Shoutout to Amena Karimyan, Afghani astronomer and one of BBC's 100 Women of 2021

Written By Bryné Hadnott

This past year has been...a lot of different things: exhausting, emotionally draining, terrifying, overwhelming and packed with more events than a person should have to experience in 365 days. Still, there were moments when the actions of one individual shined so bright that they cut through the gray, dense fog that was 2021. 

Amena Karimyan—civil engineer, astronomer, and founder of Kayhana Astronomical Group—is one such individual. Last summer, her all-girls astronomy education nonprofit won an award from the International Astronomy and Astrophysics competition and received twelve Bresser Messier AR90/900 telescopes from the International Astronomical Union's Telescopes for All project. 

Her brilliance and activism were noticed by the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Karimyan was offered an invitation to conduct research in Vienna for three months. On August 24th, just one week after the Taliban wrested control of the seat of government in Kabul, she attempted to escape to Pakistan by land, but was turned away at the border. She tried again on September 10th, and after showing her invitation from Austria, was permitted to cross the border into Pakistan. A week later, Karimyan was invited to the Austrian embassy in Islamabad where she hoped to finalize her visa and begin the journey to Vienna. After two more appointments and intense questioning, her visa was abruptly rejected without explanation. 

With nowhere else to go, Karimyan was forced to remain in temporary guest housing in Pakistan, supported by private individuals, donations from Austrian non-profits, and vocal support from The Graz journalist, Evelyn Schalk. Austrian playwright and Nobel Prize winner, Elfriede Jelinek, wrote in a solidarity statement, “the worst thing I can imagine is holding out my hand to someone who is drowning and then pulling it away at the last moment. The Austrian Foreign Ministry did that with Amena Karimyan.” 

Over 7500 people have signed a petition calling on the Austrian Foreign Ministry to reinstate Karimyan's visa, but her status remains unclear.  As a woman, a scientist, and an activist for girls' science education, she cannot safely return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. If you're interested in helping Amena Karimyan find a safe haven where she can continue her incredible work, please reach out to @AmenaKarimyan or @evelyn_schalk on Twitter.  

Crosspost: Remembering Astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt

Written By Emily A. Margolis and Samantha Thompson for the National Air and Space Museum

Astronomical researcher, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, studying intently at the Harvard College Observatory. Image credit: American Institute of Physics, Emilio Segrè Visual Archives.

On the evening of December 12, 1921, as 53-year old astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt succumbed to cancer, heavy rains fell from the skies over Cambridge, Massachusetts. After nearly 30 years at the Harvard College Observatory, Leavitt and her stars, hidden by rain clouds, parted ways. Leavitt lived a short but deeply impactful life, during which her achievements failed to receive sufficient recognition. On the centennial of her death, we reflect on her life and legacy.

Leavitt was born in Massachusetts in 1868 and was one of a small group of women in the United States who had the opportunity to attend university. She first enrolled at Oberlin College before transferring to Harvard University’s school for women, later named Radcliffe. There she studied art, philosophy, language, and mathematics. In her final year, she took a course on astronomy at the Harvard College Observatory.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the number of women with college degrees had increased tremendously, but there were still few professional positions available to women with a formal college education and even fewer in the sciences. With a newfound interest in astronomy, and the financial support from her family, Leavitt opted to volunteer as a research assistant at the Harvard College Observatory.

Edward Pickering, the observatory’s director, brought together a group of women to catalog all the stars captured on Harvard’s photographic plate collection. These skilled workers were not allowed to operate telescopes, but they contributed to the analysis of data that led to major scientific discoveries. Some of the women from this group, called “computers,” classified stars by their colors, brightness, and spectra. Pickering assigned Leavitt the task of studying variable stars, a type of star that varies in brightness over time.

Learn more about Leavitt's incredible career in astronomy and the artwork inspired by her discoveries at: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/remembering-astronomer-henrietta-swan-leavitt 

AASWomen Newsletter for December 24, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of December 24, 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.]

From Item 4

This week's issues:

1.Crosspost: Astronomy Decadal Survey Reckons with Demographic Disparities, Societal Impacts

2. More Than 10,000 Studies Debunk Outdated Biological 'Explanation' For Male Success

3. Celebrate female scientists with these titles

4. When Will They Find Out I'm an Imposter?

5. How a Prestigious Scientific Organization Came Under Suspicion of Treating Women Unequally

6. Lost Women of Science Podcast, Bonus Episode: The Resignation

7. Surveys of scientists show women and young academics suffered most during pandemic and may face long-term career consequences

8. Measures to improve gender balance are working

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.

