AAS Committee on the Status of Women
August 17, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Christina Thomas, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride
This week's issues:
1. Cross-post: The book that fights sexism with science
2. Useful and Interesting Webpages
3. Lawrence Fellowship: Applications Now Being Accepted
4. FUTURE of Physics 2018: Nominations Now Being Accepted
5. Mary G. Ross: Google Doodle honors first Native American woman engineer who helped put man on the moon
6. The comet calculator: Nicole-Reine Lepaute
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. Cross-post: The book that fights sexism with science
From: Cristina Thomas via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
A recent article on the Guardian … discusses the impact a recent book … has had on the myth that there are biological differences our brains by gender that cause men or women to be better at certain things. Female scientists rallied behind this message and started a crowdfunding campaign to send a copy of the book to every mixed gender secondary school in England.
Read more at
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2. Useful and Interesting Webpages
From: Angela Speck [speckan_at_missouri.edu]
The family leave policy from the grad school at the University of Michigan specifically talks about continuing to be paid while on parental leave! I think this should be shared with every other grad school in the country. It can be found at
For best practices on recruiting and retaining women, please see
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3. Lawrence Fellowship: Applications Now Being Accepted
From: Christine Zachow [zachow2_at_llnl.gov]
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is currently accepting applications for its prestigious Lawrence Fellowship. The fellowship was established to provide extraordinary postdocs an opportunity to pursue independent, ground-breaking research in a National Lab setting. The Laboratory is committed to making their experience at LLNL positive and rewarding. The application must be completed no later than October 1, 2018.
Applications can be submitted through the website at
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4. FUTURE of Physics 2018: Nominations Now Being Accepted
From: Cristina Thomas [Cristina.Thomas_at_nau.edu]
Caltech is starting a program for junior and senior undergraduate women who are interested in graduate school. “… participants will have an opportunity to engage in intimate big-picture science discussions with Caltech faculty, attend panel discussions on topical research areas as well as on graduate student life, and receive personalized guidance on how to navigate the graduate school application process through mini-workshops.”
[The website notes that an inclusive definition of "woman" and "female" is used and that the program “welcomes trans women, genderqueer women, and non-binary people”. --eds.]
Read more at
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5. Mary G. Ross: Google Doodle honors first Native American woman engineer who helped put man on the moon
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
August 9, 2018 marked the 110th birthday of Mary G. Ross, the first Native American female engineer who “paved the way for future generations of women and Native American women to succeed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.” She was one of just 40 engineers who worked in a top-secret area called Skunk Works.
Read more at
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6. The comet calculator: Nicole-Reine Lepaute
From: John Wenzel [jwenzel_at_albion.edu]
Madame Lepaute worked with astronomer Joseph Lalande and mathematician Alexis Clairaut to accurately determine the date of the return of Halley’s comet. As Lalande recalled: “For six months we made calculations from dawn to dusk, sometimes even during the meals … The help given by Mme. Lepaute was such that without her I would not have been able to complete such a colossal enterprise.” ... Eventually, the team announced that Halley's closest approach to the Sun would be in mid-April 1759, correcting "the forecast made by Halley himself, who had placed the event in 1758."
Read more 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
- Open-rank faculty positions, Pennsylvania State University
- NASA Public Policy position, Washington, D. C. (US citizens, US nationals)
- NASA Public Policy position, Washington, D. C. (w/ current, past gov’t service)
- Postdoctoral Position Studying Martian Dust Devils, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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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.
