Women In Astronomy: AASWomen Newsletter for February 17, 2017

AAS Committee on the Status of Women AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of February 17, 2017
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Christina Thomas, and Maria Patterson

This week's issues:

1. Career Profile: Astronomer/Planetary Scientist to R&D Manager/Sr. Scientist
From: Christina Richey 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, planetary scientists, etc. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.

Below is our interview with Dr. Carly Howett, an an R&D Manager and Senior Research Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Her main research interest is in understanding the surfaces of icy worlds in our solar system. She also does a lot of mission work and is a Co-I on Cassini, Lucy, Europa-Clipper and a team member on New Horizons.

2. Neil Gehrels (PhD '82), 1952–2017
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

[Editor's note: Neil Gehrels was a member of the CSWA from 2012-2015, and he was PI of the Swift satellite, which made the editor's PhD thesis possible. Thank you Neil Gehrels!]

"Neil Gehrels, a Caltech Distinguished Alumnus who earned his PhD in physics in 1982, passed away on February 6, 2017, at the age of 64.

Gehrels, a friend and colleague to many scientists at Caltech, was a pioneer in the study of gamma-ray bursts, which are blasts of high-energy radiation that come from deep space. Based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Gehrels was the principal investigator for NASA's Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission, which has solved many mysteries about gamma-ray bursts. He was also the project scientist for NASA's upcoming Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), a large infrared-based space telescope that will search for planets beyond our sun as well as study the mysterious repulsive force in our universe dubbed dark energy. Additionally, Gehrels was a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the group that directly observed, for the first time, ripples in space and time called gravitational waves."

3. The National Society of Black Physicists honors Dr. Jami Valentine.
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

"Jami Valentine was born in Philadelphia PA. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Florida A & M University and a master’s degree in physics from Brown University. In 2006 Jami became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. from the department of Physics and Astronomy at the Johns Hopkins University. Her dissertation research was on the "Spin Polarization Measurements of c-Axis Epitaxial Rare Earth Thin Films"."

4. Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences 2017 (ROSES–2017)

"The 2017 version of Research Opportunities in Earth and Space Science (ROSES-17) has been posted online at http://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2017. Table 2 of ROSES-17 with all program elements organized by due date will be posted at http://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2017table2 For question or comments, please email Max Bernstein at sara@nasa.gov or Christina Richey at christina.r.richey@nasa.gov."

5. 80 Cents on the Dollar
From: Alexander Rudolph [alrudolph_at_cpp.edu]

By Rick Seltzer

"Despite higher education's progressive reputation, new research shows a stubborn pay gap between women and men who are administrators."

6. Reach Back To Go Forwards: Supporting Women And Girls In Science
From: Kimberly Arcand [kkowal_at_cfa.harvard.edu]

By Kimberly Arcand

"The United Nations declared February 11, 2017 to be the International Day of Girls and Women in Science.

It’s possible to think that such a designation would be superfluous in this day and age. Many groups have been talking about the need for equality in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”) for decades. By now, it would be easy to assume, these areas should have an equal playing field."

7. Job Opportunities

For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here: https://cswa.aas.org/#howtoincrease

- Instrument Scientist, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ https://lowell.edu/about/employment

- Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2017/ast17001/ast17001.jsp?org=NSF

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