Women In Astronomy: AASWomen Newsletter for January 10, 2020

Gathering of African American women physicists; Credit: Jami Valentine Miller

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 10, 2020
eds: JoEllen McBride, Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and Alessandra Aloisi

This week's issues:

1. Cross-Post: Task Force Recommendations Outline Changes Needed to Increase African American Physics and Astronomy Students

2. Meet Your CSWA, Tiffany Wolbrecht

3. Astro2020 Panel on the State of the Profession and Societal Impacts

4. Sign-Up for AAS Congressional Visits Day (CVD) 2020!

5. Call for Volunteers: 2020 Astronomy Olympiad

6. Call for Mentors: Central American - Caribbean astro program

7. Pre-proposal teleconference: NASA Fellowship Activity 2020

8. LSST named Vera C. Rubin Observatory

9. Am I The Only Black Trans Woman In Physics

10. All-Female Crew Sets Off for Historic 'Mars' Mission

11. Gender pay gap identified at some US science agencies

12. NASA set for two more all-female spacewalks on the ISS in January

13. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

14. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

15. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

1. Cross-Post: Task Force Recommendations Outline Changes Needed to Increase African American Physics and Astronomy Students
From: Katie Eckert via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

There have been fewer than 100 PhDs in physics granted to African-American women as tracked by the AAWIP. Such depressing statistics require that physics and astronomy communities work to understand and change systemic barriers to African Americans succeeding in these fields. The National Task Force to Elevate African American representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy (TEAM-UP) is working towards this goal and below we cross-post their January 5th press release made at the American Astronomical Society meeting.

2. Meet Your CSWA, Tiffany Wolbrecht
From: Katie Eckert via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Tiffany is the Planetarium Lecturer at Youngstown State University’s Ward Beecher Planetarium where she coordinates and leads programming. In 2018, Tiffany was selected for the Astronomy in Chile Educator’s Ambassadors Program, or ACEAP, and traveled to Chile touring NSF-supported astronomy facilities and receiving extensive training about the observatories and their telescopes, instruments, science, and data. Tiffany currently serves on the leadership team for an NSF-funded project developing a planetarium show about astronomy in Chile along with web-based and hands-on resources.

3. Astro2020 Panel on the State of the Profession and Societal Impacts
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

“Astro2020 is the first decadal survey of astronomy and astrophysics to establish a Panel on the State of the Profession and Societal Impacts. Its goal is to assess the health of the community, including topics such as demographics, diversity and inclusion, workplace climate, workforce development, education, and public engagement. Community input is critical for this endeavor, and we invite you to share your thoughts, ideas, and comments with the panel by completing this form. This input will help the panel make actionable suggestions to the Astro2020 steering committee on what the profession should look like in 2030 and how that vision can be realized. Submissions can be made either anonymously or signed. Only comments received by March 6, 2020, will be considered by the panel.”

Submit input at

https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5358271/Astro2020-Panel-on-the-State-of-the-Profession-and-Societal-Imp

4. Sign-Up for AAS Congressional Visits Day (CVD) 2020!
From: Kelsie Krafton [Kelsie.Krafton_at_aas.org]

Every year the AAS brings volunteers to Washington, DC, to advocate for federal support of their science with their members of Congress for a Congressional Visits Day (CVD). To volunteer for this opportunity you must be an AAS member and you must be eligible to vote in the United States. The AAS will cover the majority of travel expenses for volunteers selected to participate, as our budget allows. Selected volunteers will be notified by mid-February 2020. This year the AAS CVD will be held Monday - Wednesday, 23 - 25 March 2020. We aim to select approximately 15 volunteers who balance the program by location, career stage, and experience. We especially encourage graduate students and early-career professionals to volunteer.

The deadline for application to AAS CVD 2020 is 11:59 pm on Saturday, 25 January.

More information and sign-up form at

https://aas.org/advocacy/how-aas-advocates/congressional-visits-days

5. Call for Volunteers: 2020 Astronomy Olympiad
From: Patricia Reiff [reiff_at_rice.edu]

I was the sponsor for the US time to the International Astronomy Olympiad this fall in Romania. It was the first time the US had participated in that largely Eastern Europe - Asia sponsored event (in fact, we were the only team from the Western Hemisphere!)

