AASWomen Newsletter for Juy 24, 2026

Maria Mitchell, America’s first professional female astronomer, is celebrating her birthday on August 1.

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 24, 2026
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. American Physical Society and American Astronomical Society Civic Science Fellow
2. Crosspost: Upward trend in percentage of women physics and astronomy faculty in US
3. "Death by a thousand cuts": Professor Rachel Oliver on why women in STEM suffer
4. What explains gender pay gaps in academia?
5. The Meteoriticists, a trio of women scientists hunting fallen celestial bodies in Brazil
6. Celebrating the next generation of female space tech pioneers
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.

Crosspost: Upward trend in percentage of women physics and astronomy faculty in US

Today's crosspost highlights the upward trend in percentage of women physics and astronomy faculty in the US, according to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Physics. The academic workforce report examined statistics from 2006 to 2024 and was originally published by Physics Today on December 18, 2025.

Women made up 21% of faculty members in US physics departments in 2024, up from 16% a decade earlier (see the figure). The percentage of women faculty members in the nation’s astronomy departments rose from 19% in 2014 to 25% in 2024. Those are among the findings in a recent report on the academic workforce by the statistical research team at the American Institute of Physics (publisher of Physics Today). See the Physics Today article at https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/upward-trend-in-percentage-of-women-physics-and-astronomy-faculty-in-us.

Overall, the State of the Academic Workforce in Physics and Astronomy, 2000-2024 report held good news for female astronomers. Women made up 25% of faculty members in astronomy departments in 2024, up from roughly 19% a decade earlier. 

Astronomy leads physics. The proportion of women in astronomy departments remained higher than in physics departments, where women were 21% of faculty in 2024.

From 2022 to 2024, the percentage of women in astronomy departments increased among associate professor ranks and "other" ranks (research and visiting professors).

New hires dipped from 38% in 2022 to 34% in 2024. Even after dipping, women were 34% of new astronomy hires in 2023–24.

Despite a decade of growth, women remain only one-quarter of astronomy faculty, so the gender gap at the senior/tenured level (full professors) is still substantial even as associate and "other" ranks improve. 

Read the full State of the Academic Workforce in Physics and Astrkonomy, 2000-2024 report at https://www.aip.org/statistics/the-state-of-the-academic-workforce-in-physics-and-astronomy-2000-2024.

AASWomen Newsletter for July 17, 2026

Adelaide Ames worked at the Harvard College Observatory from 1924-1932. She was co-author of the Shapley-Ames catalogue of bright galaxies.

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 17, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Sethanne Howard, Ferah Munshi, Stella Kafka, and Ben Keller

[Apologies for the late newsletter. We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: Q&A: Kate Marvel on the physics and emotions of climate change
2. AAS Policy Update (9 July 2026)
3. Who writes the rules of science?
4. Setting sail on an ocean research journey inspires Innu youths for futures in sciences
5. Garnet found in Mars meteorite surprises scientists
6. Mapping the Web of our Universe
7. Wally Funk, aviation pioneer and oldest woman to go into space, dies at 87
8. Commentary: Why African women can help take the next giant leap in space exploration
9. Women Astronauts. The Chance for Space Flight
10. The female science influencers who leverage their training and have legions of followers
11. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
13. 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.

Crosspost: Q&A: Kate Marvel on the physics and emotions of climate change

Today's crosspost was originally published on Physics Today on November 19, 2025. In this interview by Jessica Duncombe, astrophysicist turned climate physicist Kate Marvel discusses her journey from astrophysics to climate science, her work at NASA, and being a writer.

(From Physics Today)

PT: How did you get interested in climate science?

MARVEL: Some contacts recommended I try climate modeling during my first postdoc, so I went and talked to climate modeler Ken Caldeira. We ended up writing this crazy paper together. It was about hypothetically putting wind turbines in the jet stream. If we did that, how much energy could be extracted before we shut down global wind?

I was intrigued because the research question was nuts. I came from astrophysics, this field that tries to explain the entire universe. And I found myself being surprised that we didn’t know how much wind we have in the jet stream. I liked climate science because it addressed questions that seemed big and interesting and expansive but also relevant.

I also came from a hypercompetitive theoretical-physics department during my PhD where every seminar felt like a blood sport. Going to a seminar in climate science, I noticed that people were asking questions about things they were curious about as opposed to feeling the pressure to know everything. I liked the culture a lot better.

Read Marvel's full interview at https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/q-a-kate-marvel-on-the-physics-and-emotions-of-climate-change

In March 2026, Marvel left NASA to work for Project Drawdown, a non-profit organization leading science-based climate solutions. Find out more about Project Drawdown at https://www.facebook.com/projectdrawdown and about Kate at marvelclimate.com. 

AASWomen Newsletter for July 10, 2026

Isobel Romero-Shaw, item 4.
Credit: Cardiff University

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 10, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, 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. Crosspost: Building a culture of inclusion and allyship for queer astronomers
2. From the Archives: Career Profile: Astronomer to Analytics Company Founder and Chief Scientist
3. Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award
4. Dr. Isobel Romero-Shaw awarded Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship 2026
5. Having a child during grad school is especially hard on women
6. Hong Kong’s first astronaut inspires students to reach for the stars
7. L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Week 2026: Celebrating excellence and inspiring future generations
8. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: She Discovered What Stars Are Made Of
9. The Elements of Marie Curie
10. University of Valencia action to promote balanced participation of women and men in Astronomy and Astrophysics
11. Women Nobel Laureates in STEM (2000–2023): Life Stories, Challenges, and How They Achieved Impact for Success
12. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
13. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
14. 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.

From the Archives: Career Profile: Astronomer to Analytics Company Founder and Chief Scientist

Today's From the Archives features Dr. Genevieve Graves' 2016 career interview profile. Ten years on, Dr. Graves continues to work successfully outside of astronomy. Enjoy today's trip into the archives. 

The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy and the AAS Employment Committee have compiled dozens of 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 Dr. Genevieve Graves, an astronomer who left astronomy to co-found a "people analytics" company, hiQ Labs, and become its chief data scientist. Dr. Graves received her Ph.D. at UC Santa Cruz working with Professor Sandra Faber. Following her Ph.D., she went to the UC Berkeley Department of Astronomy as a Miller Fellow and then to the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University as a postdoctoral fellow. Her astronomical research focussed on star formation histories and galaxy evolution.  

Recently, she was featured in the Harvard Business Review in an article on "Why people quit their jobs" (see the "This is an Early Warning Signal" feature box).

For access to all our Career Profile Project interviews, please visit http://aas.org/jobs/career-profiles. New Career Profiles are posted approximately every month.

Crosspost: Building a culture of inclusion and allyship for queer astronomers

SGMA, the Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy, was recently featured in Nature.com. SGMA wrote an article discussing the history of the committee, which began through informal dinners at AAS conferences. These dinners provided queer astronomers and allies with community and the space to share their experiences within the profession. SGMA also highlights how it brings queer astronomers together now through AAS conferences, online meet-ups, and community-sourced resources on inclusion and allyship. 

SGMA logo (AAS)

In the Nature.com article, SGMA states, "Thus, it is imperative that all members of the astronomy community, not just those who identify as queer, engage in advocacy efforts to protect and advance the rights of queer individuals."

Read SGMA's full article at nature.com or at aas.org.

astronomy community, not just those who

identify as queer, engage in advocacy efforts

to protect and advance the rights of queer

individuals.”