AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of February 5, 2016
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Meredith Hughes, & Elysse Voyer
This week's issues:
1. Student Highlight: Moiya McTier
2. Career Profiles: Spectroscopist to Technology Solutions Scientist to Astronomy Professor
3. The Status of Mental Health in Planetary Science
4. If Male Scientists Were Written About Like Female Scientists
5. Job Opportunities
6. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
8. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
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1. Student Highlight: Moiya McTier
From: Jessica Kirkpatrick via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
[This post also appears on the Astronomy in Color blog. – Ed.]
Meet Moiya McTier, recipient of the 2016 Chambliss Student Achievement Award. This award is granted every year by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to recognize exemplary research by undergraduate and graduate students. Moiya is currently a senior at Harvard University. She won this award for her work on determining exoplanet habitability using orbital eccentricity. She conducted this research last summer, when she was a member of the Harvard Banneker Institute. This work ties directly to her senior thesis, a science fiction novel set on the planet she studied, which she eventually hopes to get published. After graduation, Moiya plans to get her PhD in astrophysics and, if she still has any energy left, a master’s degree in medieval European folklore.
Read her interview at
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2. Career Profiles: Spectroscopist to Technology Solutions Scientist to Astronomy Professor
From: Stuart Vogel via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy and the AAS Employment Committee have compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.
Below is our interview with Jessica Sunshine, a spectroscopist turned industry scientist turned astronomy professor. After receiving her PhD in geological sciences, she chose to enter industry in the technology solutions sector and later returned to academia as a professor. She describes some of the differences between in working environment between the technology and academic sectors. If you have questions, suggestions, advice to share, etc. about this career path, please leave a comment below.
Read more at
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3. The Status of Mental Health in Planetary Science
From: Angela Zalucha via womeninplanetaryscience.wordpress.com
I meant to write this article yesterday. That’s not a statement of procrastination. I suffer from depression, which was triggered a few years ago by events directly related to my career. The symptoms of depression are different from person to person. For me, I have to go lay in bed, in silence. Tasks like getting up to heat leftover pizza up in the microwave are insurmountable. So I wasn’t exactly up to the task of writing a blog article, even if it was about the condition I suffer from.
… As scientists, our minds are our most important trait. Where are our high-profile, professional trainers? Why don’t we get put on the injury list when our minds are hurt?
Read more at
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4. If Male Scientists Were Written About Like Female Scientists
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
@Daurmith has written short biographies “for male scientists as if they had been written about women”. They wrote and tweeted the biographies because they were “a bit irked” by a piece about Sarah Howes, a British poet, who recently won TS Eliot Prize; the article about her “focused more on her looks than poetry.”
Read some of the biographies at
Find out how to “avoid gratuitous gender profiles of female scientists” at
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5. Job Opportunities
For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here: http://www.aas.org/cswa/diversity.html#howtoincrease
- Astronomer (Program Director), National Science Foundation
- Astronomy Instructor, Colorado State University (Fort Collins)
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6. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org
All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.
When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.
Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.
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7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
Join AAS Women List by email:
Send email to aaswlist+subscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have subscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.
Be sure to follow the instructions in the confirmation email. (Just reply back to the email list)
To unsubscribe by email:
Send email to aawlist+unsubscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have UNsubscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.
To join or leave AASWomen via web, or change your membership settings:
You will have to create a Google Account if you do not already have one, using https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en
Google Groups Subscribe Help:
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8. Access to Past Issues
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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