Crosspost: Astronomy Decadal Survey Reckons with Demographic Disparities, Societal Impacts

Written By Andrea Peterson for the American Institute of Physics

Indigenous Hawaiian activists protest the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano sacred to native Hawaiian culture. Image credit: Occupy Hilo.

Released last month, the National Academies’ latest decadal survey of astronomy and astrophysics includes an intensive assessment of the “state of the profession” and its “societal impacts” for the first time in the survey’s 60-year history.

A dedicated survey panel was tasked with gathering community input and data on demographic trends, as well as with developing “actionable suggestions” to promote the health of the workforce and improve the diversity of the field. The panel also proposed that astronomers re-envision their approach to outreach and “broader impacts,” including by deepening their consultation with local communities over the placement of telescopes — a major issue confronting the proposed construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii.

Based on the panel’s input, the full survey committee presents 10 recommendations to improve the “foundations of the profession,” spanning matters such as expanding demographic data collection and diversity programs to adopting a “Community Astronomy” model of engagement and reducing astronomy’s environmental impacts. While the recommendations are not binding, they will carry considerable weight with NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy, which sponsored the survey.

Read the rest of the article and learn more about trends in racial and gender diversity in astrophysics at: https://www.aip.org/fyi/2021/astronomy-decadal-survey-reckons-demographic-disparities-societal-impacts

AASWomen Newsletter for December 17, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of December 17, 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.]

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu
Item 2, Credit: USPS

This week's issues:

1. Meet Your CSWA: Karly Pitman

2. Discovering Dr. Wu

3. This female coder wrote the Apollo project by hand

4. Remembering Astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt

5. How to end the hemorrhaging of senior women in STEM

6. Virtual conferences are better for the environment and more inclusive

7. Professional development opportunity for women and gender minority graduate students and postdocs

8. Job Opportunities

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.

Meet Your CSWA: Karly Pitman

This is the seminal feature for our series highlighting the newest members of the American Astronomical Society's Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy. For today's post, meet Dr. Karly Pitman, the executive director and senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Pitman earned her A.B. in Astronomy and Geology from Vassar College and completed her PhD at Louisiana State University. She's worked on a wide range of projects in space science from examining spectra of the martian surface to analyzing the composition interstellar dust. 

Dr. Karly Pitman is an accomplished planetary scientist and astrophysicist specializing in radiative transfer modeling and spectroscopy at the Space Science Institute.

Image Description: A person wearing a teal blazer and glasses sitting at a desk behind a laptop, smiling at the camera.

Describe the first time you made a personal connection with the planets and stars.

I’ve always liked looking at the night sky and playing with rocks and minerals. Because my parents were in college and my father worked nights for most of my childhood, we engaged in cheap forms of late-night entertainment, such as low-tech stargazing. As a kid, I could never sleep before midnight (still can’t), so I’d just stay up at night thinking or staring out my window, and this evolved into thinking too hard about what I was staring at.

How did you end up working in the field?

My parents say that I announced my intent to become a scientist to them in kindergarten, but I had seriously been considering it for a couple of years beforehand and settled on astronomy and geology when I was eight years old. My first exposure to physics proper was when I shadowed a physics professor in junior high school during career day. I had heard of and read about planetary science but didn’t get direct exposure to that until college and graduate school.

I went to a liberal arts 4-year college that had a strong science program where I could turbo load on the subjects above and carry a double major and went directly into a Ph.D. physics and astronomy program at a larger university from there. I did two postdocs: a regular postdoctoral research associateship at a university and a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellowship at JPL. Then the Great Recession hit and jobs were scarce for people my age. Many of us became independent contractors, consultants, and soft money researchers during that period, and I’ve worked in that sector for a little over a decade.

Who inspired you?

A great many people have helped me along the way (ref: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/people/2041/karly-pitman/). I’m currently inspired by the people in our field who make it a priority to help others in addition to doing good scientific work.

What is an Executive Director/Senior Research Scientist?

It is a combo CEO and principal investigator position. As executive director, I am the head of my institution and my duties include leading, developing, and implementing strategic, organizational, programmatic, and financial plans. I have oversight of both the programmatic research and education branches as well as the operations and finance teams (business, IT, human resources, legal) and overarching management of approximately 100 people. As a Senior Research Scientist, I submit proposals, lead my own projects, write papers, etc., the same as any researcher.

What community issues are important to you and why?

