Friday, January 17, 2020

AASWomen Newsletter for January 17, 2020

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Vera Rubin in 1965 (Courtesy of the Carnegie Institution for Science)
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 17, 2020
eds: JoEllen McBride, Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and Alessandra Aloisi

This week's issues:

1. Career Profile: Astronomer to Anthropometry Engineer

2. Women Can Spacewalk. But Can They Cross the Gender Line?

3. Academics must balance privacy and honesty to become great role models

4. An alternative argument for why women leave STEM: Guest post by Karen Morenz

5. Women in leadership positions face more sexual harassment

6. Continued: LSST named Vera C. Rubin Observatory

7. Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech

8. What the 2010s taught us about women in space

9. The great life of astronomer Caroline Herschel, who catalogued the heavens

10. Registration now open for Women in Data Science Conference on March 2, 2020

11. AGU Bridge Program

12. Aspen 2020 Summer Program

13. Summer 2020 NSF-REU Program at the Maria Mitchell Observatory

14. Job Opportunities

15. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

16. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

17. Access to Past Issues of the AASWOMEN newsletter


1. Career Profile: Astronomer to Anthropometry Engineer
From: Regina Jorgenson via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

“The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy is compiling 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 Liliana Keats. Liliana was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the United States when she was almost 10 years old. She was the first person in her family to graduate from a 4-year institution and the only one to hold an advanced degree.”

Read more at:

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2020/01/career-profile-astronomer-to.html#more

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2. Women Can Spacewalk. But Can They Cross the Gender Line?
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

By Thomson Reuters Foundation

"All nine recently announced 2019 Nobel science laureates were male, despite a significant and growing cohort of female contenders.

Nor is women’s contribution to science a recent phenomenon.

Ada Lovelace devised the world’s first computer program in 1840. Austrian physicist Lise Meitner led a small group of scientists who discovered nuclear fission. Soviet cosmonaut and engineer Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly in outer space in 1963.

Yet women remain vastly and globally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), comprising only 28 percent of scientific researchers in the world."

Read more at

https://real-leaders.com/women-can-spacewalk-but-can-they-cross-the-gender-line

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3. Academics must balance privacy and honesty to become great role models
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu] and Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

By Sascha K. Hooker

"I have three children aged 10–15 years, the middle of whom has a disability. I am also a marine ecologist and conservationist at the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews, UK. To balance these work–life demands, I work part-time. All of these facts are important for anyone assessing my career trajectory, and many organizations now take personal circumstances into account when considering promotions. Nevertheless, I struggle with whether to mention aspects of my family life in many work situations."

Read more at

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00037-0

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4. An alternative argument for why women leave STEM: Guest post by Karen Morenz
From: Heather Flewelling [heather_at_ifa.hawaii.edu]

By Karen Morenz

"Everyone knows that you’re not supposed to start your argument with ‘everyone knows,’ but in this case, I think we ought to make an exception:

Everyone knows that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has a problem retaining women (see, for example Jean, Payne, and Thompson 2015). We pour money into attracting girls and women to STEM fields. We pour money into recruiting women, training women, and addressing sexism, both overt and subconscious. In 2011, the United States spent nearly $3 billion tax dollars on STEM education, of which roughly one third was spent supporting and encouraging underrepresented groups to enter STEM (including women). And yet, women are still leaving at alarming rates.

Alarming? Isn’t that a little, I don’t know, alarmist? Well, let’s look at some stats."

Read more at

https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=4522

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5. Women in leadership positions face more sexual harassment
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

By Johanna Rickne

“Power in the workplace does not stop women's exposure to sexual harassment. On the contrary, women with supervisory positions are harassed more than women employees. These are the results from a new study from the Swedish Institute for Social Research at Stockholm University, which examined the conditions in Sweden, USA and Japan.”

Read more at

https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/su-wil011520.php

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6. Continued: LSST named Vera C. Rubin Observatory
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com] and Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

More coverage of the official renaming of the LSST to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

An Influential Female Astronomer Is Getting Her Due https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/01/vera-rubin-observatory/604624

Dark matter pioneer Vera Rubin gets a new observatory named after her https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-observatory-named-after-dark-matter-pioneer-vera-rubin

Vera Rubin Gets a Telescope of Her Own https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/science/vera-rubin-telescope-astronomy.html

First US observatory named in honor of a female astronomer, Vera Rubin https://www.albanyherald.com/news/world_nation/first-us-observatory-named-in-honor-of-a-female-astronomer/article_a286f574-0840-5155-8acb-23331e436d91.html

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7. Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

"The Committee on Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech will be hosting the first of four regional workshops to learn more about evidence-based, effective programs, models, and practices that academic institutions, employers, and individuals can implement to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women of color in tech."

To register visit

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/addressing-the-underrepresentation-of-women-of-color-in-tech-tickets-89650578293

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8. What the 2010s taught us about women in space
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Inga Popovaite

"Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir captured the world’s attention with their historic all-woman spacewalk at the end of 2019. The 2020s is beginning with the duo scheduled to repeat their historic first twice more by the end of January. Is the future of spaceflight female?

If popular culture mirrors society, it is clear society craves more women in science, engineering, and space — not in skimpy skirts and silent roles, but as central characters that drive the story. Hidden Figures, a 2016 movie based on the book by the same name, told us the forgotten story of three African American women who helped launch John Glenn into orbit during America’s Jim Crow era."

Read more at

https://spacenews.com/what-the-2010s-taught-us-about-women-in-space

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9. The great life of astronomer Caroline Herschel, who catalogued the heavens
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Charlie Connelly

""At the heavens there is no getting, for the high roofs of the opposite houses." It was Boxing Day, 1822, when Caroline Herschel wrote these words in a letter to her nephew. She was 72 years old and had recently returned to her home town of Hannover after spending 50 years in England becoming one of the most important women in the history of astronomy. The discoverer of eight comets and a visionary cataloguer of the heavens, she had spent countless nights squinting through her one good eye into a telescope, sweeping the night's canopy for uncharted stars or the tell-tale twinkle of a new comet arcing through distant skies."

Read more at

https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/the-great-life-of-astronomer-caroline-herschel-who-catalogued-the-heavens-1-6458176

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10. Registration now open for Women in Data Science Conference on March 2, 2020
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

“We are pleased to inform you that registration for the Women in Data Science (WiDS) Central Massachusetts Conference on March 2nd, 2020 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is NOW OPEN.

WiDS Central Massachusetts will run concurrently with the annual Global WiDS Conference at Stanford University and 100+ other venues all over the world. The WiDS conference aims to inspire and educate data scientists regardless of gender, support women in the field, and feature exclusively female speakers. The event will consist of talks by leading data scientists from academia and industry, live streamed content from the Global WiDS event, a panel discussion, and a poster session featuring research by female students.

All genders are invited to participate in the conference. Register now to save your spot!

For more information and to register, please visit our site.”

Learn more and register at

https://www.wpi.edu/news/announcements/registration-now-open-women-data-science-conference-march-2-2020

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11. AGU Bridge Program
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

The American Geophysical Union began a Bridge Program in 2019. It was initiated to "develop, adopt, and share inclusive practices for recruiting, admitting and retaining women and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate programs."

Fourteen Bridge Partner Institutions were selected for the program because they demonstrated that they will "provide a supportive, inclusive and nurturing environment for students". These include Georgia State University, Department of Geosciences; Lehigh University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of Chicago, Department of the Geophysical Sciences; and University of Wisconsin–Madison, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

Read more and find the full list of Bridge Partner Institutions at

https://www.agu.org/bridge-program#1

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12. Aspen 2020 Summer Program
From: Amanda Jenkins [amanda_at_aspenphys.org]

The program of the Aspen Center for Physics is based on individual and collaborative research and the informal exchange of ideas. In an environment free from normal distractions, more than five hundred scientists from over a hundred U.S. and international institutions participate in the Center’s summer program, with eighty to ninety in residence at any one time. Research interests include astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, dynamical systems, elementary particle physics, mathematical physics and statistical physics. The stimulating interaction among participants with diverse interests and backgrounds is one of the most fruitful aspects of the program. Opportunities for collaboration and for initiating new research are always available as colleagues from a variety of subfields are present throughout the summer. In addition to the unstructured program of Individual Research and Working Groups, Informal Workshops are also scheduled.

Learn more and apply at

http://aspenphys.org/physicists/summer/index.html

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13. Summer 2020 NSF-REU Program at the Maria Mitchell Observatory
From: Regina Jorgenson [rjorgenson_at_mariamitchell.org]

The deadline for the summer 2020 NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at the Maria Mitchell Observatory on Nantucket Island, MA, is February 1, 2020.

Learn more, and find the link to the online application, at

https://www.mariamitchell.org/get-involved/internships/reu

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14. Job Opportunities

For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here:

https://aas.org/comms/cswa/resources/Diversity

- Tenure-Track Physics Instructor, Mira Costa College, Oceanside, Ca http://jobs.miracosta.edu/postings/1899

- Planetary Sciences Ph.D Student, State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Macau University, China https://www.lpi.usra.edu/planetary_news/2020/01/13/job-opportunity-phd-position-in-impact-crater-studies

- Entrepreneurship Lecturers, Office of Innovation and Commercialization, University of California, San Diego https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF02361

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15. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_lists.aas.org

All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.

When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.

Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.

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16. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List by email:

Send an email to aaswomen_at_lists.aas.org. A list moderator will add your email to the list. They will reply to your message to confirm that they have added you.

Join AAS Women List through the online portal:

Go to https://lists.aas.org/postorius/lists/aaswlist.lists.aas.org and enter the email address you wish to subscribe in the ‘Your email address’ field. You will receive an email from ‘aaswlist-confirm’ that you must reply to. There may be a delay between entering your email and receiving the confirmation message. Check your Spam or Junk mail folders for the message if you have not received it after 2 hours.

To unsubscribe from AAS Women by email:

Send an email to aaswlist-leave_at_lists.aas.org from the email address you wish to remove from the list. You will receive an email from ‘aaswlist-confirm’ that you must reply to which will complete the unsubscribe.

Leave AAS Women or change your membership settings through the online portal:

Go to https://lists.aas.org/accounts/signup to create an account with the online portal. After confirming your account you can see the lists you are subscribed to and update your settings.

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17. Access to Past Issues

https://cswa.aas.org/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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