Issue of July 11, 2025
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Sethanne Howard, Ferah Munshi, Stella Kafka, and Ben Keller
[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]
This week's issues:
1. Cross-post: Annie Walker observed thousands of stars between 1879 and 1903
2. Space Archaeology: A New Frontier
3. STEM Education Research Stakeholder Needs Survey
4. Interview with Dr. Megan Pickett
5. 2025 NRAO Doctoral Dissertation Award
6. Global Benefits of Exploring the Universe
7. AAS Laboratory Astrophysics Division Prize Deadline Extended
8. Know a Trailblazing Woman Scientist? Nominate Her for Our ‘Cutting-Edge Women in Science’ List
9. The Charm School: A summer research opportunity for women before REUs
10. Discovery Education's Career Connect
11. AWIS Screening of Sally
12. The Effect of U.S. Budget Cuts on Early Career Scientists
13. Large-scale study adds to mounting case against notion that boys are born better at math
14. Women scientists promote their research online less often than men
15. Kavli Prize in Astrophysics nominations open
16. NASA ROSES 2025 Released
17. Job Opportunities
18. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
19. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
20. 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.
For more than a century, astronomers assumed she had simply “computed” complex calculations for the Victorian men who had exclusive use of Cambridge Observatory telescopes.
But researchers now say that Annie Walker – a Victorian woman who began working at the observatory in 1879, when she was only 15 – actually observed thousands of stars herself.
Walker worked as an astronomer until 1903, when a change in leadership meant she was passed over for a promotion by the new director who didn't approve of women working, especially in astronomy.
Read more at
https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2025/07/cross-post-annie-walker-observed.html
Archaeology often calls to mind dusty dig sites in remote areas on Earth where ancient kingdoms once thrived. While Indiana Jones’ iconic figure has long held the Hollywood image of an archaeologist, the reality is, of course, more grounded in science. Modern archaeology harnesses drones, satellite imaging, hyperspectral imaging, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and virtual reality to advance the field and make new discoveries. Even within the field, the emergence of space archaeology is a relatively new venture focused on preserving humanity’s progress in space.
Space archaeologist Sarah Parcak had long worked in archaeology before she turned to space. In her 2019 book, Archeology from Space, she reveals how the young field is advancing through the use of multispectral, high-resolution satellite imagery analysis. Parcak has given an award-winning TED talk on satellite archeology and used the prize money to create Global Xplorer, a citizen science project focused on analyzing satellite imagery of archaeological sites.
Read more at
https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2025/07/space-archaeology-new-frontier.html
AUI’s Office of Education and Public Engagement (EPE) is conducting a brief (5 minute or less) survey to better understand the needs, concerns, and priorities of those working in STEM education research, implementation, and policy. You do not have to be a STEM Education Researcher. If you care about STEM education research, we want to hear from you. Your responses will help shape future support strategies, especially for individuals and institutions facing financial or organizational hardship.
Participation in this survey is voluntary. You may provide your email to receive updates or remain anonymous. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer. Responses will be kept confidential and analyzed in aggregate. We will not share identifiable information publicly.
If you have any questions about this survey, or if you feel like AUI’s EPE team can potentially be a useful resource during this challenging time, then please reach out.
Fill out the survey at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/STEMEdResearchNeeds
Welcome to the Astrobites Transgender in Astronomy series! To celebrate Pride Month this year, Astrobites will be publishing an interview with one transgender astronomer every week highlighting their experiences both in the field of astronomy and as a transgender person in today’s society. This week’s interviewee is Dr. Megan Pickett, an Associate Professor of Physics and Chair of the Department of Physics at Lawrence University!
Read more at
https://astrobites.org/2025/06/27/megan-pickett-interview/
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) are pleased to announce the availability of the 2025 NRAO Doctoral Dissertation Award based on new radio astronomy data obtained at any facility operated or jointly operated by a US-based institution. The award is available to any recent recipient, of any nationality, who has received a doctoral degree from any recognized degree-granting institution in the United States. To be eligible, the applicant must have successfully defended their dissertation during the calendar year 2025. Applications will be evaluated on the importance of the dissertation, the contribution to science, the originality of the investigation, and the independence of the dissertation research.