The topics most important to me involve professional development, demographics, and workforce planning. We are currently in a period of massive change as our community is issuing new strategy and policy documents related to workforce. Neither the “wish list” recommendations from affinity groups nor the requirements coming down from on high have sufficient dollar amounts or budgets attached to them, and we need that to practically realize the workforce goals outlined for our profession.

Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career.

The first time I won a grant made me very happy. Because your peers vote on whether you win or lose, it’s a major honor and acknowledgment that your work is important to the community. Since science funding is limited, the odds are very small that you’ll win, so it’s also a relief to know that you’ll be gainfully employed.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the same career path as you?

I always issue the caveat that advice is an opinion born of someone’s own experiences and hopes or fears for you. Take what advice is useful to you and leave the rest.

There was a Fortune article (https://fortune.com/2021/11/17/women-ceos-girls-stem-education-shelly-hod-moyal-iangels/) explaining the difference between traditional STEM and another kind of STEM (Sales, Theater, Entrepreneurship, and Management). Whether you’re working as a scientist or in an executive management role, you have to master the latter set of skills too.

What do you do for fun?

My hobbies include sewing, photography, dessert production and consumption, singing, reading literature, and studying dead languages. I have aspirational interest in ballet, fencing, and armored combat. Practically speaking, I watch a lot of T.V. and movies.

What are your goals as a part of the CSWA?

I joined the CSWA to work on its strategic plan initiatives related to professional development, including working on developing a compensation database and improving equitable opportunities for employment and promotion. This is something I’m already doing as part of my job and something that will be very important for the community to have. I would also like to work toward implementing more accessibility and safety measures for women traveling to and attending conferences.

If you weren’t in the field of astronomy, what would you be doing?

I would be curled in the fetal position. In an alternate universe, I would be pursuing a career in something equally as creative and unstable.

What changes would you like to see for women in astronomy?

An exercise that’s done at women in planetary science meetings is asking women who have done XYZ to stand up, where XYZ = leading a mission, winning a grant, leading a team, etc. I would like to see more women in the room standing.

AASWomen Newsletter for December 10, 2021

Cover of the "Women in Physics" coloring book from item 5

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of December 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:

1. Crosspost: Record number of first-time observers get Hubble telescope time

2. Max Planck Society responds to gender discrimination allegations

3. Are female science leaders judged more harshly than men? Study it

4. Stereotype that girls aren’t interested in STEM subjects ingrained in kids as young as 6

5. Melbourne-based astrophysicists launch colouring book encouraging more girls to become scientists

6. Black students take on more debt and get fewer slots on grants, data show

7. For Tech To Hire More Women, Perception Of The Industry Must Change

8. Awards and Honors are Part of Professional Development

9. L’Oréal USA For Women In Science Fellowship Program

10. Job Opportunities

11. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

13. 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.

Crosspost: Record number of first-time observers get Hubble telescope time

Written By: Dalmeet Sing Chawla for Nature

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute

An unprecedented number of first-time investigators have secured viewing time on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in the years since the agency overhauled the application process to reduce systemic biases.

In 2018, NASA changed the way it evaluates requests for observing time on Hubble by introducing a ‘double-blind’ system, in which neither the applicants nor the reviewers assessing their proposals know each other’s identities. All the agency’s other telescopes followed suit the next year.

The move was intended to reduce gender and other biases, including discrimination against scientists who are at small research institutions, or who haven’t received NASA grants before. “The goal of submitting an anonymized proposal isn’t to completely eradicate any evidence of who’s submitting, but rather to have that not be the focus of discussion,” says Lou Strolger, an observatory scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, which manages Hubble.

Check out the rest of the article at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03538-8

AASWomen Newsletter for December 3, 2021

Astronaut Jessica Watkins (from item 10; credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of December 03, 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:

1. Crosspost: ESAC SCI-S Science Seminar featuring Dr. Jocelyn Bell!

2. Crosspost: Madagascar STEM Non-profit Completes a Successful OAD Project

3. Adopting as academics: what we learnt

4. Scientists question Max Planck Society’s treatment of women leaders

5. Record number of first-time observers get Hubble telescope time

6. 'Hole' humanises stories of scientists and activists in Antarctica

7. Discrimination still plagues science

8. Professor sparks outrage by saying women should be kept out of law, medicine and engineering careers

9. Silent achievers: Hidden discoveries in Science

10. NASA Astronaut Jessica Watkins Becomes the First Black Woman to Join International Space Station Crew

11. Women and the environment: power on the ground and in academia

12. Stereotypes about girls dissuade many from careers in computer science

13. Job Opportunities

14. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

15. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

16. 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.

