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| Reaching to the stars by Ares Nguyen via flickr |
[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]
This week's issues:
This post marks the launch of Women of Arecibo, a new blog series highlighting the achievements and experiences of women who built their careers around the 305-meter telescope at Arecibo Observatory. In this entry, Allison Smith details the legacy of the observatory, what the fall of the 305-m telescope meant to her, and what comes next.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Arecibo Observatory, and I study the diffuse interstellar medium of our galaxy with the goal of investigating the atomic to molecular transition of gas as well as how our galaxy accretes gas for star formation. I’m thrilled to have a chance to share with the AASWomen community my story and my experience at the observatory. Please note that I’m sharing my personal perspective only (not my employers), but that the impacts of the observatory and the effects of the loss of the 305-m telescope are far reaching. I look forward to (and am honored to be featured alongside!) other women from many different backgrounds in our community sharing their perspectives during this series of featured posts.
The first four children's chapter books in the She Persisted series are about Harriet Tubman, Claudette Colvin, Sally Ride, and Virginia Apgar. The series is inspired by Chelsea Clinton's children's book series She Persisted. (From Item 6; Credit: Forbes) 1. Women in Astronomy: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going!
2. Australian chief scientist on creating the right climate for girls and women in STEM
3. Australian Academy of Science awards inaugural Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and other honorifics
4. COVID-19: A Moment for Women in STEM?
7. An Interview With Dr. Shirley Jackson, The Ultimate Role Model For Women In Science
9. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
11. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.
Item #6. Credit: womeninmotionmovie.com1. Cross-post: Beyond Marie Curie: The women in science history we don't talk about
2. International Women's Day I: Profiles of women making current contributions to astronomy
3. International Women's Day II: Profiles of women who have made historical contributions to astronomy
4. Scientists want virtual meetings to stay after the COVID pandemic
5. Women in Aerospace: Stories from the Smithsonian Collection
6. From sci-fi to science: Film presentation shows how Nichelle Nichols changed the face of space
7. Physics camp has proven benefits for high school girls
8. Empowering women leads to better science, research and innovation
9. Making it Happen: Women in STEM Shorts Program at Athena Film Festival
10. Where Women Scientists Are the Majority
11. New DPS Mid-career Prize: The Claudia J. Alexander Prize
13. Data shows women making gains in STEM workforce but still underrepresented
15. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
16. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.
In celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, 2021, there have been a number of recent profiles of women who have made historical contributions to astronomy and space science.
The Association for Women in Science celebrates the achievements of many women scientists, including astronomer Maria Mitchell, astronaut Mae Jemison, and mathematician Katherine Johnson.
"It
wasn’t that long ago that women had to fight for a spot on the team, a
turn at a telescope, or even just to walk in the door. Today, the
[Carnegie Science] Earth and Planets Laboratory has 21 female scientists
on campus including staff scientists, postdocs, and scientific support
staff working to enhance our understanding of the world around us. A lot
has changed since the first woman joined our campus, but there is still
a lot of work to be done to promote diversity and equality on campus
and across the sciences.
In
this article, we highlight the work of three Earth and Planets
Laboratory (previously Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and
Geophysical Laboratory) scientists who paved the way."
Sadly, Hardaway passed away almost two years after those iconic moments, in January 2017, at the age of 50."
In celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, 2021, there have been a number of recent profiles of women making current contributions to astronomy, astrophysics, and space science.
"Dr Rohini M Godbole, a renowned particle physicist from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has proved her mettle in the field of science not just in India but across the globe. Dr Rohini, who hails from Pune, Maharashtra, started her scientific career way back in 1969 when even a journey from Pune to Delhi was a challenge for a girl. Despite all odds, her passion and curiosity kept her going. Today, in addition to being a popular scientist, she is also a science communicator, an author and an avid supporter of women in science.
Dr Rohini’s work mainly focuses on the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, a theory that describes the fundamental forces in the universe. For her valuable work, Dr Rohini was recently felicitated with the prestigious Ordre National Du Merite or National Order of Merit—among the highest distinctions of France. Moreover, she has also been bestowed with the Padma Shri Award by the Government of India in 2019.
On the occasion of International Women Day, we spoke to Dr Rohini to know about her journey in science, a career in particle physics, her famous book Lilavati’s daughter and her overall experience as a leading woman scientist in the world."
"Prajval Shastri, an astrophysicist speaks about gender bias in the academic institutions especially in the field of Science and her love for research, why she pursued astrophysics and much more."
Interviews with four African women leaders in astronomy and space exploration: Pontsho Maruping, deputy managing director of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, Jessie Ndaba, aerospace engineer and co-founder of the satellite startup Astrofica, Adriana Marais, physicist and astronaut candidate, and Ruvimbo Samanga, space lawyer and Zimbabwean representative on the Space Generation Advisory Council.
"The French astrophysicist Professor Françoise Combes was recently conferred with two prestigious honours. The 68-year-old was awarded the CNRS Gold Medal for 2020 while, in February, she was named as one of the five laureates of the L’Oréal-Unesco Women In Science Award for 2021.
During her career, Professor Combes has made several significant contributions to astrophysics, including analysing the dynamics of galaxies and the discovery of molecules in the interstellar medium. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, RFI’s Dhananjay Khadilkar spoke to Professor Combes about her research and the challenges women face while pursuing a scientific career."
UNSW astrophysicist Sarah Brough and marine biologist Steph Gardner reflect on their experience on the Homework Bound leadership program, a 10-year project that aims to annually lead an international group of female scientists on an Antarctic journey to transform them into leaders that will make meaningful change.
By Sarah Rigby for BBC Science Focus
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| Ancient Roman carving of a midwife via Wikimedia Commons |
Many women in science history seem to have done a lot of work in astronomy. Yet it often seems to be women who were the wives or sisters of prominent astronomers. Why is that?
AR: I would say that for most of recorded history, that’s the only way that women had to get into those fields. So if we’re talking about someone like Caroline Herschel, her brother William was an astronomer. He needed a housekeeper, so he brought Caroline to England to work in his house, and he just enlisted her to be his assistant, kind of without her permission.
William had his own observatory at their house in Bath. It is very expensive, to buy telescopes and to maintain them. Obviously, the Herschels were an upper-middle-class or upper-class family. They had plenty of family wealth. But that’s not something that the women in the family would have had independent access to. So in order for her to have a space to work in, she worked in William’s observatory.
In order for women to participate in, or at least get close to these formalised and institutionalised spaces for science, usually they would have to do it through a man who was connected to it. Often that would be the husband, or in Caroline’s case, it’s your brother.
Read more or listen to the interview at
1. Meet the Women in Astronomy Blog Team!
2. Celebrating Indigenous Women in Physics
3. Upcoming SHIELD Webinar: Fri March. 12th, 2021 2:00 PM EST
4. Major physics society won’t meet in cities with racist policing record
5. AAS CSMA Launches Micro-Grants Program
6. Science diversified: Queer perspectives on research
7. Lack of diversity in science
8. Eight women at the forefront of the world’s COVID-19 response
10. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
11. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
12. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.
They will be working on their own projects as well as working with anyone in the astronomical community who is interested in submitting a blog post. They all have experience writing and editing in different formats and are ready to help you share your stories and experiences. If you'd like to pitch a blog post, please email wia-blog_at_lists.aas.org and we'll work with you.
Read on to get to know the new team!
--Jo