AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 20, 2017
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Christina Thomas, and Maria Patterson
This week's issues:
1. 'Women of NASA' Lego Set to Launch for Sale Nov. 1
2. Women in science ask fewer questions than men, according to new research
3. Championing the Success of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, and Medicine
4. The stories behind a CV
5. Male scientists share more — but only with other men
6. Star Stuff: How to Hold a Dead Star in Your Hand
7. Job Opportunities
8. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
10. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
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1. 'Women of NASA' Lego Set to Launch for Sale Nov. 1
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
“NASA astronauts Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, astronomer Nancy Grace Roman and computer scientist Margaret Hamilton are celebrated for their contributions to space exploration and astronomy in the new Lego Ideas set, ‘Women of NASA.’” Need I say more?
Read about the women and the Lego collection at
or at
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2. Women in science ask fewer questions than men, according to new research
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
“In new research published in PLOS ONE, the scientists studied question-asking behaviour at a large international [biology] conference. … The team observed 31 sessions across the four day conference, counting how many questions were asked and whether men or women were asking them. Accounting for the number of men and women in the audience, the findings show that male attendees asked 80% more questions than female attendees.” This finding supports that of astronomers who did the same study at at least one recent AAS meeting.
Read the summary of the PLOS ONE study at
Find the journal article at
Read the study of who asks questions at Astronomy meetings at
or at
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3. Championing the Success of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, and Medicine
From: Kimberly Arcand [kkowal_at_cfa.harvard.edu]
A recent report “explores the role of women in STEM and the challenges they face, looking at areas of gender inequality, exploring potential causes of this inequality and offering solutions.”
Read the summary and find the report at
Read a Nature blogpost about the report at
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4. The stories behind a CV
From: Parvathy Prem [premp1_at_outermail.jhuapl.edu]
I came across this article in the Sep 2017 volume of Science - thought it might be of interest.
“Based on my CV, you might think my path to becoming a tenured faculty member was pretty smooth: master’s degree, Ph.D., two postdocs, faculty position. The true story, however, is much more twisted.”
Read more at
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5. Male scientists share more — but only with other men
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
A study of hundreds of researchers has found that men are more likely to share published work – but only with other men. The authors of the study suggest that phenomenon “might have evolutionary roots and point to an idea called the male-warrior hypothesis, which states that men have evolved to form strong bonds with other males in their group because in the past this enabled them to defend territory from hostile attackers.”
Read more at
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6. Star Stuff: How to Hold a Dead Star in Your Hand
From: Kimberly Arcand [kkowal_at_cfa.harvard.edu]
An all-female team has researched and designed a 3D model of supernova remnant Cass A that you can print with a 3D printer!
Read more at
Find the 3D files at
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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
- Scientist, Open Rank, 2 positions at NRAO, North American ALMA Regional Center
- Research Associate, Next-generation VLA Configuration, NRAO
- ALMA Head of Science Operations, Santiago, Chile
- Tenure-track Assistant Professor, Dept. of Astronomy, Boston University, Boston MA
- Post-doctoral Research Position, Cosmology Studies, WFIRST, Johns Hopkins University
- PhD Positions in Solar System Science, Göttingen, Germany
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8. 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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9. 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 aaswlist+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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10. Access to Past Issues
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