Crosspost: ESAC SCI-S Science Seminar featuring Dr. Jocelyn Bell!

Just when you thought we couldn't add any more Dr. Jocelyn Bell content to this blog, Dr. Bell gave an incredible talk last month for the European Space Agency's SCI-S Science Seminar! I will never get over how incredibly talented, humble, and eloquent this woman is, and I am so grateful to her for continuing to study and highlight women in physics and astronomy. 

Crosspost: Madagascar STEM Non-profit Completes a Successful OAD Proj

From the International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Development

A team of female scientists from Ikala STEM (Women in STEM – Madagascar) implemented LAMPS (Leveraging Local Astronomy to Promote STEM), a project to directly address the inequality between urban and rural Madagascar in accessing quality STEM education and to showcase the relevance of science in everyday life. Originally planned to be held in the AVN-host city of Arivonimamo, this Office of Astronomy for Development-funded project was adapted to a two-stage STEM education hybrid event, a one-week online activity (e-LAMPS) and school visits by LAMPS volunteers, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

e-LAMPS online program
e-LAMPS was held in June 2021 under the theme “Science in our daily life” or “STEM, incontournable dans notre quotidien” in French. Primarily targeted at middle and high school learners as well as tertiary students, e-LAMPS was designed to substitute the planned in-person STEM Fair (cancelled due to the pandemic). The event consisted of online quizzes, games, talks etc, targeting Malagasy middle and high school learners all over the country. The Ikala STEM Facebook page and website as well TV (TVM, Dream’in, TV Plus Madagascar) and radio (Fivoarana in Arivonimamo, RNM reaching around the country) stations, printed newspapers (e.g. L’Express de Madagascar) and posters were used to ensure maximum reach for e-LAMPS. Seven STEM-focused NGOs partnered with Ikala STEM during this virtual component of the project. More than 100 high school learners participated in the e-Quiz Contest and at least 15,000 people were reached virtually throughout the event.

Read the rest of the article and learn more about the the IAU OAD's work in Madagascar here: https://www.astro4dev.org/2021/11/02/madagascar-stem-non-profit-completes-a-successful-oad-project/ 

AASWomen Newsletter for November 19, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of November 19, 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:

Catherine Heymans, item 3
Photo by BBVA Foundation

1. Crosspost: The Impacts of Parenthood Are Not Equal

2. Crosspost: None of the 2021 science Nobel laureates are women - here's why men still dominate STEM award winning

3. Catherine Heymans shines as Astronomer Royal for Scotland

4. Once Shunned in Antarctica, Female Scientists Are Now Doing Crucial Polar Research

5. These Women Found Creative Ways to Overcome the Barriers in Front of Them

6. Lost Women of Science, Episode 3: The Case of the Missing Portrait

7. Girls need a lot more than STEM education to become the next generation of women CEOs

8. Job Opportunities

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.

Crosspost: None of the 2021 science Nobel laureates are women – here’s why men still dominate STEM award winning

Written By Mary K. Feeney for The Conversation

Dr. Donna Strickland, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in physics, glances over her shoulder before entering her laboratory at the University of Waterloo.

All of the 2021 Nobel Prizes in science were awarded to men.

That’s a return to business as usual after a couple of good years for female laureates. In 2020, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna won the chemistry prize for their work on the CRISPR gene editing system, and Andrea Ghez shared in the physics prize for her discovery of a supermassive black hole.

2019 was another year of all male laureates, after biochemical engineer Frances Arnold won in 2018 for chemistry and Donna Strickland received the 2018 Nobel Prize in physics.

Strickland and Ghez were only the third and fourth female physicists to get a Nobel, following Marie Curie in 1903 and Maria Goeppert-Mayer 60 years later. When asked how that felt, Strickland noted that at first it was surprising to realize so few women had won the award: “But, I mean, I do live in a world of mostly men, so seeing mostly men doesn’t really ever surprise me either.”

The rarity of female Nobel laureates raises questions about women’s exclusion from education and careers in science and the undervaluing of women’s contributions on science teams. Women researchers have come a long way over the past century, but there’s overwhelming evidence that women remain underrepresented in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Studies have shown that those women who persist in these careers face explicit and implicit barriers to advancement. Bias is most intense in fields that are dominated by men, where women lack a critical mass of representation and are often viewed as tokens or outsiders. This bias is even more intense for transgender women and non-binary individuals.

