Women In Astronomy: October 2022

Friday, October 28, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 28, 2022

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 28, 2022
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Nicolle Zellner, Alessandra Aloisi, and Sethanne Howard

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

This week's issues:

Leiden Observatory (PhysicsWorld article)

1. Cross-post: Prominent Dutch astronomer barred for ‘extremely unacceptable’ behavior
2. Leiden University astronomer Tim de Zeeuw removed from post after allegations of misconduct
3. CSWA Resources: Bullying and Harassment
4. First Native American Women in Space Awed by Earth
5. A journey of joy and uncertainty in physics
6. Racial and gender disparities in publishing start early for doctors and scientists
7. Job Opportunities
8. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
10. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

Crosspost: Prominent Dutch astronomer barred for ‘extremely unacceptable’ behavior

Posted by Bryne Hadnott

Written by Cathleen O'Grady for Science

Tim de Zeeuw—seen speaking here at the inauguration of the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile in May 2017—today acknowledged his behavior has been “unpleasant and impatient in an old-fashioned way.” Credit: Mario Ruiz/Newscom.

Leiden University in the Netherlands has “removed” prominent theoretical astronomer Tim de Zeeuw, a former head of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), for bullying subordinates and what it calls “extremely unacceptable” behavior toward women colleagues over a long period of time. De Zeeuw will not be allowed to return to the university and can no longer supervise Ph.D. candidates. He will keep his job and salary, however.

In an 18 October statement about the case, the university did not mention De Zeeuw by name but instead talked about an anonymous “professor”; the university’s Executive Board says Dutch privacy law bans the school from publicly identifying the culprit. Yesterday, the Dutch newspaper NRC was the first to mention De Zeeuw’s name, based on unnamed sources. Today, De Zeeuw sent a statement to Science via his lawyer, Merienke Zwaan, that confirms he is the accused scientist. He acknowledged having been “unpleasant and impatient in an old-fashioned way, which no longer fits in the current spirit of the times,” but said he disagreed with the university’s decision. “It has never been my intention to hurt or harm people. I am very sorry that people have experienced my behaviour as negative,” De Zeeuw stated.

The university has not made the investigation report public, but a 21 October column by Executive Board President Annetje Ottow addressed to the academic community offered some details. “We are talking here about … abuse of power, gender discrimination and the systematic vilification and belittling of staff. It also includes inappropriate behaviour with an element of sexual intimidation: ranging from comments right down to unwelcome physical contact with one of the members of staff,” Ottow wrote. “All of this was under the constant threat of harming the complainants’ careers.”

Read the full article at: https://www.science.org/content/article/prominent-dutch-astronomer-barred-extremely-unacceptable-behavior

**The CSWA has compiled a list of resources for those who may be experiencing bullying and harassment withi their workplaces. You can find the list here.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 21, 2022

Posted by starlady

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 21, 2022
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Nicolle Zellner, Alessandra Aloisi, and Sethanne Howard

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

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: Dr. Shannon Curry: If you like learning everyday, run a spacecraft Mission!
2. Game-changing’ gender quotas introduced by Australian research agency
3. Racism: Overcoming science's toxic legacy
4. DPS Kuiper prize awarded to Dr. Bonnie Buratti
5. Banish Imposter Syndrome for good
6. Job Opportunities
7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
9. 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.

1. Crosspost: Dr. Shannon Curry: If you like learning everyday, run a spacecraft Mission!

From: Nicolle Zellner via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

By Kelsi Singer and Jamie O-Brian

https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2022/10/crosspost-dr-shannon-curry-if-you-like.html

2. Game-changing’ gender quotas introduced by Australian research agency

From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.com]

By Bianca Nogrady

"In an attempt to achieve gender equity, Australia’s leading health and medical research funding organization plans to award half of its research grants for its largest funding programme to women and non-binary applicants, starting next year.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) announced the move last week. It will apply to researchers at the mid-career and senior level applying for the agency’s investigator grants, which fund research and salaries. Grants will also be fixed at Aus$400,000 (US$252,000) each. Many countries struggle to achieve gender equity in research funding, and the NHRMC will be one of the first to introduce gender quotas at this scale, say researchers.”

3. Racism: Overcoming science's toxic legacy

From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

The journal Nature has played a part in creating and sustaining a racist legacy, one in which science has excluded people from historically marginalized groups. In 2020, however, Nature decided to commit to becoming an agent of change and helping to end discriminatory practices and systemic racism. This month, Nature has published a special issue as part of that commitment; it's the first in this journal’s history to be guest-edited.

