Issue of September 10, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Alessandra Aloisi, and Jeremy Bailin
[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. Be well! --eds.]
This week's issues:
2. Astronomers for Planet Earth: Imani Mairae Ware
3. ACEAP Ambassador Sian Proctor to pilot Inspiration4 Mission on Sept 15
4. Using sound to explore events of the Universe
5. Biden Rounding Out Appointments to Top Science Positions
6. Universities Say They Want More Diverse Faculties. So Why Is Academia Still So White?
7. Meet Nancy Grace Roman, the “mother” of the Hubble Space Telescope
9. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
10. 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.
1. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) Strategic Plan and its Implementation: What are we doing and how can you help?
From: Gregory Rudnick via http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
In 2019 the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) initiated a Strategic Planning process. This significant investment of time was motivated by a few factors. As we moved into the 2020s, it became apparent that the landscape of challenges and opportunities had significantly evolved in many ways from the dominant issues that were the focus of the CSWA in years past. For example, the #MeToo movement shined a harsh light on the pervasiveness of harassment in our discipline and society - long known but seldom publicized - and demanded a coordinated and forward-looking response from the astronomical community. As a committee and community we also became more aware of the ways that we had failed to treat intersectionality in our advocacy for the CSWA constituency, thus rendering valued colleagues and friends invisible and marginalized. Addressing these and other issues required data, a plan, and a set of actionable items to implement the objectives of that plan. In this blog I outline the main components of the CSWA Strategic Plan, the process by which it was created, the implementation steps that we are undertaking, and a call to action among the community to help us with our goals.
Read more at
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-american-astronomical-society-aas.html
Back to top.2. Astronomers for Planet Earth: Imani Mairae Ware
From: Bryne Hadnott via http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
This feature is part of our ongoing series about the amazing women at Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E), a global network of astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts dedicated to offering their unique perspective to the fight for climate justice. For this post, we'll hear from Imani Mairae Ware, an undergraduate student studying astrophysics at San Francisco State University (SFSU).
If you're interested in learning more about A4E's work combating global climate change and want to get involved, join them here at: https://astronomersforplanet.earth/join-us-1 And be sure to check out A4E's white paper on what astronomers (like you!) can do to address the climate crisis: Astronomers for Planet Earth: Engaging with the Public to Forge a Sustainable Future.
Read more at
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2021/09/astronomers-for-planet-earth-imani.html
Back to top.3. ACEAP Ambassador Sian Proctor to pilot Inspiration4 Mission on Sept 15
From: Timothy Spuck [tspuck_at_aui.edu]
Sian Proctor, ACEAP (Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program) ambassador, will pilot the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission on September 15. Dr. Proctor will become the first African American women to pilot a vehicle in space, as part of the first all-civilian orbiting mission.
Read more at
https://www.space.com/spacex-inspiration4-flight-readiness-review
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/science/30spacex-inspiration4.html
Back to top.4. Using sound to explore events of the Universe
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
Computer scientist and astrophysicist Wanda Diaz Merced (European Gravitational Observatory in Pisa, Italy) lost her sight in her twenties. She now uses sound to analyse astronomical data. “By ‘listening’ to the mathematics", she said, "I want to identify the possible X-ray counterparts to gravitational waves detected by Virgo.”
Read more at
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02347-3?
Back to top.5. Biden Rounding Out Appointments to Top Science Positions
From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]
By Will Thomas
"In filling his administration’s science policy jobs, President Biden has now named nominees for all but a few top positions in the White House and federal agencies. That record roughly matches the pace set by most other presidents of the last half-century... The slate of leaders Biden has picked reflect his administration’s focus on diversity, with women and people of color occupying many key positions. However, he also declined to make pathbreaking selections for the positions of presidential science adviser and NASA administrator, which are two high-profile jobs that have always gone to men."
Read more at
https://www.aip.org/fyi/2021/biden-rounding-out-appointments-top-science-positions
Back to top.6. Universities Say They Want More Diverse Faculties. So Why Is Academia Still So White?
From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]
By J. Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr. and Elan Hope
"When she was hired as a professor by Harvard University in 2013, Lorgia García Peña was the only Black Latina on a tenure track in the university’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. But in 2019, she was denied tenure even though her department chair and two deans had told her that she should apply for early tenure. Her tenure committee also unanimously recommended she be promoted, and another committee above that endorsed its recommendation. About two years later, famed professor and public intellectual Cornel West announced that he, too, was leaving Harvard after the university refused to grant him tenure. And of course, this spring we learned that Pulitzer Prize-winning, MacArthur Fellowship recipient Nikole Hannah-Jones was denied tenure by the board of trustees at the University of North Carolina — after the university’s journalism school had recruited her to become its Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. That decision was later reversed, but by that point, it was too late to convince her to stay."
Read more at
Back to top.7. Meet Nancy Grace Roman, the “mother” of the Hubble Space Telescope
From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]
By Briley Lewis
"Today we take for granted that part of NASA’s job is to do astronomy, like with the legendary Hubble Space Telescope and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. But that wasn’t always the case — and we have astronomer Nancy Grace Roman to thank for shaping the space agency that it is today.
Roman, known now as the “mother of Hubble”, was born in Tennessee in 1925 and grew up as the quintessential kid with their head tilted up at at the stars. Her mother took her on walks to observe nature, showing her constellations at night, while her scientist father answered her curious questions. Of course, her favorite thing to draw as a kid was the Moon.
But, like many women at the time, her budding interest in STEM was discouraged. Her high school guidance counselor advised her to take more Latin instead of advanced math classes, since it was more “ladylike” to do so. When she finally made it to Swarthmore College, Roman had a rough start, recounting how, “the Dean of Women interviewed each freshman girl. If she failed to convince her not to major in science or engineering, the Dean had nothing more to do with her for the next four years.” With a series of poor physics professors, she was left to figure out a lot of the content on her own. Her first bit of backhanded encouragement, though, came from one of these professors, who said, “I usually try to discourage girls from going into physics, but I think maybe you might make it.”"
Read more at
https://massivesci.com/articles/nancy-grace-roman-hubble-telescope-our-science-heroes
Back to top.8. Job Opportunities
For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here: https://aas.org/comms/cswa/resources/Diversity
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Astronomy and Planetary Science, Carnegie Earth & Planets Lab, Washington, DC
https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/16d08866
- Origins Postdoctoral Fellowship, joint between Carnegie Earth & Planets Lab in Washington, DC and Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, CA
https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/e39a8933
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA
https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/34fa6fdc
- Theoretical Astrophysics Center Fellowship, Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA
https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/e695acf9
- Survey Operations Specialist, Lunar and Planetary Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/6830?c=arizona
https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/6831?c=arizona
- NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, Space Telescope Science Institute
https://recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/JobBoard/93330e50-7b3a-4ba8-94f2-6f32360aa4e1/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=8aff9939-edeb-411e-9daf-133d1f66fbbf
9. 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
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.
Back to top.10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
Join AAS Women List by email:
Send an email to aaswomen_at_lists.aas.org. A list moderator will add your email to the list. They will reply to your message to confirm that they have added you.
Join AAS Women List through the online portal:
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To unsubscribe from AAS Women by email:
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Back to top.11. Access to Past Issues
https://aas.org/comms/cswa/AASWOMEN
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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