Women In Astronomy: AASWomen Newsletter for June 29, 2018

AAS Committee on the Status of Women AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of June 29, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Cristina Thomas, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride

This week's issues:

1. Cross-Post: 35 Years Since Sally Rode
From: Nicolle Zellner via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

June 18, 2018 marked 35 years since Sally Ride's historic flight into space.

I was a young girl at the time of Sally's flight, and I don't recall much of the hype surrounding the launch. However, looking back and seeing how she and her five female astronaut classmates (and 29 male classmates) changed - in fact, equalized and enabled - spaceflight probably had some effect on my career trajectory. I do know that by working on the ultraviolet telescope mission, STS-67, and meeting Tammy Jernigan (astronomer) and Wendy Lawrence (pilot), two astronauts who flew on that mission, my plans to do research in space science were solidified.

2. UK's forgotten woman astronomer honoured
From: John Mather [johncm12_at_gmail.com]

"The Royal Observatory Greenwich (ROG) is to start studying the sky again after a break of 60 years.

British astronomy's historic home has installed new telescopes in its Grade II listed Altazimuth Pavilion, which has also undergone a restoration."

The newly restored observatory is in honor of Annie Maunder, now getting overdue recognition for her work on the Sun.

3. Committee On Space Research (COSPAR) awards male scientists
From: Meg Urry [meg.urry_at_yale.edu]

Here is a press release about all the awards being given out at the COSPAR meeting. As far as I could see (and I can't interpret every name), the awardees are all men.

Read the press release at

https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/sites/default/files/press_release_cospar_awards_2018.pdf

4. America's First Female Mapmaker
From: Kevin Marvel [kevin.marvel_at_aas.org]

"A recent item for sale in the rare-book trade caught my eye. Boston Rare Maps had a series of twelve maps created by America's first female mapmaker, Emma Willard. They were to accompany a textbook she had written, first issued in 1828. The maps for sale were from the second edition.

Willard is well-known to historians of the early republic as a pioneering educator, the founder of what is now called the Emma Willard School, in Troy, New York. But she was also a versatile writer, publisher and, yes, mapmaker."

5. Women in Science: Portraits, Archive Material, Trails and Talks
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

If you find yourself in the United Kingdom before the end of December, the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford has several exhibits and events showcasing the role of women in science.

Learn more and see the schedule at

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/exhibits/

6. 3rd Annual Women of Color STEM Entrepreneurship Conference
From: John Mather [john.c.mather_at_nasa.gov]

"The 2018 Women of Color STEM Entrepreneurship Conference will be the third installment of the conference since its inception. The conference will take place at the Beus Center for Law and Society, located at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, October 4–6, 2018. The theme of this year's conference is Governance and Innovation in STEM which rose out of the collaboration between Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology (CGEST) and the Center for Law, Science & Innovation (LSI)."

Read about the conference at

https://cgestblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/28/cgest-summer-newsletter/#conference

7. Use of Surname for males more than females may be sign of unintentional bias
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

"Two researchers at Cornell University report that people are more likely to refer to men by surname only (last name) than women. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Stav Atir and Melissa Ferguson suggest that such labeling may lead to unintentional bias.

During the last presidential race in the U.S., the candidates from both major parties were given one-name monikers—doing so made referencing them easier. But notably, Hillary Clinton was called Hillary, while Donald Trump was called Trump. Why the difference? The researchers with this new effort wondered why as well, prompting them to look into the prevalence of men being referenced by surname versus women."

8. Women Ask for Raises as Often as Men, but Are Less Likely to Get Them
From: Elysse Voyer [elysse.voyer_at_gmail.com]

"It's a concrete fact that women earn less than men do...The crucial question remains its cause. One common explanation is that women are less likely to negotiate their salaries...Gaining access to a more recent, and more detailed, dataset allowed us to investigate this question anew. What we found contradicts previous research. The bottom line of our study is that women do 'ask' just as often as men. They just don't 'get.'"

9. Visibility matters: A conversation with the co-founder of 500 Queer Scientists
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

"As one of just a handful of scorpion researchers worldwide, Lauren Esposito is no stranger to feeling like a rarity in academia. But it was her experiences as a queer researcher that made her feel isolated at work. She's not alone. Studies of sexual minority scientists have found that researchers at all levels—from undergraduate students to faculty members—report feeling excluded, intimidated, or harassed. These experiences exact a heavy toll: A 2014 survey found that nearly 70 percent of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) faculty members who were "out" felt uncomfortable in their workplaces and were more likely to be discriminated against by colleagues. Another study found that among undergraduates, sexual minority students were more likely to have worked in labs but less likely to remain in STEM disciplines."

10. 'Robotics Engineer Barbie' aims to encourage more girls to pursue STEM careers
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

"She hasn't given up her dream house, but the new Barbie knows how to code like a boss...The team [from Mattel] worked closely with female engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to ensure the doll, priced at $13.99, looked authentic."

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	Katie Eckert
	Regina Jorgenson
	JoEllen McBride
	Christina Richey
	Joan Schmelz

Friday, June 29, 2018

AASWomen Newsletter for June 29, 2018