See the issue at

https://www.nature.com/immersive/d42859-022-00031-8/index.html

4. DPS Kuiper prize awarded to Dr. Bonnie Buratti

From: Sethanne Howard [sethanneh_at_msn.com]

By Dr. Theodore Kareta DPS Press Officer

The DPS awards the 2022 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize for outstanding contributions to the field of planetary science to Dr. Bonnie Buratti of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology for her distinguished achievements in the understanding of planetary and small body surfaces through photometry,

5. Banish Imposter Syndrome for good

From: Sethanne Howard [sethanneh_at_msn.com]

By Aliana Levine vis AAS videos

Impostor syndrome, where we erroneously believe we will be discovered as a fraud, is a common occurrence — even Nobel Laureates experience this! In our discussion, we will explore techniques to identify and acknowledge this feeling like we are impostors, whether it’s in our studies, work, and other professional spaces, and use our scientific backgrounds to make the true case that we, in fact, DO belong here.

Watch at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQwKED7m_4c&t=4s

6. 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#howtoincrease

- - The Adler Planetarium in Chicago - a full-time Astronomer

https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/2c991261

- - Astrophysics Instructor, The Summer Science Program

https://www.ssp.org/jobs

7. 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.

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List through the online portal:

To Subscribe, go to https://aas.simplelists.com, and in the "Subscribe" area, add in your name, email address, select "The AASWomen Weekly Newsletter", and click subscribe. You will be sent an email with a link to click to confirm subscription.

To unsubscribe from AAS Women by email:

Go to https://aas.simplelists.com, in the "My account and unsubscriptions", type your email address. You will receive an email with a link to access your account, from there you can click the unsubscribe link for this mailing list.

9. Access to Past Issues

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

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Crosspost: Dr. Shannon Curry: If you like learning everyday, run a spacecraft Mission!

Posted by Nicolle Zellner

By Kelsi Singer and Jamie O’Brien

Shannon Curry is a planetary physicist and Assistant Deputy Director at the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. She is involved in many spacecraft missions and concepts, and last year was named as the Principal Investigator of the NASA Mars Scout MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission. Her research focus is on terrestrial planetary atmospheres, primarily in atmospheric escape and dynamics at weakly magnetized planets. She is also involved in instrument development and mission concept development for future flight exploration of the solar system. Other collaborations include serving as the Project Scientist on ESCAPADE (a Phase C NASA SIMPLEx-II mission) and as a science team member for Parker Solar Probe (PSP) missions, as well as a collaborator on NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) program

Learn more about Dr. Curry and her work here, on the Women in Planetary Science blog site.

Friday, October 14, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 14, 2022

Posted by Jeremy Bailin

Arianna Long, NASEM Award Winner

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 14, 2022
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Nicolle Zellner, Alessandra Aloisi, and Sethanne Howard

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

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: Dr. Ellen Stofan: In many cases careers are not linear!
2. How well-intentioned white male physicists maintain ignorance of inequity and justify inaction
3. Resources from 2022 International Day of the Girl
4. This 33-year-old made more than 1,000 Wikipedia bios for unknown women scientists
5. Nature Awards announces 2022 Inspiring Women in Science winners
6. National Academies Announce Inaugural Recipients of Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications
7. Studies elucidate why and how women physicist's papers are cited less
8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
10. 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.

1. Crosspost: Dr. Ellen Stofan: In many cases careers are not linear!

From: Nicolle Zellner via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

By Mikayla Huffman and Kelsi Singer

Dr. Ellen Stofan is the Under Secretary for Science and Research at the Smithsonian. She oversees its science research centers as well as the National Museum of Natural History and the National Zoo. The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, Office of International Relations, Smithsonian Scholarly Press and Scientific Diving Program also report to Stofan. Her focus is the Smithsonian’s collective scientific initiatives and commitment to research across the Institution, especially addressing issues such as biodiversity, global health, climate change, species conservation, astrophysics and the search for life outside Earth’s solar system.

2. How well-intentioned white male physicists maintain ignorance of inequity and justify inaction

From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]

By Melissa Dancy and Apriel Hodari

"Background: We present an analysis of interviews with 27 self-identified progressive white-male physics faculty and graduate students discussing race and gender in physics. White men dominate most STEM fields and are particularly overrepresented in positions of status and influence (i.e. full professors, chairs, deans, etc.), positioning them as a potentially powerful demographic for enacting systemic reform. Despite their proclaimed outrage at and interest in addressing inequity, they frequently engage in patterns of belief, speech and (in)action that ultimately support the status quo of white male privilege in opposition to their intentions.