As things are getting better in terms of equal representation, what still holds women back in the lab, in leadership and as award winners?

Read the rest of the article to learn more about the discrimination women experience throughout their careers in STEM, from getting and undergraduate degree to winning a Nobel Prize.

https://theconversation.com/none-of-the-2021-science-nobel-laureates-are-women-heres-why-men-still-dominate-stem-award-winning-169493 

Crosspost: The Impacts of Parenthood Are Not Equal

Written By Shelley O’Brien for AWIS

According to research from Mothers in Science's 2020 global survey on the impact of parenthood in STEM careers, mothers are more likely to be perceived as less competent and offered fewer professional development opportunities compared to fathers. 

Research shows that women who become mothers are offered fewer opportunities and earn less over their careers. Men who become fathers do not experience these severe consequences. Consider these data points from the Mothers in Science 2020 pre-COVID-19 global survey* “Impact of Parenthood on Career Progression in STEMM.”

Mothers are perceived as less dedicated employees and less competent due to implicit bias and structural problems that have nothing to do with motherhood. For example, as the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, women carry more of the burden for childcare and eldercare than men. Mothers require support from their partner at home, flexible workplace policies, and affordable and accessible childcare options. However, not everyone has access to these resources.

To be healthy and successful at work, women need to be able to 1) seek medical attention and informed advice and 2) to be able to make decisions about their reproductive health, including the choice about whether to have, and when to have, children. In science-oriented careers, particularly those in higher education where tenure may depend on stepped and timed advancement, the impact of an unplanned pregnancy can be especially significant.

Since men do not experience these challenges, any laws that interfere with women’s reproductive health, including the timing of pregnancy, unfairly target women — especially underprivileged women who do not have access to birth control, proper healthcare, transportation, and/or finances to obtain the care they need. To support women’s careers, we need to support their right to choose.

To learn more about Mothers in Science and ways to support the right to parenthood for all scientists, be sure to check out the Association for Women in Science's What’s Next webinar at 3 PM EST on Thursday, November 18, 2021 featuring Dr. Isabel Torres, CEO and co-founder of Mothers in Science.

*The Mothers in Science survey “Impact of parenthood on career progression in STEMM” was conducted between September 15th and December 31st, 2020. All responses correspond to the participants’ situation prior to COVID-19, and therefore, do not reflect the additional pressures brought on by the pandemic. The answers are based on self-report. A total of 8,930 participants, including mothers, fathers and non-parents, completed the survey. The study brings together survey participants from 128 countries, although the following countries are over-represented: the US, France, UK, Germany and Australia. As expected, women are also over-represented in the survey, which can be common in surveys related to women and caregiving issues. The survey was designed and led by Mothers in Science and conducted in partnership with INWES, Washington University St Louis, Parent in Science, Femmes & Sciences and 500 Women Scientists. Mothers in Science is analyzing the data in collaboration with a team of statisticians from the Universities of Grenoble, France and University of Toulouse, France.

AASWomen Newsletter for November 12, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of November 12, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailin, and Alessandra Aloisi

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: Joanne Cohn and the email list that led to arXiv

2. Paper on predicting astronomy careers from publication metrics withdrawn

3. Astronomers Say More Diversity Needed in Field as Men Greatly Outnumber Women: Survey

4. Confronting Inappropriate Behavior and Harassment in Physics

5. Free Workshop for Early-Career Astronomers Who Want to Do Better Outreach

6. Senators launch bipartisan Women in STEM Caucus

7. Scientists count the career costs of COVID

8. IAU Women in Astronomy working group survey

9. Women in Science. Lessons from the Baby Boom

10. Job Opportunities

11. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

13. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

Crosspost: Joanne Cohn and the email list that led to arXiv

Written by Toni Feder for Physics Today

A strong sense of community led an early-career string theorist to share preprints in a scientifically competitive environment.

Dr. Joanne Cohn shown here during a recent trip to the beach. Credit: Martin White

Before there was arXiv, there was Joanne Cohn. In the late 1980s, she was a postdoc at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, working in the heady, fast-paced field of string theory. She started an informal exchange of string theory manuscripts that eventually became the arXiv preprint server, which has since revolutionized the way scientists share ideas and announce findings.

This past summer, arXiv marked its 30th birthday. According to its website, it receives some 16,000 manuscripts each month, and more than 1.97 million papers have been submitted to date. About 30 million manuscripts are downloaded monthly.

