Crosspost: Q&A: Kate Marvel on the physics and emotions of climate change

Today's crosspost was originally published on Physics Today on November 19, 2025. In this interview by Jessica Duncombe, astrophysicist turned climate physicist Kate Marvel discusses her journey from astrophysics to climate science, her work at NASA, and being a writer.

(From Physics Today)

PT: How did you get interested in climate science?

MARVEL: Some contacts recommended I try climate modeling during my first postdoc, so I went and talked to climate modeler Ken Caldeira. We ended up writing this crazy paper together. It was about hypothetically putting wind turbines in the jet stream. If we did that, how much energy could be extracted before we shut down global wind?

I was intrigued because the research question was nuts. I came from astrophysics, this field that tries to explain the entire universe. And I found myself being surprised that we didn’t know how much wind we have in the jet stream. I liked climate science because it addressed questions that seemed big and interesting and expansive but also relevant.

I also came from a hypercompetitive theoretical-physics department during my PhD where every seminar felt like a blood sport. Going to a seminar in climate science, I noticed that people were asking questions about things they were curious about as opposed to feeling the pressure to know everything. I liked the culture a lot better.

Read Marvel's full interview at https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/q-a-kate-marvel-on-the-physics-and-emotions-of-climate-change

In March 2026, Marvel left NASA to work for Project Drawdown, a non-profit organization leading science-based climate solutions. Find out more about Project Drawdown at https://www.facebook.com/projectdrawdown and about Kate at marvelclimate.com. 

AASWomen Newsletter for July 10, 2026

Isobel Romero-Shaw, item 4.
Credit: Cardiff University

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 10, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Ferah Munshi, Stella Kafka, and Ben Keller

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

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: Building a culture of inclusion and allyship for queer astronomers
2. From the Archives: Career Profile: Astronomer to Analytics Company Founder and Chief Scientist
3. Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award
4. Dr. Isobel Romero-Shaw awarded Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship 2026
5. Having a child during grad school is especially hard on women
6. Hong Kong’s first astronaut inspires students to reach for the stars
7. L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Week 2026: Celebrating excellence and inspiring future generations
8. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: She Discovered What Stars Are Made Of
9. The Elements of Marie Curie
10. University of Valencia action to promote balanced participation of women and men in Astronomy and Astrophysics
11. Women Nobel Laureates in STEM (2000–2023): Life Stories, Challenges, and How They Achieved Impact for Success
12. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
13. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
14. 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 the Archives: Career Profile: Astronomer to Analytics Company Founder and Chief Scientist

Today's From the Archives features Dr. Genevieve Graves' 2016 career interview profile. Ten years on, Dr. Graves continues to work successfully outside of astronomy. Enjoy today's trip into the archives. 

The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy and the AAS Employment Committee have compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.

Below is our interview with Dr. Genevieve Graves, an astronomer who left astronomy to co-found a "people analytics" company, hiQ Labs, and become its chief data scientist. Dr. Graves received her Ph.D. at UC Santa Cruz working with Professor Sandra Faber. Following her Ph.D., she went to the UC Berkeley Department of Astronomy as a Miller Fellow and then to the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University as a postdoctoral fellow. Her astronomical research focussed on star formation histories and galaxy evolution.  

Recently, she was featured in the Harvard Business Review in an article on "Why people quit their jobs" (see the "This is an Early Warning Signal" feature box).

For access to all our Career Profile Project interviews, please visit http://aas.org/jobs/career-profiles. New Career Profiles are posted approximately every month.

Crosspost: Building a culture of inclusion and allyship for queer astronomers

SGMA, the Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy, was recently featured in Nature.com. SGMA wrote an article discussing the history of the committee, which began through informal dinners at AAS conferences. These dinners provided queer astronomers and allies with community and the space to share their experiences within the profession. SGMA also highlights how it brings queer astronomers together now through AAS conferences, online meet-ups, and community-sourced resources on inclusion and allyship. 

SGMA logo (AAS)

In the Nature.com article, SGMA states, "Thus, it is imperative that all members of the astronomy community, not just those who identify as queer, engage in advocacy efforts to protect and advance the rights of queer individuals."

Read SGMA's full article at nature.com or at aas.org.

astronomy community, not just those who

identify as queer, engage in advocacy efforts

to protect and advance the rights of queer

individuals.”

AASWomen Newsletter for June 26, 2026

Issue of June 26, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Ferah Munshi, Sethanne Howard, Ben Keller and Stella Kafka

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

This week's issues:

1. Last Chance to Nominate Textbook Authors, Amateur Astronomers, Early Career Astronomers and More for Awards!
2. How underappreciated mathematician Emmy Noether helped prove physics' most fundamental theories
3. "Celebrating a shared cosmos and advancing Black equity in space science"
4. Embedding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the WST Collaboration
5. Job Opportunities
6. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
8. 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.

Last Chance to Nominate Textbook Authors, Amateur Astronomers, Early Career Astronomers and More for Awards!

Summer vacation may be all you're thinking about this week, but an important deadline is just four days away! The nomination period for numerous AAS and other awards closes June 30. Take a moment from summer to nominate some worthy astronomers (perhaps even you) for these awards. All awards posts were originally posted on AAS.org.

The AAS prizes include three that are designed to honor astronomers in the early phases of their careers: the Annie Jump Cannon Award, the Helen B. Warner Prize, and the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize. These are distinct prizes with different selection criteria and rules. All are awarded annually. Read about each prize and nominate at https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/04/early-career-prizes-not-all-same.

Annie Jump Cannon, 1922.
Image: Library of Congress

The Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation is awarded to an individual for the design, invention, or significant improvement of instrumentation (not software) leading to advances in astronomy. There are no restrictions on a candidate's country of residence or citizenship. Nominate at https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/joseph-weber-award-astronomical-instrumentation.

The Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize recognizes an outstanding research contribution to astronomy or astrophysics of an exceptionally innovative or highly creative character. The prize is normally awarded every two years. There are no restrictions on a candidate’s citizenship or country of residence. Nor is there a limitation on a candidate’s career stage or field of research within the astronomical sciences. Nominate at https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/04/nominate-someone-perhaps-yourself-tinsley-prize.

Longtime AAS member Carlson R. Chambliss, now retired from a lengthy career at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, endowed several new AAS prizes in 2006. Among them are the Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award and the Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award. Dr. Chambliss is also a longtime member of the American Numismatic Association with a keen interest in coins and medals, so these prizes come with gleaming medals that he designed himself: a gold one for the writing award and a silver one for the amateur award. Nominate an amateur astronomer or a textbook writer at https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/04/aas-prizes-textbook-authors-amateur-astronomers.

AAS.org

Take a moment this weekend to nominate someone for one or two or all of these awards. Remember, the deadline to nominate is Tuesday, June 30!

AASWomen Newsletter for June 19, 2026

Amina Diop, item 4

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of June 19, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Sethanne Howard, Ferah Munshi, Stella Kafka, and Ben Keller

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

This week's issues:

1. Career Interview Series: Sarah Lipscy on her non-academic career path in astronomy
2. Recommendations for the Astronomy Graduate Admissions Process
3. 63 years after first woman in space, how far has the sector come?
4. Black Space Week 2026: Interview with Amina Diop
5. Groundbreaking US astronaut Christina Koch wins top Spanish award
6. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
8. 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.