DEIA and Education Activities at the Summer 244th AAS Meeting

By Alessandra Aloisi, Member of the CSWA

This summer’s 244th AAS meeting in Madison, Wisconsin will be held on June 9-13, 2024 jointly with the Laboratory Astrophysics Division. The meeting is promised to be jam-packed with a lot of great scientific talks, as well as opportunities for networking with colleagues and learning more about the state of our profession, equity, inclusion, education, and outreach.

The meeting showcases strong representation of women speakers in the plenary sessions, including:

• Rachel Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh) - Lives of massive galaxies through cosmic times
• Cecilia Garraffo (SAO/CfA) - AI models for astrophysics and atmospheric sciences
• Erika Kohler (NASA Goddard) - Chemical and spectral properties of exoplanetary clouds and atmospheres
• Judith Lean (Lab. for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder) - Variations in the Sun’s radiative output and effects of this variability on Earth 
• Kerstin Perez (Columbia University) - Detection of high-energy cosmic particles as evidence of dark matter interactions
• Noemi Pinilla-Alonso (Florida Space Institute) - Surface compositions of minor bodies to understand formation and evolution of the solar system
• Teznie Pugh (University of Texas Austin) & Aparna Venkatesan (University of San Francisco) - Protection of the dark skies and the space environment

First Timer’s and Opening Receptions are on Sunday, June 9. Astronomy educators and undergraduate student receptions are on Monday, June 10.  We strongly encourage you to participate in other sessions sponsored by the AAS’s committees working with the AAS Board of Trustees to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Astronomy. These events include the following:

Monday:

• 2 pm – 12:30 pm CT: Exhibition Theater Session AAS Committee on Employment
• 7 pm – 8:30 pm CT: Splinter Session Sexual-Orientation & Gender Minorities (SGMA) Meet and Greet for LGBTIA Members and Students

Tuesday:

• 1 pm – 1:30 pm CT: Exhibitor Theater Session Q&A with the AAS Education Committee

There are a lot of additional opportunities to learn more about the state of the profession, education, outreach, and diversity activities at this AAS meeting, including:

Sunday:

• 9 am – 5 pm CT: Workshop Designing, Implementing, and Refining Equitable Evaluation Rubrics

Monday:

• 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm CT: iPoster Session Community and Profession

Tuesday:

• 9 am – 10 am CT: iPoster Session Astronomy Education and Multicultural Outreach
• 10 am – 11:30 am CT: Splinter Session Early Career Opportunities to Learn Science Mission Design
• 10 am – 11:30 am CT: Special Session NASA’s SMD Bridge Program: Funding Faculty and Students at Under-resourced Emerging Research Institutions
• 10 am – 11:30 am CT: Meeting-in-a-Meeting Community Based Astronomy around the World: Case Studies and Discussion
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm CT: Splinter Session Academic Portfolio Review and Astronomy: Potential Impacts to the Future of Astronomy and STEM Education
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm CT: Oral Session Outreach and Education
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm CT: Meeting-in-a-Meeting Starting Inward: DEIA’s Essential Role in Healthy Community Models of Astronomy

Wednesday:

• 10 am – 11:30 am CT: Special Session Towards Equity in the Classroom: Implementing Progressive Pedagogical Practices
• 10 am – 10:30 am CT: Exhibitor Theater Presentation Broadening Participation at the National Science Foundation
• 12:30 pm – 1 pm CT: Exhibitor Theater Presentation Life in Hawai’i: Outreach, Education, and the Community Engagement Efforts of the Maunakea Observatories
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm CT: Meeting-in-a-Meeting Designing Community Engagement Programs from a Mutuality Worldview

The full block schedule can be found here. And please feel free to stop by and say hi in-person if you attend one of our events, or tag and tweet us.