Today, Cohn is a research scientist in theoretical cosmology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Read about Dr. Cohn's preprint-sharing system in her own words at:

https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.4.20211108a/full/ 

AASWomen Newsletter for November 5, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of Nov 05, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailin, and Alessandra Aloisi

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Astronomers for Planet Earth: Michelle Willebrands

2. US astronomy's 10-year plan is super-ambitious

3. APS Webinar: Toward Gender Equity

4. Study casts doubt on theory that women aren't as competitive as men

5. Lost Women of Science Launches Podcast Series to Promote the Remarkable Women of Science You've Never Heard Of

6. This Is How Everyday Sexism Could Stop You From Getting That Promotion

7. I Was Told I Have Career Advantages ‘as a Black Woman.’ Here’s How I Replied.

8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

10. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

From Item 2

Astronomers for Planet Earth: Michelle Willebrands

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 Michelle Willebrands, a project officer for the European Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (E-ROAD).

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.

Michelle Willebrands is a project manager with E-ROAD with a focus on forging partnerships between European and African scientists.

What is your current career and how did you end up there?
I am the coordinator of the International Astronomical Union’s European Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (IAU E-ROAD) based at Leiden, the Netherlands. I did a master’s degree in astronomy and decided to specialize in science communication. During this specialization, I got the chance to work at the headquarters of this office in Cape Town and learn about the field of astronomy for development. After my studies, applying for this position was a great opportunity to continue working in this niche within astronomy and I was lucky enough to get the position. Now, I look at how astronomy can contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and set up projects and collaborations to do so.

What is your role in Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E)?
I have been involved fairly early on when the European chapter was established. I try to help out with the operations and across the various projects, including for example the recent Open Letter initiative. In general, I also try to connect A4E with the global network of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) that I am part of. Climate change and sustainability are crucial topics when addressing the sustainable development goals (SDGs), so this connection between A4E and the OAD is a very natural one to me.

What goals do you have for your role in A4E?
At A4E, I hope that I can keep contributing with the expertise and network that I have. One thing that matters to me a lot is the social justice aspect of the climate crisis. Currently, A4E does not represent astronomers from all over the world, although we are trying to engage with astronomers everywhere. I hope that we can achieve creating a diverse network with voices from all backgrounds and perspectives in the near future.

Describe the first time you made a personal connection between your passion for astronomy and the urgency of fighting climate change.
Climate change was a topic that I think I always connected to astronomy in outreach, but the time that the urgency of the climate crisis really hit me may actually coincide with that of some of the other members from Europe. One of the first conferences I attended in my current position was the 2019 annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society in Lyon, France, during which there was a heatwave. To try and keep the attendants comfortable there were plastic bottles with water everywhere you looked but it was still unpleasant to be with so many people in an old building. The combination of the extreme heat, the plastic litter and the fact that so many people had travelled (by train or airplane) to take part in the conference felt a bit ridiculous and almost immoral. It was during this conference that the precursor of what is now the European A4E chapter was first raised and I joined briefly afterwards.

How does your career in astronomy intersect with the fight against climate change?
In my position of E-ROAD coordinator, I am lucky enough that I can look at astronomy in the broadest sense possible: as a research field, in education and public engagement, the benefits it brings to society, but also the challenges we face in sustainable development and the role that scientists can play to address them. This means that I consider the work I do with A4E and combating climate change as a part of my astronomy career. Specifically, this translates to an educational program that we are setting up for young children called Pale Blue Dot. In this project, we use the awe-inspiring images of Earth as seen from space to teach children across the globe about the interconnectedness of our home planet and the need to work together in solidarity to protect it. Astronomy can offer a very powerful perspective on the uniqueness of the Earth and its climate which can be used in education and science communication to engage people everywhere in the fight against climate change.

Willebrands explores a local waterway, trimming the sails and steering the rudder in a wooden sailboat.

How can the astronomical community engage with the climate crisis movement?
As scientists, astronomers understand the science behind climate change and the urgency to act now. The astronomical community, like any scientific community, can be a role model in handling the climate crisis by changing their own behaviors on one hand and by engaging with the public to talk about climate change on the other. Astronomy is a field of research that has a relatively high footprint, so the astronomical community needs to reflect on the way that research is being done and adapt its practices to be more environmentally sustainable. I believe that this is our responsibility as scientists, but it is also simply necessary to make the field future-proof. Secondly, astronomers can (and should!) use the cosmic perspective on Earth to communicate and educate about the climate crisis. The sense of wonder about our vast Universe and the place of our home within it can unite people and instill a strong incentive to act against the climate crisis.