Results: The white male physicists we interviewed used numerous discourses which support racist and sexist norms and position them as powerless to disrupt their own privilege. We present and discuss three overarching themes, seen in our data, demonstrating how highly intelligent, well-intentioned people of privilege maintain their power and privilege despite their own intentions: 1) Denying inequity is physically near them, 2) Locating causes of inequity in large societal systems over which they have little influence and 3) Justifying inaction.

Conclusions: Despite being progressively minded, well-meaning, and highly intelligent, these men are frequently complicit in racism and sexism in physics. We end with recommendations for helping these men to engage the power they hold to better work with women and people of color in disrupting inequity in physics."

Read more at

https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.03522

3. Resources from 2022 International Day of the Girl

From: Sethanne Howard [sethanneh_at_msn.com]

International Day of the Girl was celebrated on October 11, 2022, with the theme Our time is now -- our rights, our future". Some celebrations and related resources include:

Unicef International Day of the Girl 2022

https://www.unicef.org/gender-equality/international-day-girl-2022

High School Student and Founder of Nano Labs asks, “What would happen if girls supported girls?”

https://ngcproject.org/resources/high-school-student-and-founder-nano-labs-asks-what-would-happen-if-girls-supported-girls

Gulan Gawdan is hosted by the US Department of State's Community Exchange Program, commmitted to supporting opportunities for young Kurds and Iraqis in STEM.

https://ngcproject.org/resources/welcome-cee-fellow-gulan-gawdan

4. This 33-year-old made more than 1,000 Wikipedia bios for unknown women scientists

From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]

By Timothy Harper

"When Jessica Wade was invited to Buckingham Palace to receive the prestigious British Empire Medal, she stood out for being a young woman honored for her contributions to science.

Ironically, she was being honored for trying to change that.

The 33-year-old London-based physicist has become something of a phenomenon herself — both an irresistible force and immoveable object — in her very personal campaign to bring more girls to study and work in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)."

5. Nature Awards announces 2022 Inspiring Women in Science winners

From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]

By Springer Nature

"Kizzmekia Corbett, Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Tem Menina no Circuito, a Brazilian initiative founded with the aim of inspiring girls from the most deprived schools in Brazil to enjoy STEM subjects, are the recipients of this year’s Inspiring Women in Science Awards. The awards, held by Nature Awards in partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies, champion those who are working to encourage girls and women* to engage with STEM** subjects and who work to support women to stay in STEM careers around the world. The winners were announced at a ceremony in London on 11 October."

6. National Academies Announce Inaugural Recipients of Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications

From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]

The inaugural winners of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication include astrophysicists Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and Arianna Long.

https://www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excellence-in-communication/winners/chanda-prescod-weinstein

https://www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excellence-in-communication/winners/arianna-long

7. Studies elucidate why and how women physicist's papers are cited less

From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]

Two studies published this week analyze the citation inequity between physics papers written by women and men. One, which covers papers published between 1995 and 2020, finds an overall citation disparity of over 4%, and growing with time. The other particularly addresses the "first-mover advantage", and finds that an important driver in citation differences are that, although papers that publish first on a topic receive a boost in citations, papers authored by women do not receive as much of a boost as those authored by men.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03239-w

Read the full studies at

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-022-01770-1

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-022-00997-x#Sec2

8. 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.

9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List through the online portal:

To unsubscribe from AAS Women by email:

10. Access to Past Issues

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

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Crosspost: Dr. Ellen Stofan: In many cases careers are not linear!

Posted by Nicolle Zellner

By Mikayla Huffman and Kelsi Singer

Ellen R. Stofan, PhD, stands in front of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed 5B Vega at the National Air and Space Museum
(NASM photo by Jim Preston, NASM2018-01471)

Previously, Stofan was the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (2018–2021) where she was the first woman to hold that position. Under her leadership, the museum began its seven-year renovation of its flagship building in Washington, D.C., in 2018. Stofan also oversaw the momentous celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in July 2019 at the museum and on the National Mall. She joined the Museum in 2018 with more than 25 years of experience in space administration and planetary science. Dr. Stofan was previously Chief Scientist at NASA.

She also held senior scientist positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including work on missions exploring Venus, Earth, Mars, and Saturn; as chief scientist – New Millennium Program; and principal investigator on the proposed Titan Mare Explorer. Dr. Stofan holds master’s and doctorate degrees in geological sciences from Brown University, and a bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary. She is an honorary professor at University College London, and was on the board of the College of William & Mary.