We are assembling the management team now. If anyone would like to participate, let me know. Note: this is NOT the same as the "International Olympiad of Astronomy and Astrophysics.” The event will be in October in southern Italy.

Anyone who is interested, please let me know. I need: 1. Folks that will help me select questions for the qualifying exam 2. Folks that can help select students and mentor students who have been selected 3. Folks that can financially help support the students to go. 4. Folks who want to be on the board of the US team structure.

6. Call for Mentors: Central American - Caribbean astro program
From: Antonio Porras-Valverde [aporrasval_at_gmail.com]

The Central American - Caribbean bridge in astrophysics is a program created to mentor and train the next generation of students in astrophysics from that region. We hold monthly webinars and invite a speaker every month to talk about their personal life, academic obstacles, and research. The goal is for the students to feel represented, motivated, and capable, especially women in our group.

More recently, we began a remote-REU like internship where students are able to complete a mini-project within a four-month period. This would be a great opportunity for some women astronomers from AAS to mentor and advise one student from our group per semester and establish a connection.

Read more at

First US observatory named in honor of a female astronomer, Vera Rubin
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/07/world/vera-rubin-observatory-scn-trnd/index.html

Vera Rubin, giant of astronomy
https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/vera-rubin-giant-of-astronomy

For the First Time, a National U.S. Observatory Has Been Named for a Female Astronomer: Vera Rubin
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-telescope-facility-renamed-commemorate-dark-matter-scientist-vera-rubin-180973923

National U.S. Observatory Named After Female Astronomer Vera Rubin
https://www.geek.com/news/national-u-s-observatory-named-after-female-astronomer-vera-rubin-1815691

9. Am I The Only Black Trans Woman In Physics
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Hontas Farmer

"Transgender women of color who have an advanced degree, MS or PhD, in Physics, and who have made, or make some part of their living by doing physics are rare. So far as I know I am the only one. It is said there are only six Black American women with PhD’s in theoretical high energy physics. A rough guess would be that there are less than sixty Black women with any advanced degree in any area of physics. There is no social justice point made here, no theory as to the cause for why beyond this. There are few transwomen of color in the world. Only ten to twelve percent of people have a MS or PhD in any subject, let alone physics. The intersection of these sets would naturally be quite small even without any sociological, discriminatory, barriers."

10. All-Female Crew Sets Off for Historic 'Mars' Mission
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Chelsea Gohd

"This past Saturday (Jan. 4) in Hawaii, on the remote slopes of Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world, six scientists embarked on a historic "mission to Mars."

Analog astronaut missions place scientists and explorers in remote locations on Earth that physically resemble cosmic destinations like the moon and Mars. There, the researchers explore and perform research as if they were in space. This both generates important scientific data and informs space agencies about what it might be like to step foot on those far-off surfaces."

11. Gender pay gap identified at some US science agencies
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Nature Career News

“Male scientists and other employees of some US federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), earn more money than their female counterparts. A study published in the American Journal of Sociology finds that this wage gap is largely due to hiring methods that circumvent rules intended to ensure equity, and to higher salaries for the types of position that the agencies hire men to fill, among other factors.”

12. NASA set for two more all-female spacewalks on the ISS in January
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Amanda Kooser

“Soon, the first all-woman spacewalk will no longer stand alone in history.

NASA shared details for its January schedule of International Space Station spacewalks on Wednesday. Two of the three scheduled walks will be undertaken by astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, the two women who went on the historic first all-female spacewalk in October 2019. “

13. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_lists.aas.org

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14. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

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15. Access to Past Issues

https://aas.org/comms/cswa/AASWOMEN

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

2 comments:

President of Ventura County Astronomical SocietyJanuary 30, 2020 at 4:53 PM
We're looking for reference materials to feature a Black Woman in Astronomy or even host a black woman as a speaker in one of our public meetings. Because 2020 is the "100th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage" we've dedicated the year to celebrating the women in astronomy. February is Black history month. Later in the year; October is Latino History Month. We'll be looking for a Latina to feature in an article or as a speaker as well. Any suggestions? Leads? Thank you. vcas.publicity1@gmail.com

Friday, January 10, 2020

AASWomen Newsletter for January 10, 2020

2 comments: