Women In Astronomy: AASWOMEN Newsletter for August 31, 2018

AAS Committee on the Status of Women AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 31, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Cristina Thomas, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride

This week's issues:

1. Katherine Johnson Celebrates Her 100th Birthday
From: Cristina Thomas via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician who played a crucial role in calculating trajectories for America's early space missions, turned 100 on Sunday August 26th. Johnson and other groundbreaking women mathematicians of color at NASA were highlighted in the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and in the movie with the same name.

2. TAURUS Scholar Spotlight: Analis Lawrence
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

By Brendan Bowler

"The fifth TAURUS Scholar Spotlight of the summer focuses on Analis Lawrence, who recently graduated from Florida International University with a major in Physics and minors in Astronomy and Mathematics. She will be attending the University of Florida as a graduate student in the Physics Department in the fall of 2018. This summer Analis is working with Prof. Brendan Bowler on the Galactic kinematics of exoplanet host stars using Gaia, as part of the TAURUS research program at The University of Texas at Austin. He sat down with Analis recently for this interview."

3. Introducing ‘Letters to Young Scientists,’ a new column from Science Careers
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By June Gruber, Jay J. Van Bavel , Leah H. Somerville, Neil A. Lewis, Jr., William A. Cunningham

"Pursuing a scientific career can be a daunting journey. Yet many of us are not taught how to navigate the tasks and challenges—giving a high-quality presentation, surviving the academic job market, and becoming a mentor, to name just a few—as part of our standard scientific training. And even the best mentor can’t provide advice to everyone or cover everything when it comes to succeeding in science and academia. So where can young scientists go for practical, reliable advice?

In a tradition that dates back nearly a century, prominent scientists used to dispatch “letters” of advice and guidance to the next generation. In 1936, Nobel laureate Ivan Pavlov offered kernels of wisdom in a letter in Science. More than 80 years later, the letter from the famed physiologist remains as fresh and relevant as his research on conditioning. Countless other scientists have written similar dispatches. The list includes biologist E.O. Wilson’s 2013 book Letters to a Young Scientist and psychologist John Cacioppo’s “A Letter to Young Scientists.” Building on this rich history, we wanted to start our own ongoing conversation with young scientists with a new column: Letters to Young Scientists."

4. Planetary Science Engagement Institute
From: Christine Shupla [Shupla_at_lpi.usra.edu]

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s VORTICES program and the Lunar and Planetary Institute are considering offering a Planetary Science Engagement Institute for planetary scientists and engineers interested in engaging public audiences in planetary science and solar system exploration. This free 1½ day institute would be scheduled for late 2018. Content may include common solar system misconceptions, techniques for addressing controversial topics, simple activities and demonstrations for engaging audiences, and more. This scientist engagement event would be geared towards current researchers, college faculty, and graduate students and postdocs in planetary science.

To help us determine the best dates and location, please fill out our survey of interest by Sept. 16.

The survey can be found at

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/planetaryEngageSurvey

5. Research is set up for bullies to thrive
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

By Sherry Moss

"A young woman contacted me earlier this year to discuss her PhD adviser. He would follow her around the lab, shaming her in others’ presence, yelling that she was incompetent and that her experiments were done incorrectly. She wanted nothing more than to minimize contact with him, but she felt trapped. Starting in another lab would mean losing nearly three years of work.

News stories in the past few weeks show this situation to be all too common. Scholars call this kind of workplace bullying abusive supervision. It’s a phenomenon I’ve studied for more than 12 years."

6. AWIS Urges Secretary Devos to Redraft Regulations On Existing Protections Against Sexual Harassment On College Campuses
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

AWIS National Governing Board President Sue Windham-Bannister, PhD, issued the following statement regarding U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos’ draft regulations on existing protections against sexual harassment on college campuses:

“The Association for Women in Science (AWIS), the largest network of women in STEM professions, is extremely disappointed with the proposed regulations drafted by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. We believe that they will significantly reduce the efficacy of existing protections against sexual harassment and assault on college and university campuses. The demands of the #MeToo movement for greater accountability to address sexual harassment and assault in educational and work spaces should be incorporated in any new regulations. We urge Secretary DeVos to redraft the proposed regulations because as currently formulated, we believe that they will maintain and reinforce existing barriers to the protection of survivors. We at AWIS will continue our efforts to advocate for changes that hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.”

7. Overlooked No More: Ruby Payne-Scott, Who Explored Space With Radio Waves
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

By Rebecca Halleck

"Since 1851, obituaries in The New York Times have been dominated by white men. With Overlooked, we’re adding the stories of remarkable people whose deaths went unreported in The Times.

Payne-Scott helped establish the field of radio astronomy by using radio waves to detect solar bursts, but she was forced to resign after she got married."

8. All career advice for women is a form of gaslighting
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

By Ephrat Livni

"If you’re a working woman, you’ve likely been inundated with advice about how to ensure that gender double standards don’t impede your brilliant career. Assert yourself boldly at meetings in an appropriately low tone of voice, yet purr pleasingly when negotiating salary. Be smart but never superior, a team player though not a pushover, ever-effective yet not intimidatingly intellectual. Calibrate ambition correctly, so that none are offended by your sense of self-worth, but all seek to reward your value. Dress the part."

9. Job Opportunities

For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their

organizations, a list of resources and advice is here:

https://cswa.aas.org/diversity.html#howtoincrease

- Exoplanet Science Research positions, STScI https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/891fe316

- ESA/AURA Astronomer Opportunities, STScI https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/ef8aaf89

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