If you weren’t in the field of astronomy, what would you be doing?
My interests are very wide, so life could have taken me in a lot of different directions! I would love to work with my hands more, making furniture or blowing glass for example, or to take the circus sport I do as a hobby to a professional level. But I suppose I will always have a weak spot for sciences and STEAM fields, and working as a biologist or geologist also sounds terribly interesting. I am happy doing what I do but the world has a lot of amazing things to offer.

Do you have any advice for future astronomers who might also be interested in addressing the climate crisis?
My advice would be to realize that we can all do something and play our part. Whether you simply talk about it with your friends, incorporate climate change into classes for your students, or raise the topic with the governance of your institute, it is all worthwhile. And most importantly, keep focusing on the positive changes we can make, it can be overwhelming to try and create change. And anyone who is looking for advice or support is of course welcome to join A4E and strengthen the movement!

AASWomen Newsletter for October 29, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 29, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailin, and Alessandra Aloisi

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic penalised women in academia

2. White House Seeks Ideas for Advancing Equity in Science

3. Astro2020 Decadal Survey to be released November 4

4. Women’s Professional STEM Societies Rethink Gender Diversity

5. A Perspective on the James Webb Space Telescope

6. Job Opportunities

7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

9. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

AASWomen Newsletter for October 22, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women           

Issue of October 22, 2021

eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailin, and Alessandra Aloisi

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: UF files motion to dismiss complaint of former astronomy Ph.D. student in ongoing lawsuit

2. Astronomers for Planet Earth: Gina Maffey

Dr. Gina Maffey (Item #2) 

3. Evaluating the Role of Scientific Awards
4. AAS to Establish a Working Group on Ethics
5. Eight career tips from Nobel Laureates
6. Dr. Sian Proctor, the First Black Woman to Pilot a Spacecraft, Makes
History: “A Phoenix Rising”
7. Book on Gendered Abuse in Academia and Connecting to Women in STEM
8. Fellowships at the Cosmic DAWN Center, University of Copenhagen  
9. Job Opportunities
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.

Crosspost: UF files motion to dismiss complaint of former astronomy Ph.D. student in ongoing lawsuit

Update: In April 2022, the university’s internal investigation found that the allegations were unsubstantiated and no sanctions were issued against the faculty member. The allegations on Twitter have since been deleted.

Written By: Grace Blair for WUFT News

<embedded tweet deleted, 7/12/2023>

The University of Florida filed a dismissal on Thursday afternoon to a complaint made by former astronomy doctorate student Sankalp Gilda in an ongoing lawsuit regarding Gilda’s reported mistreatment by his former program supervisor.

The legal complaint was filed by Gilda on Sept. 6 based on “unpaid overtime wages,” according to the complaint obtained through public records. UF filed a motion to dismiss the complaint after citing failure to state a claim, according to the dismissal.

Gilda, who worked under assistant professor Zachary Slepian for three years in the astronomy program, discussed some of his experiences in a tweet made on Sept. 15. In his post, which consisted of 24 tweets, Gilda described multiple instances of Slepian engaging in during his time as Gilda’s adviser, as well as the circumstances that led Gilda to sue UF for improper overtime compensation.

Gilda also announced through Twitter that he filed charges against the UF astronomy and astrophysics department on the basis of “racism, harassment, and retaliation.” Gilda filed a case through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about Slepian’s behavior. The report consisted of Gilda’s experiences as a doctoral candidate from August 2015 to August 2021 and the various forms of “harassment and discrimination” that he faced during that time based on “national origin, race, and disabilities, unpaid wages, ADA violations, harassment, promissory estoppel, and intentional infliction of emotional damage.”

<edited, 7/12/2023> Read more about the case here:

https://www.wuft.org/news/2021/10/18/uf-files-motion-to-dismiss-complaint-of-former-astronomy-ph-d-student-in-ongoing-lawsuit/ 

Astronomers for Planet Earth: Gina Maffey

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 Dr. Gina Maffey, an interdisciplinary science communicator and founder of the Wildeor Foundation.

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.

Dr. Gina Maffey is an experienced science communicator and interdisciplinary scientist with a guiding passion for the natural world. 

What is your current career and how did you end up there?

