Issue of May 31, 2019
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, JoEllen McBride, and Alessandra Aloisi (guest ed.)
Today's guest editor is Alessandra Aloisi. Alessandra studies stars and gas in nearby star-forming galaxies with UV/optical/NIR imaging and UV/optical spectroscopy to infer their chemical and evolutionary state. She received her PhD from Bologna University (Italy) in 1999. She then landed in the US and launched her career as postdoc at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), and as associate research scientist at Johns Hopkins University. Alessandra joined the research staff at STScI in 2003, working first for the European Space Agency (ESA) and transferring to a position with the Association of the Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) in 2009. At STScI, Alessandra started as instrument scientist for the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, and became the lead for the team responsible for the calibration, operations, and user support of these spectrographs just before the Hubble Servicing Mission 4. She then moved to be the Deputy Division Head of the Operations & Engineering Division, and is now the Head of the Science Mission Office where she oversees the science career and infrastructure of STScI as well as HST and JWST science policies.
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This week's issues:
1. Maunakea Gender Equity and Inclusion Survey
2. The Hidden Heroines of Chaos
3. Commentary: Celebrating and supporting African American women in physics
4. 8 Tips For Generating Creative Ideas From The Mind Of A 'Genius' Woman Scientist
5. Astronomer Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz appointed to endowed chair for diversity in astronomy
6. Mary Sherman Morgan, The World’s First Woman Rocket Scientist
7. Eastern European universities score highly in university gender ranking
8. Commentary: Diversity in physics: Are you part of the problem?
9. I Am Fed Up With All-Male Panels. Here’s How We Change Them.
10. An astronomer’s poetic soul meets Dante’s scientific mind
11. 'Alien' turns 40: How the classic changed the game for women in action films
12. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
13. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
14. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
1. Maunakea Gender Equity and Inclusion Survey
From: JoeEllen McBride via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
By Jessica Dempsey
“Maunakea has the largest collective of astronomers in a single location - and the largest number of female scientists and engineers. After network and career building initiatives such as the women of Maunakea annual events - a survey was initiated to poll the demographics, experiences, and attitudes of the Observatories and astronomical institutes on the Hawaii islands to the challenges of equity and inclusion in our community.”
Read more at
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
Back to top.2. The Hidden Heroines of Chaos
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]
By Joshua Sokol
“Two women programmers played a pivotal role in the birth of chaos theory. Their previously untold story illustrates the changing status of computation in science.”
https://www.quantamagazine.org/hidden-heroines-of-chaos-ellen-fetter-and-margaret-hamilton-20190520
Back to top.3. Commentary: Celebrating and supporting African American women in physics
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
African American Women in Physics (AAWIP) maintains a list of all of the African American women with PhDs who identify as physicists, allowing connections with allies interested in promoting diversity in physics and other STEM fields. Later this year, the 100th physics PhD to an African American woman is expected to be awarded; thus, "AAWIP is both celebrating the trailblazing accomplishments of those who earned their degrees and emphasizing the progress that will be necessary to make the list grow far more quickly."
Read more at
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.3.20190529a/full
Find the database at
http://aawip.com/aawip-members
Back to top.4. 8 Tips For Generating Creative Ideas From The Mind Of A 'Genius' Woman Scientist
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
Dr. Ingrid Daubechies, the first female tenured math professor at Duke University and a 2019 recipient of the prestigious L’Oreal UNESCO International Award for Women in Science (among other honors), shares eight tips for generating creative ideas. Among them, finding alignment between your goals and the goals and strategies of your organization is crucial.
Read more at
Back to top.5. Astronomer Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz appointed to endowed chair for diversity in astronomy
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
Dr. Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, professor and chair of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, is the inaugural holder of the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair for Diversity in Astronomy. "Ramirez-Ruiz has worked vigorously to support the promotion and retention of women and people from under-represented groups in astronomy and related fields."
Read more at
https://news.ucsc.edu/2019/05/rubin-chair-investiture.html
[Stay tuned for a blog post about Dr. Ramirez-Ruiz's appointment. -- eds.]
Back to top.6. Mary Sherman Morgan, The World’s First Woman Rocket Scientist
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
By Dale Debakcsy
“On October 4, 1957, the United States received the greatest single blow to its prestige since the burning of the White House in 1814 with the announcement that the Soviet Union had become the first nation in world history to launch an artificial satellite into Earth’s orbit. This remarkable achievement, the brainchild of former political prisoner Sergei Korolev, caught the nation utterly flat-footed. The US possessed some of the greatest rocket scientists in the world, but had spent a decade frittering away their talents on the development of intercontinental weaponry rather than space flight. We had to get a rocket up, and fast, to save face, but had not yet invented the fuel capable of achieving that feat. To craft such a fuel, the nation needed someone who was both a brilliant chemist and mathematician with deep experience in analyzing the properties of combustion. “
Read more at
https://womenyoushouldknow.net/mary-sherman-morgan-first-woman-rocket-scientist
Back to top.7. Eastern European universities score highly in university gender ranking
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
By Giorgia Guglielmi
“The annual Leiden Ranking of institutes’ scientific performance includes a measure of gender balance for first time.”
Read more at
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01642-4
Back to top.8. Commentary: Diversity in physics: Are you part of the problem?
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
Dr. Ann Nelson, Chair of the Department of Physics at the University of Washington, offers her perspective on diversity in physics. "If your career is established and you are not making an explicit and continual effort to encourage, mentor, and support all young physicists, to create a welcoming climate in your department, and to promote the hiring of diverse faculty members, you are part of the problem."
Read more at
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.3536
Back to top.9. I Am Fed Up With All-Male Panels. Here’s How We Change Them.
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]
Some great actionable advice for making our conferences more diverse and inclusive.
Read more at
https://www.phillymag.com/business/2019/05/28/the-problem-with-all-male-panels-manels
Back to top.10. An astronomer’s poetic soul meets Dante’s scientific mind
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]
By Marcia Bartusiak
"At first glance, it seems an odd pairing of topics: In what way could Dante, the 14th-century poet, be linked with astronomy? But to my delight Tracy Daugherty — essayist, novelist, and biographer of Joseph Heller and Joan Didion — has uncovered a small gem within the history of astronomy. Along the way, readers become acquainted with the British romantics, Australian aboriginal astronomy, the folklore of India, and brief lessons on the sun’s energy production and Einsteinian physics. “Dante and the Early Astronomer” is an eclectic and engaging look at the Victorian and Edwardian ages, from the perspective of minor-league astronomers working in the hinterlands."
Read more at
If you cannot access via the website, a PDF version can be found here
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HPKrWRoN2NWIuKyx1A-U2GVydn8wvu8i
Back to top.11. 'Alien' turns 40: How the classic changed the game for women in action films
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
Actress Sigourney Weaver told Reuters that she believes the reason a woman was cast as the last survivor in the film "was shock value, because no one would think a woman would be the last "man" standing so to speak." Weaver ended up portraying the game-changing Ripley "only after a last-second change to the script that previously had an all-male cast."
Read more at
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Back to top.14. Access to Past Issues
https://cswa.aas.org/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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