If you're interested in learning more about A4E's work combating global climate change and want to get involved, join them here at: https://astronomersforplanet.earth/join-us-1. And be sure to check out A4E's white paper on what astronomers (like you!) can do to address the climate crisis: Astronomers for Planet Earth: Engaging with the Public to Forge a Sustainable Future.
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| Dr. Gabriele Betancourt-Martinez is a postdoctoral researcher working on the Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) in Toulouse, France. |
I’m a postdoctoral researcher in astrophysics at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in Toulouse, France. On paper I look like I’ve had a really straight and narrow path to research, but in reality there have been a lot of wiggles and potential zig-zags. The simplest answer is that I’ve been drawn to space and astronomy since I was little, and decided when I was 13 or so that I’d pursue the subject as a career. In college, as an astronomy and physics major, I learned about the sub-field of astronomical instrumentation, which blended two of my drivers: the creativity required to design and build novel instruments, and the wonder of asking and answering scientific questions about the universe. I went to a PhD program where I could work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on X-ray detectors that are designed to fly on satellites and observe objects like black holes and clusters of galaxies. Along the way, through other activities within the group, I also entered the field of laboratory astrophysics, which in my case, meant I was working in laboratories to recreate processes and plasmas that occur in space. My goal was to understand the atomic physics behind the X-ray spectra we measured, and to try to input this into astrophysical models to make them more accurate. When I was finishing up my PhD, I had a dream to move to California or France; it was just my luck that collaborators in Toulouse needed someone with my expertise, so I came here for a postdoc.
What is your role in Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E)?
I’d been on the lookout for a while for some way of getting more directly involved in the fight against the climate crisis, even including considering a career change. So when I came across A4E last summer, I was excited to dig into specific activities. I eventually found a channel in the Slack workspace for a project that looked interesting and got involved there. This eventually turned into becoming the lead organizer for our open letter (https://astronomersforplanet.earth/open-letter). I’ve also now joined the “operations” group, which is a smaller subset of active members that discusses the more programmatic and organizational aspects of A4E, such as the future of our organization, how to enable accepting donations, etc.
What goals do you have for your role in A4E?
I’d love to see our open letter spark long-lasting conversations at research institutions and astronomical societies around the world about what we can do to minimize our carbon impact. And beyond just conversations, I hope it encourages places to act and incorporate policies prioritizing sustainability for their travel reimbursement schemes, infrastructure, and so on. I’d also love to see A4E expand into a full-fledged nonprofit organization, and help this happen however I can. A big personal goal is to learn more from other members! So many A4E members are goldmines of information, and there is so much collective knowledge shared through webinars, posted articles and blog posts, and conversations on the Slack space.
Describe the first time you made a personal connection between your passion for astronomy and the urgency of fighting climate change.
Astronomy and nature were two of my earliest loves, though environmental action was always a hobby or way of life for me, and I chose to pursue astronomy as a profession. But something shifted as I was finishing up my PhD. My work felt really esoteric and disconnected from the urgent needs of our planet and society, and I started to feel like I wanted to pivot my career to address the climate crisis. I did a lot of soul searching and talked to a lot of people in climate science, climate solutions, and science policy. In the end I decided to stay in astrophysics research for a bit longer, but committed to finding a way to use my time and skills on both.
How does your career in astronomy intersect with the fight against climate change?
There are a few ways I’ve brought the two topics together. One thing I really enjoy doing is outreach talks. When talking about exoplanets, or possible life on other worlds, it’s simple to loop in information about the Earth, its uniqueness, and its fragility. Often students will ask me what my favorite planet is, and always seem surprised when I tell them it’s Earth! Next, as part of the A4E open letter process, we are seeking institutional endorsements to the letter, and I was able to get the letter approved by the environmental committee at my institute (of which I am a part), and then finally by the lab council. But in the day to day activities of my work, it can be simple things like recycling materials rather than throwing them out, or being careful about how I book my travel.
How can the astronomical community engage with the climate crisis movement?
I think an important thing for astronomers to bring is our perspective and our tools. This is one of the key tenets of A4E, actually. We regularly think about a much larger picture, and we are acutely aware of how vast the universe is and how rare places like Earth are. We’re also in a great position to talk about the climate crisis to others: astronomers are trusted in society (I can dig up the reference for this later if needed), if we talk about the climate crisis, it won’t seem like we’re just trying to advance our own careers, and many astronomers also teach large university classes, providing a wide and diverse audience. Travis Rector, an A4E co-founder, has a great blog post about it these aspects here: https://aas.org/posts/news/2021/03/why-and-how-astronomers-should-teach-climate-change. Besides engaging with the public on climate, we can also look inward and work within our research groups and institutions on sustainability initiatives, like putting into place travel policies that restrict carbon emissions, or employing data storage or computing practices that use less energy. There are all sorts of ways for everyone to get involved, at many different scales. I think the main thing is to decide what aspects of the climate crisis are most interesting to you, and thinking about how you see yourself fitting into this puzzle. This can look like engaging through a sustainability committee at your institute, organizing an event, writing a blog post, supporting and uplifting others that you see doing work you admire, and so on.
If you weren’t in the field of astronomy, what would you be doing?
Um...owning and operating a vineyard for natural wine in the south of France? Or maybe that’s for later :) More seriously (cough cough), I’ve been drawn to science policy for awhile, and there are some very cool nonprofits out there that are doing great work in climate, either supporting research or influencing policy, and also diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM, which is another topic very close to my heart. My postdoc position is over soon, so we’ll see where things take me next!
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| Dr. Betancourt-Martinez enjoys a sunny day on the slopes building an adorable snowman. |
We need all hands on deck right now; find your niche in the movement and join us! Working as a group will be a lot more effective than as individuals, so find like-minded people to amplify your message and actions.
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