Issue of February 14, 2025
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Sethanne Howard, and Ferah Munshi
[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]
This week's issues:
1. Cross-Post Defying the Stereotype of Black Resilience
2. Donna Elbert and the Table on Page 208
3. 5 biopics to celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
4. Researchers celebrate women in STEM this week, but 'still a long way to go’
5. ‘There is life after burnout in academia'
6. 2025 NASA Planetary Science Summer School Applications Due March 18, 2025
7. CERN International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025
8. Women Astronomers Day August 1 2025
9. WGAP 2025
10. 2025 International Day of Women & Girls in Science - COLSA
11. Nepal Ejoying Women in Astronomy
12. The “Picture an Astronomer” Symposium
13. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
14. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
15. 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.
Kaela S. Singleton has pushed back against Black stereotypes again and again as she pursued her PhD in neuroscience and then made a career shift to nonprofit leadership. Singleton also finds herself confronting racism and has found ways to engage others about it, even when it makes both parties uncomfortable. Singleton's full interview is https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01611-6 at Nature.com
Read more at:
https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2025/02/cross-post-defying-stereotype-of-black.html
By: Anne Saker
For a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA, Susanne Horn returned to the book long regarded as a foundation of her science, fluid dynamics. On page 208, the mystery lay in plain sight. Horn aimed to crack it.
In the book, Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability, published in 1961, legendary astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar made a bold mathematical case that fluid dynamics could reveal the universe. But for the breakthrough on page 208, the author gave all the credit to his computer.
“The fact that the curve R(a) defined by equations (59) and (60) has two minima for certain ranges of the parameters Q1 and T1 was first observed by Donna Elbert.”
But no one followed up, until Horn nearly fifty years later, and she realized that the table described a key mechanism for a planet to generate a magnetic dynamo — and thus support and protect life. As she prepared to publish on what she named “the Elbert range,” Horn searched for Elbert the mathematician. She found an obituary, from the month before.
Read more at:
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated annually on 11 February to highlight the critical role of women and girls in the scientific and technological communities, as well as to promote gender equality in these areas.
We have compiled fascinating films based on true stories of women who have broken scientific boundaries over the years and made significant changes in the world. All these stories reflect extraordinary women who have overcome gender bias and stereotypes in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Read more at:
By: Fakiha Baig
Ice core scientist Alison Criscitiello has guided expeditions to the tips of the tallest peaks in the world, but some of the biggest challenges she's faced have been on the ground.
She says one of those was when she was a young mountain guide waiting to meet American clients to help them summit Aconcagua in South America.
"When they saw me, they're like, 'Are you the ranger or are you just picking us up?' Just instantly sizing me up," said Criscitiello, now the director of the University of Alberta's Canadian Ice Core Lab, which studies climate records and environmental chemistry in Canadian High Arctic and alpine regions.
Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/women-stem-internationa-day-women-science-1.7454699
By Adam Levy
Kelly Korreck tells Adam Levy how a once-loved career in science gradually left her feeling exhausted, upset, and chronically stressed, with accompanying feelings of imposter syndrome.
In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic deprived Korreck, an astrophysicist then working on NASA's Parker Solar Probe, of the favourite parts of her job. These included face-to-face mentoring, public engagement and conference travel. ”It really took a toll,” she says. ”There was none of the joy that I experienced previously. I thought it was my fault, that I was an imposter. I had gotten to this level, and I just wasn't good enough."
Read more at
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00328-4
Dear Colleagues,
I’d like to call your attention to the deadline of March 18, 2025, for application to the 37th annual NASA Planetary Science Summer School (PSSS) experience at JPL PasadenaCA. We would appreciate your help in getting the word out to help us gather a qualified pool of candidates. Please share the announcement and distribute the attached flyer to your contacts who may have an interest, or who can suggest other qualified candidatesto apply. - Kevin Frank/ja
Read more at:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/internships/apply/nasa-science-mission-design-schools/
By: CERN
On 11 February, CERN celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. To celebrate diversity and representation in STEM-related fields, we asked six female scientists from CERN to share their stories and their advice for the future generation of scientists.
Rear More At:
https://home.cern/news/news/cern/international-day-women-and-girls-science-2025
Women Astronomers Day falls on August 1st. When opening an astronomy book, it could seem like only men contributed to important astronomical discoveries! Yet, women played a key role too. On that day, The first female astronomer in America, Maria Mitchell, was born in 1818. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI (C/1847 T1), later nicknamed “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” in her honor. August 1 is the opportunity to celebrate all amazing women in astronomy chasing their dreams and encourage girls to consider careers in astronomy.
