting a non-friend about his hurtful comments (see part 1) and subsequently recognizing the narcissism behind his behavior. Although I felt (and still feel) confident that ending the relationship was the right decision, for a long time I didn’t feel great about how I’d responded during the attack. In fact, I wondered if I could have done better and felt bad that I hadn’t known exactly what to say.

As I worked through these feelings, I realized that knowing what to say to someone else wasn’t nearly as important as knowing what’s going on inside myself - in other words, being mindful. In order to respond to attacks effectively and be happy with my decisions, I needed to resist the immediate urge to focus on them, their behavior, and responding. Instead, I needed to take a step back, recognize my feelings and needs, and focus on how I could act to support myself.

2. Sexual Harassment in Science
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

[Trigger warning: Some content in the links below is explicit and contains information which may be triggering to survivors. -Eds]

Sexual harassment must not be kept under wraps by Anonymous http://www.nature.com/news/sexual-harassment-must-not-be-kept-under-wraps-1.19196

Harassment victims deserve better by Anonymous http://www.nature.com/news/harassment-victims-deserve-better-1.19190

University cover-ups of sexual harassment are “just like the Catholic Church” by Jessica Kirkpatrick http://qz.com/598609/university-cover-ups-of-sexual-harassment-are-just-like-the-catholic-church

3. What All The Harassment Stories In Astronomy Really Mean
From: Nancy Brickhouse [nbrickhouse_at_cfa.harvard.edu]

By Ethan Siegel

Geoff Marcy, pioneer in the field of exoplanet studies, was recently forced to resign from UC Berkeley for being found guilty of repeated sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior over his career, allegations which he — for the most part — denies.

Tim Slater, professor at University of Wyoming, has recently come under scrutiny for having been found guilty of violating the sexual harassment policy at University of Arizona back in 2004, yet remained there for another four years and his new employer, Wyoming, had no knowledge of his actions. (Update: Subsequent information has come to light; Wyoming had partial, limited knowledge of his actions and went ahead with the hiring anyway. No formal, subsequent allegations against Slater since 2008 have been made.)

And most recently, Caltech professor Christian Ott, a leading supernova researcher, was found to be in violation of his University’s conduct policy by inappropriately harassing, discriminating against and even firing students based on gender, and is not welcome back at the present time; Ott disputes these claims and denies any wrongdoing.

4. How President Obama Spoke About Women In His Final State Of The Union Address Was Subtle But Powerful
From: Daryl Haggard [daryl.haggard_at_mcgill.ca]

By Alex Gladu

In his several years as president, President Obama has worked hard to put women's issues on the map and on the up and up. He has worked to level the playing the field between men and women for healthcare costs, he has called for equal pay, and he has challenged universities, businesses, and other groups across the country to reduce sexual assault and violence against women. On Tuesday night, Obama took a more subtle approach to women's issues during his final State of the Union address — and they were so subtle, that they just might have worked. When it comes to women's issues, Obama brought up the pay gap, paid family leave, and education during what was probably his final primetime address to the nation as president. He also spoke to his successes and his priorities in other areas, including the economy, national security, and healthcare reform. Heading into the speech, national security was probably at the front of many Americans' minds thanks to news earlier in the day that two U.S. naval ships had been seized in Iranian waters. This news didn't appear to affect the president's speech, although it's almost certain that Obama budgeted time to cover off all of these important issues, including national security, even before learning about the situation overseas. Even despite the news, Obama still managed to live up to his reputation as the most feminist president in history.

5. Crossey honored for promoting Women in Science and Technology
From: Daryl Haggard [daryl.haggard_at_mcgill.ca]

The New Mexico Network for Women in Science in Engineering (NMNWSE) recently honored Laura Crossey, professor and chair of the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico, with the Ninth Annual IMPACT! Award. The award is given to a New Mexico woman for her extraordinary efforts in encouraging and helping women enter and succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as well as promoting networking and communication among women in these careers.

6. ’Creative Class' featuring Jill Tarter
From: Michael Rupen [Michael.Rupen_at_nrc-cnrc.gc.ca]

The SETI Institute's Jill Tarter is featured in an online series created by WeTransfer that explores influential voices in music, design and science.

From the WeTransfer thecreativeclass.tv/#tarter

The 'Creative Class' series highlights influential people within the creative industry, sharing their thoughts, musings and opinions on their own creativity, the industry and how technology is changing it all.

7. Star role models at UC San Diego
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

by Kim McDonald

Quinn Konopacky measures the infrared radiation emanating from Jupiter-sized planets outside of our solar system, which provides a view of their distant atmospheres. Shelley Wright is leading a search for laser pulses from intelligent life in the universe while developing a crucial instrument that will allow astronomers to see distant stars more clearly on what will become the world’s largest telescope. Shelley Wright holds a fiber used to calibrate a new instrument that searches for signals from extraterrestrial intelligence at UC’s Lick Observatory. And Karin Sandstrom is studying the diffuse gas and dust between the stars in galaxies, tracking how it evolves over the history of the universe. These three women— astrophysicists recently hired as assistant professors of physics in UC San Diego’s Division of Physical Sciences and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, or CASS—are giving humanity a view of the universe as it’s never been seen before.

8. Cominsky Receives $20,000 Wang Family Excellence Award
From: Rick Fienberg [rick.fienberg_at_aas.org]

by Nicolas Grizzle

Sonoma State University physics and astronomy professor Lynn Cominsky has received the $20,000 Wang Family Excellence Award for her extraordinary commitment to student achievement and exemplary contributions in her fields. "Receiving the Wang award is the biggest thrill of my career," says Cominsky. "It is wonderful to know that my dedication to the CSU is so widely appreciated and that my efforts to improve STEM learning nation-wide are being recognized."

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Women In Astronomy

Friday, January 22, 2016

AASWOMEN Newsletter for January 22, 2016

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