I currently sit as the chair of the Wildeor Foundation—a charity with the aim of Bringing Nature Back to Life. It’s been a very windy road getting here, but the path has never veered too far from environmental topics. Academically, I started in the UK with a BSc in Zoology, Masters in Ecology and Environmental Sustainability and a PhD in Environmental Science. However, during this time I also built up a portfolio of experience in science communication, including a British Science Association Media Fellowship. I began to wonder whether moving to another discipline would offer an opportunity to really understand and improve my science communication skill set. After working in South America for two years in environmental communication I accepted a part-time post in the Netherlands at the Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE)—a European Radio Astronomy Institute—where I was introduced to a whole new universe of concepts, ideas and terminology. Throughout my time at JIVE I maintained a strong connection with the natural world, also working with conservation and outdoor skills organizations - and even spending a year living outside in some of the wonderful natural areas that the Netherlands has to offer. I was inspired by many of the conversations that I had with the astronomy community and a small group of us came together to establish the Wildeor Foundation, where we are keen to explore cross-disciplinary approaches to nature connection in everyday life.

What is your role in Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E)?
I am one of the co-founders of the European arm of A4E. This began in 2019 at the European Astronomical Society conference in Lyon—what started as a conversation with one astronomer on climate change quickly snowballed into our first official meeting by the end of the week. As we were establishing ourselves we came across the newly formed Astronomers for Planet Earth in the US; at this point, we met online and joined forces to form an international group—after all, there is only one planet we are fighting for! I continue to be actively involved in many different aspects of A4E, and currently this is focused on much of the background framework to ensure the long term sustainability of the movement.

What goals do you have for your role in A4E?
I really want to work towards astronomers having a key voice in the environmental movement. I continue to be inspired by the dedication and depth that astronomers engage with the climate crisis, you (astronomers) speak the language of data and you can see that data as part of a much greater and complex picture. The climate crisis may be our global society’s most pressing problem, but it sits alongside a plethora of environmental issues that require as many voices as possible to collectively shout that something needs to be done, now.

Dr. Maffey observes the delicate beauty of an elephant hawk moth.

Describe the first time you made a personal connection between your passion for astronomy and the urgency of fighting climate change.
For me, this sits the other way round. My passion for environmental issues has never waned, and engaging with the astronomy sector has only stimulated me further. To pin an actual moment in time is difficult, but the greatest catalyst was undoubtedly meeting the wonderful group of people at the 2019 European Astronomical Society in Lyon. Many of these individuals have become friends through the A4E movement and that social interaction in turn serves as an incredible motivator.

How does your career in astronomy intersect with the fight against climate change?
It has steered my career in ways that I could never have anticipated. I have been lucky enough to present and write about astronomy and climate change, which forces me to review and reflect on my own thinking and I am continually challenged by the discussions that occur through A4E. Above all though, it is influencing how the Wildeor Foundation is growing. It is now less an intersection and more a parallel, conjoined path.

How can the astronomical community engage with the climate crisis movement?
By understanding how environmental change will affect the conduct of astronomy. It is somewhat misleading to think of environmental topics under a disciplinary label. The environment should form the foundation of each action and decision that we take— what will the long term impact be? What is the true economic cost? Who will be affected by the decisions that we make now? Asking these kinds of questions embeds astronomy in both (local and global) social and environmental frameworks. It also demonstrates that there is a lot of room for change, and that, at the very least, astronomers have the power to make those changes in their own field.

If you weren’t in the field of astronomy, what would you be doing?
Investment banking.

No, I jest. I still think of myself as an outsider in astronomy, just as I do in ecology, environmental science and science communication. For me, the labels mean little, but my interest for nature runs deep. I know that wherever I was, even in investment banking, I would be fighting on behalf of the natural world.

Do you have any advice for future astronomers who might also be interested in addressing the climate crisis?
Join Astronomers for Planet Earth.
Start asking questions and challenge the status quo.
Finally, don’t be intimidated, there is an overwhelming amount of data on climate change, there are climate scientists, climate communicators, climate policy officers… the list goes on. It is impossible to read and know everything, the unifying factor is that those in the field trust what the data is telling them and understand that change has to happen now. The best thing you can do is support them and amplify their message.

AASWomen Newsletter for October 15, 2021

The James Webb Space Telescope is expected to be launched in December 2021 (from item 3, courtesy: NASA)

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 15, 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:

1. Astronomers from Planet Earth: Victoria Grinberg

2. Researchers voice dismay at all-male science Nobels

3. NASA hit by resignation over its handling of investigation into telescope renaming

4. New Primary Source Set on Women in Science and Technology

5. Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund open for applications

6. Job Opportunities

7. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

9. 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.