Women In Astronomy: AASWomen Newsletter for March 02, 2018

AAS Committee on the Status of Women AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of March 02, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Cristina Thomas, and Maria Patterson

This week's issues:

1. Cross-post: The Star-Studded Life of Ms. Dorothy Bennett
From: Patricia Knezek via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

In April 2016, author Amy Sohn wrote a piece in JSTOR Daily on Dorothy Bennett, a woman who was influential in the founding of the Hayden Planetarium as an assistant curator, delivering over 1000 lectures there.

2. 2018 NASA Planetary Science Summer Seminar Applications Open
From: Leslie Lowes [leslie.l.lowes_at_jpl.nasa.gov]

NASA is accepting applications – from science and engineering post-docs, recent PhDs, doctoral students, engineering students within 6-9 months of completion of their master’s degree but not planning to pursue a PhD degree, and junior faculty – for its 30th Annual Planetary Science Summer Seminar, which will be held August 6-10, 2018 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

During the program and pre-session webinars, student teams will carry out the equivalent of an early mission concept study, prepare a proposal authorization presentation, present it to a review board, and receive feedback. By the end of the session, students will have a clearer understanding of the life cycle of a space mission; relationships between mission design, cost, and schedule; and the tradeoffs necessary to stay within cost and schedule while preserving the quality of science.

Applications are due April 2, 2018. Partial financial support is available for a limited number of individuals. Further information is available at

http://psss.jpl.nasa.gov

3. The award rejection that shook astronomy
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu] and Pat Knezek [pknezek_at_gmail.com]

"In the early 1970s Margaret Burbidge was the best-known woman in astronomy and a prominent figure in the American Astronomical Society (AAS). So it caused quite a shock in May 1971 when she declined the Annie Jump Cannon Award, the society’s oldest prize and the only one exclusively for women."

4. Indian scientist's sacking spotlights sexual harassment
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

"Female scientists in India hope that more academics will report sexual harassment without fear of jeopardizing their career or reputation, after a prominent biologist was sacked for allegedly harassing a staff member."

5. Sexual Harassment in Science Takes Center Stage in Capitol Hill Hearing
From: Maria Patterson [mtpatter_at_uw.edu]

"House congressional members conducted a hearing Tuesday morning on sexual harassment and misconduct within the scientific world. Alongside testimony offered by experts in the field on how to improve the reporting process and better protect victims, there was also a clear request by the government: Let us know when universities aren’t being honest about their suspected predators."

6. Report: Women need to get one more degree than men to earn the same salary
From: Maria Patterson [mtpatter_at_uw.edu]

"Women earn 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. Over a career, that adds up: The lifetime earnings differential between men and women is more than $1 million...there is a way, though time-consuming and oftentimes expensive, for women to earn about the same amount as their male colleagues: Get one more degree."

7. Why are there few women in tech? Watch a recruiting session
From: Maria Patterson [mtpatter_at_uw.edu]

"Each autumn, businesses flock to elite universities like Harvard and Stanford to recruit engineers for their first post-university jobs. Curious students pile into classrooms to hear recruiters deliver their best pitches. These are the first moments when prospective employees size up a company’s culture, and assess whether they can see themselves reflected in its future.

More often than not, this is the moment when these companies screw up, according to new research."

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