Read more at
https://aas.org/posts/news/2025/06/2025-nrao-doctoral-dissertation-award
A new article in Nature Astronomy highlights how astronomy is increasingly being recognised for its potential in addressing societal needs. Titled “Astronomy as a strategic driver for sustainable development”, Dr Joyful Mdhluli et al. from the International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Development (IAU OAD) make the case for further investments in the transformative potential of astronomy, not just as a scientific endeavour, but as a vehicle for social progress.
Read more at
Read the journal article at
The LAD Career Prize deadline has been extended to August 1, 2025. We encourage you to submit nominations for deserving colleagues.
Read more at
By The Story Exchange
The Story Exchange, an award-winning nonprofit media platform dedicated to elevating women’s voices, is seeking nominations for its Cutting-Edge Women in Science list.
The list will spotlight U.S.-based women with a deep background in science whose work is driven by the dangerous realities of the climate crisis. We are specifically looking for women who are motivated to find urgent, innovative, science-based solutions as global warming impacts the safety of our water, air and soil; disrupts food systems and communities; and poses significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystems.
Read more at
By Joanna Behrman, Physics Today
For students aspiring toward a career in science, participating in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program has become a stepping stone from the classroom into the world of research. The opportunities are organized by many organizations, including companies, colleges and universities, and NSF and other governmental agencies. Studies show that participating in an REU helps students boost their confidence in their abilities and gain a better understanding of scientific concepts and research processes. REUs are also associated with an increased rate of degree completion and progression to graduate school, especially among underrepresented groups in science.1
But decades before REUs were a common practice, there was the Charm School: a summer program exclusively for female college students that was organized for six summers between 1939 and 1948. Attended by at least 28 women, it was spearheaded by Dorothy Weeks, a professor of physics from Wilson College in Pennsylvania. She received assistance from MIT spectroscopist George Harrison, in whose lab the students worked. The history of the Charm School shows the importance of undergraduate research and illustrates how female physicists—and physicists in training—made space for themselves in a place where neither undergraduates nor women often ventured.
Read more at
https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/online/44411/The-Charm-School-A-summer-research-opportunity-for
The National Girls Collaborative Project is partnering with Discovery Education on Career Connect, a new platform that connects educators to STEP industry volunteers. Volunteers can opt to receive direct requests from teachers or browse open teacher requests.
Read more at
https://careerconnect.discoveryeducation.com/
The Association for Women In Science (AWIS) will be doing a free virtual film screening of Sally, the new documentary on Sally Ride, from July 21-27 as part of its Films For the Summer series.
Read more at
https://awis.org/summer-of-science/
Scientific American investigates how cuts to U.S. science grants are particularly affecting early career scientists.
Read more at
Twenty years ago, cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke took a strong position in an ongoing public debate. "There are no differences in overall intrinsic aptitude for science and mathematics among women and men," the researcher declared. A new paper in the journal Nature, written by Spelke and a team of European researchers, provides what she called "an even stronger basis for that argument."
A French government testing initiative launched in 2018 provided data on the math skills of more than 2.5 million schoolchildren over five years. Analyses showed virtually no gender differences at the start of first grade, when students begin formal math education. However, a gap favoring boys opened after just four months—and kept growing through higher grades.
Read more at
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-large-scale-mounting-case-notion.html
Read the journal article at
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09126-4
Many women scientists are staying silent online—and it could be costing them professionally. A new University of Michigan study finds that women are about 28% less likely than men to promote their scientific papers on X (formerly Twitter)—a seemingly minor digital decision that could have big implications for professional advancement, recognition and pay.
Read more at
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-women-scientists-online-men.html
Read the journal article at
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60590-y
We are pleased to invite the IAU community to submit nominations for the 2026 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics – which awards a $1 million prize for basic research breakthroughs that have fundamentally transformed our field.
Read more at
NASA has finally released the 2025 Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES). This omnibus contains a large fraction of NASA's astronomy and astrophysics grants.
Read more at
https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2025
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
- Administrative Assistance and Data Manager, International Astronomical Union, Paris, France
https://council.science/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IAU-JobAd07.2025.pdf
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