Read more at:
https://www.internationaldays.co/event-kids/women-astronomers-day/r/rec54lwJOFmuo50fy
The Women and Girls in Astronomy Program (WGAP) inspires and supports women, girls, and underrepresented genders in the field of astronomy. The program, implemented by the NA-ROAD, targets aspiring astronomers and current professionals alike to establish a network to uplift, educate, connect with, and promote astronomy for development in women and girls.
WGAP held its second call for projects in March 2024. The ten astronomy for development projects selected will take place throughout North America. These projects are aimed at addressing and challenging the underrepresentation of women and girls in astronomy from a variety of perspectives. With the $2000 USD mini-grants awarded by the NA-ROAD, and sponsored by the Heising Simons Foundation, project leads will tackle diverse astronomy for development challenges in their communities.
Read more at:
https://naroad.astro4dev.org/na-road-projects/women-and-girls-astronomy-program/
By: Carly Alcala
We asked some of the women at COLSA to tell us about one of the moments they realized they wanted to pursue a career in STEM. We’re inspired by these women and others like them who are helping to shape the future!
Read more At:
https://www.colsa.com/women-girls-in-science/
An Instagram clip shows women and girls in Nepal enjoying astronomy. [can be viewed without an Instagram account]
See the clip at:
https://www.instagram.com/nasonepal/reel/DDj-JIjyUst/?hl=en
This March 4-6, the University of Chicago Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics will be hosting the “Picture an Astronomer” symposium, funded by a grant from the University of Chicago Women’s Board. This symposium, created primarily by graduate student Ava Polzin, was born out of discussion around the book, “Astronomy as a Field: A Guide for Aspiring Astrophysicists.” This book was led and organized by Polzin as supplemental material for her SIRIUS B VERGE program: a series of virtual talks for Indigenous students (grades 8-11). The book contains summaries of major disciplines of astronomy (like high-energy transients, exoplanets, and cosmology) but also contains answers to questions early scientists might have like, “What’s the difference between an astronomer and an astrophysicist?” and “What can I do now to prepare for a career in astrophysics?”
In the early stages of prep for the SIRIUS B VERGE program, Polzin was sure she wanted to offer the students a written resource to give them a sense of the “real-life” work in astronomy. After putting to paper so much of what she had learned in her years of teaching and engagement, she reached out to female astronomers she knew and respected to collaborate on the project. This community effort was not only a way for Polzin to connect with her strong network of colleagues and mentors but an intentional choice to demonstrate the support behind those just starting in the field. In addition to writing some science sections, many contributed messages of advice and encouragement too, which intersperse the science chapters. One such message from Professor Deanne Coppejans is copied below:
“Your curiosity, love of science, motivation and persistence are the most important things for a successful career in astrophysics. There will be ups and downs in your pursuit of your goals and dreams – please really celebrate your achievements and also use them to remind yourself that you can do it when you are struggling. If you ever find that you are doubting yourself, please remind yourself how far you’ve come and that we are all cheering you on.”
The “Picture an Astronomer” symposium is intended to build upon some of the central themes of the book and is intended to foster conversation about the state of the astrophysics field for women. It will feature talks from at least 21 invited speakers (including former Astrobiters Sanjana Curtis, Malena Rice, and Allison Strom) on scientific results as well as personal experiences as women in astrophysics. Additionally, afternoons will be dedicated to discussing the challenges to, and solutions for, the retention of female astronomers, which will be compiled into a white paper and shared with the broader astrophysics community. It is the hope that some of the solutions, incremental or substantial, will be implemented in local communities and that the white paper may serve as a basis for starting similar conversations at many institutions. Registration, both in-person and virtual, for the symposium will close on February 15 and can be accessed here.
There are additional, public-accessible events happening throughout February too! Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Professor Anna Frebel will be speaking about their scientific discoveries and experience as women in astronomy. Dame Bell Burnell is well-known for her discovery of the first radio pulsar in 1967 as a graduate student. This discovery was later awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, however Dame Bell Burnell was not a recipient. Dame Bell Burnell was an AAS Keynote Speaker in 2022, and was featured in an interview by Astrobites. Prof. Anna Frebel is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her scientific work focuses on old, metal-poor stars in both the Milky Way and in dwarf galaxies. In 2015, she authored the book “Searching for the oldest stars: Ancient Relics from the Early Universe.” Recordings of past talks on similar themes from AAS President Dara Norman and Professor Katie Mack will be available on the “Picture an Astronomer” webpage soon!
Dame Bell Burnell’s talk will be on February 19; in-person registration has sold out, however you can register for virtual attendance. Prof. Frebel’s talk will be on February 25 at the William Eckhardt Research Center at the University of Chicago with in-person and virtual registration available.
Read more At:
https://astrobites.org/2025/02/11/the-picture-an-astronomer-symposium/
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