Issue of March 18, 2022
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Alessandra Aloisi, Jeremy Bailin, and Sethanne Howard
[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. Be well! --eds.]
This week's issues:
1. Cross-Post - Women are creating a new culture for astronomy
2. Cross-post: 120 3D-Printed Statues of Women Redefine What Scientists Look Like
3. Review of the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program
4. Impact of Satellite Swarms and member survey � deadline extended
5. Lisa Kewley named director of the Center for Astrophysics, effective July 1, 2022!
7. Canadian women making an impact in astronomy and physics
8. Conference demographics and footprint changed by virtual platforms
9. Conversation with women at the NRAO
10. Virtual poster session on Galaxy Evolution
11. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
12. 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 Cross-Post - Women are creating a new culture for astronomy
From: Andrea Schweitzer (Schweitzer_at_frii.com) and Johanna Teske (jteske_at_carnegiescience.edu)
By Ann Finkbeiner at Scientific American
I started hearing about a cohort of young women astronomers who were the ones to call if I wanted to talk to the field�s best. If the top of the scientific hierarchy now included large numbers of women, I wondered whether they might live in a world�that is, whether they were just astronomers, not �women astronomers.� I turned out to be 180 degrees wrong. True, they are at the top, but they are outspokenly women astronomers, and they are remaking astronomy.
Read more at:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-are-creating-a-new-culture-for-astronomy
Back to top.2. Cross-post: 120 3D-Printed Statues of Women Redefine What Scientists Look Like
Written by Jack Tamisiea for Smithsonian Magazine
Featuring 120 bright orange statues of contemporary female scientists, �#IfThenSheCan � The Exhibit� is the largest collection of statues of women ever assembled at a single location at one time. To celebrate the Smithsonian�s Women�s Futures Month, the statues will be displayed in the Smithsonian Gardens and in several Smithsonian museums between March 5 and 27
Back to top.3. Review of the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
NASA authorized a review of the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP) in 2021. The recommendations have been presented to the NASA Astrophysics Advisory Committee and to members of the astronomy community in general. The results of this review will next be presented at the next meeting of the National Academies Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics. This is open to the public.
Date: March 24, 2022 Time: 1:40 pm to 2:40 pm ET
Link:�https://livestream.com/accounts/7036396/events/10215150
The full schedule and daily meeting links can be found at
The report of the NHFP review can be found�at
Back to top.4. Impact of Satellite Swarms and Member Survey
From: Aparna Venkatesan (avenkatesan_at_usfca.edu
I am a member of the AAS Committee on Light Pollution, Radio Interference and Space Debris (LPRISD), and have served with and know many of you from my years serving on the CSMA, CSWA and other AAS advocacy avenues.
As you saw recently in a AAS announcement (below),�LPRISD�committee�members have created a�survey�that went out to the AAS membership on folks' awareness of the many impacts of satellite constellations, along with announcing a virtual workshop on March 25 to share more information on this issue with registered attendees.
The deadline extended for completing the survey to March 24
I write now with LPRISD's Chair Jeff Hall's support to ask you a favor. We'd like to amplify our�survey�and event announcement (below) to have a broad diverse reach through the AAS. �Would you please share what is below with your mailing lists and groups, and help us advertise this?
Please note that�the March 25�workshop�is open to all, but that the�survey�is�only�for AAS members.�
We are advocating for equitable inclusive policies of space exploration rooted in sustainability, cultural competency and accessibility, and broadening the participation of communities beyond professional astronomy and industry. We are especially eager to include marginalized perspectives and their needs in the rapid proliferation of privatized initiatives in low-Earth orbits, the Moon and beyond.
The virtual workshop hosted by the AAS Light Pollution, Radio Interference, and Space Debris (LPRISD) Committee is on�Friday, 25 March, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm PT / 1:30 - 3:00 pm ET. Committee members will discuss key challenges in light pollution, radio interference, space debris, and the emerging phenomenon of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit. We will also provide ideas and talking points you can use in communicating with the public, funding agencies, and elected officials about these issues. There is no registration fee.
Register at: https://aas-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FO_0TATvRvSHCgxy-7vCTQ
Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYPtJ_UwqoB--L6MyH0O5mNQlq5Z-AMhBYFzgQ018TlPwixg/viewform
Back to top.5. Lisa Kewley has been named director of the Center for Astrophysics, effective July 1, 2022!
From Sethanne Howard sethanneh_at_msn.com)
For information see
Back to top.6. NASA criticized
From: Jeremy Balin (jbailin_at_ua.edu)
Scientific American describes the criticism of NASA for ending their pronoun project. NASA leaders recently terminated a test project that allowed employees at the agency�s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to display pronouns in their official agency identifiers. The decision affected more than 100 employees who saw their stated pronouns vanish from communication platforms.