Read the full interview at

https://womeninplanetaryscience.wordpress.com/2022/09/13/dr-ellen-stofan-in-many-cases-careers-are-not-linear/

Friday, October 7, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 7, 2022

Posted by Nicolle Zellner

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 7, 2022
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Nicolle Zellner, Alessandra Aloisi, and Sethanne Howard

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

This week's issues:

1. Remembering Sheila Tobias

Marquis Who's Who Ventures LLC

2. Update from the AAS Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy
3. 5 women who should have won a Nobel Prize
4. Newly minted Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi melds chemistry and biology to advance medicine
5. A poor introductory science degree grade has ‘devastating’ effect on students from under-represented groups
6. Improving soft skills crucial to keeping women in science, finds study
7. Job Opportunities
8. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
10. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remembering Sheila Tobias

Posted by Nicolle Zellner

By Meg Urry

Dr. Meg Urry is the Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics; she previously served as Chair of the Physics Department at Yale from 2007 to 2013 and in the Presidential line of the American Astronomical Society 2013-2017. Dr. Urry is also known for her efforts to increase the number of women and minorities in science, for which she won the 2015 Edward A. Bouchet Leadership Award from Yale University and the 2010 Women in Space Science Award from the Adler Planetarium. She served on the CSWA from 1994 - 2003.

Sheila Tobias speaks at West Virginia University.
Credit: Julie Black, Teaching and Learning Commons, WVU

I was shocked to learn that Sheila Tobias died a year ago (NY Times obituary). She was a noted feminist with particular ties to, and affection for, the physical sciences. She wrote influential books on why so few women studied physics and math, including They’re Not Dumb, They’re Different and Overcoming Math Anxiety. She was married to a physicist, Carl Tomizuka and would sometimes attend meetings of the American Physical Society (APS).

Most importantly for astronomers, she was a featured speaker at the 1992 Women in Astronomy meeting, at the Space Telescope Science Institute, in Baltimore, Maryland. I still remember sitting at the front of the lecture hall, listening to Sheila teach Feminism 101 in one riveting hour. I was simultaneously exhilarated (what clarity! the professoriate began in monasteries! the tropes of celibacy and singular focus and the sense of a “calling” are with us still) and terrified that the men in the room would be turned off by this challenge to their supposed meritocracy. But when the talk ended and I turned around, I saw only excited, smiling people. Riccardo Giacconi and other STScI leaders later raved about her lecture. She was able to deliver tough medicine in a way people responded well to, and she had a huge impact that day.

After the meeting, she wrote the first draft of the Baltimore Charter, based on notes from the breakout sessions. It was she who introduced the metaphor of great civilizations (innovations) arising at the juncture of trade routes (where differing ideas could connect). I think of that metaphor often, and indeed, there is considerable research today about innovation arising from difference. She had such a wide-ranging mind and piercing intellect that she broadened the way others think.

I learned so much from Sheila. Once, at an APS meeting somewhere, we were having a drink after dinner, and I guess I complained about how hard it was to be a woman in the overwhelmingly male world of physics. Didn’t she think that was a terrible disadvantage for women? “Oh no,” she answered immediately, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She explained that by virtue of being outsiders, women had occasion to understand themselves and their relation to others, and that this was something men, swimming in a pool of other similar men, didn’t often think to do. She said that she would never trade the self-awareness earned by outsiders for the complacency of the majority class. I’ve thought often about that sentiment, and it has buoyed me on many occasions.

I did not know Sheila was unwell. When I saw her a few years ago, she was in wonderful health. And then COVID cut many of us off from one another, and I guess she succumbed to the downstream consequences of a fall. It’s great the New York Times recognized her contributions. With this post, I wanted to make sure that astronomers, in particular, remember how much she did for us.

Read more about Sheila Tobias and her work:

Sheila Tobias on her nonscience path to becoming a science activist, Physics Today

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Women In Astronomy

Friday, October 28, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 28, 2022

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Crosspost: Prominent Dutch astronomer barred for ‘extremely unacceptable’ behavior

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 21, 2022

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Crosspost: Dr. Shannon Curry: If you like learning everyday, run a spacecraft Mission!

Friday, October 14, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 14, 2022

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Crosspost: Dr. Ellen Stofan: In many cases careers are not linear!

Friday, October 7, 2022

AASWomen Newsletter for October 7, 2022

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Remembering Sheila Tobias