More information can be found at:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa-criticized-for-ending-pronoun-project
Back to top.7. Among the stars: Meet the Canadian women making an impact in astronomy and physics
From: Heather Flewelling [flewelling.heather_at_gmail.com]
By Wendy Helfenbaum
They�re few, but mighty: women represent about 15 per cent of scientists in Canadian astronomy and related physics fields, but their contributions make them a powerful force. Here are three who are winning awards and mentoring the next generation.
Read more at
Back to top.8. Conference demographics and footprint changed by virtual platforms
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
In a study published in Nature Sustainability, Matthew Skiles (UT-Austin) and co-authors evaluated the various costs (e.g., environmental, social and economic) of virtual vs in-person conferences and the "accompanying demographic impacts (global participation), participation from women, early career researchers and scientists from under-represented institutions."
In particular, they found that the attendance and participation of women,�students and postdoctoral researchers, and people from�historically underrepresented institutions increased significantly.
Read more at
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00823-2
Back to top.9. Conservation with women at the NRAO
From: Sethanne Howard (sethanneh_at_msn.com)
Join the #NSFfunded National Radio Astronomy Observatory March 26 at 1 p.m. MDT (3 p.m. EDT), for a conversation with influential and inspiring female astronomers in honor of #WomensHistoryMonth.
This event will start with a virtual tour of the Very Large Array, followed by a conversation with a panel of women currently working at NRAO.
For more information about the event and how to register visit: https://bit.ly/34MFmPs
Don't miss our next Virtual VLA tour honoring Ruby Payne-Scott, the first woman radio astronomer and pioneer of advanced radio measuring systems. Guest speakers include Julia Blue Bird, NRAO Astronomer and Jansky Fellow; Bade Uzgil, NRAO ngVLA Research Associate; and Miller Goss, NRAO Astronomer Emeritus, Author of �Making Waves: The Story of Ruby Payne-Scott�. Space is limited!
Register here:
https://public.nrao.edu/event/virtual-vla-tour-womens-history-month
Back to top.10. Virtual poster session on Galaxy Evolution
By: Yuguang Chen (yugchen_at_ucdavis.edu)
We announced our PoSTER conference in the email below. The conference website is at: https://sites.google.com/view/poster2022
Poster Symposium Targeting Early-career Researchers 2022 - Galaxy Evolution Have you made a poster but it never received an adequate amount of attention? Are you planning to present a poster at an in-person conference and would like to receive some feedback in advance? Or would you simply like to present your recent work to the world?� We are happy to announce a virtual poster-only symposium targeting early-career astronomers (i.e. graduate students and postdocs), Poster Symposium Targeting Early-career Researchers (PoSTER). PoSTER 2022 - Galaxy Evolution will be held on Gather.town between May 3�5, 2022. The conference will cover a variety of topics related to galaxy evolution. The conference is designed to encourage virtual interaction, stimulate networking among junior astronomers, and provide a platform to advertise their works to the community.� We welcome junior astronomers around the world to register. We will try our best to accommodate all time zones. The registration is now open on our website: https://sites.google.com/view/poster2022 Please note the following deadlines (all at 24:00 UTC): * April 15, 2022 - Deadline to submit an abstract * April 22, 2022 - Deadline for registration; announcement of accepted abstracts Meeting dates: May 3�5, 2022. Up to 4 hours a day. Exact schedule TBD. Cost: Free! Accepted poster presenters will be expected to present a one-page static poster, and a two-minute flash talk. We will award two poster prizes for each session based on votes from invited judges and the general audience. **The best poster presenters will receive a minor gift-card reward (subject to funding).** Please note that the size of this conference is subject to the capacity of Gather.town. We will prioritize participants who 1) contribute posters and 2) register early.� I would appreciate it if you can help us circulate this advertisement among your colleagues. And don�t hesitate to contact us for questions and suggestions.�
Organizing committee: * Yuguang Chen (UC Davis) * Nicole Drakos (UCSC) * Sofia Gallego (Caltech) * Anshu Gupta (Curtin University) * Nicha Leethochawalit (University of Melbourne) * Minjung Park (Harvard) * Samaporn Tinyanont (UCSC)
Back to top.11. 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.12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
Join AAS Women List through the online portal:
To Subscribe, go to https://aas.simplelists.com and in the "Subscribe" area, add in your name, email address, select "The AASWomen Weekly Newsletter", and click subscribe. You will be sent an email with a link to click to confirm subscription.
To unsubscribe from AAS Women by email:
Go to https://aas.simplelists.com in the "My account and unsubscriptions", type your email address. You will receive an email with a link to access your account, from there you can click the unsubscribe link for this mailing list.
Back to top.13. Access to Past Issues
https://aas.org/comms/cswa/AASWOMEN
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