Friday, September 18, 2026

AASWomen Newsletter for September 18, 2026



AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of September 18, 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. Crosspost: Dara Norman to Receive 2026 Arthur B.C. Walker II Award
2. NA-ROAD Announces the 2026 Women and Girls in Astronomy Program Cohort
3. Emily Levesque Named Next Editor in Chief of AAS Journals
4. CSWA accepting applications for new members
5. IAU Equity and Inclusion Survey 2026
6. New oral histories: Women’s experiences in moving into science
7. In an Age of AI, a Physicist Seeks What Endures
8. Job Opportunities
9. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
11. 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: Dara Norman to Receive 2026 Arthur B.C. Walker II Award
From: Kimberly S. Mitchell via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Dara Norman served as the AAS president from 2024 until June of this year. She is also the Deputy Director of the NoirLab Community Science and Data Center. Her research focuses on AGN environmental triggers and galactic evolution, while she has also been a leader and advocate for science. The award honors African-Americans or scientists of African descent for their outstanding dual contributions to science and to their efforts towards advocacy and inclusion in STEM. It is given by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Dr. Arthur B.C. Walker was a solar physicist and longtime Stanford professor who mentored many students, with a focus on mentoring female and minority students.

Read more at: https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2026/09/crosspost-dara-norman-to-receive-2026.html

Back to top.


2. NA-ROAD Announces the 2026 Women and Girls in Astronomy Program Cohort
From: Stella Kafka [Stella.Kafka _at_ aas.org]

Ten community-rooted projects across the North American region selected to receive 2026 Women and Girls in Astronomy Program mini-grants. WGAP inspires and empowers women, girls and underrepresented genders in astronomy by supporting innovative, community-rooted projects that foster participation and inclusion in the field. From a highly competitive pool of proposals submitted across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Greenland and the Caribbean, ten projects were selected to each receive a US$2,000 mini-grant.

Read more at: https://aui.edu/na-road-announces-the-2026-women-and-girls-in-astronomy-program-cohort/

Back to top.


3. Emily Levesque Named Next Editor in Chief of AAS Journals
From: Jeremy Bailin [Jeremy.Bailin _at_ aas.org]

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) today announced that Dr. Emily Levesque (University of Washington) has been confirmed as the next Editor in Chief of the AAS journals. Dr. Levesque will succeed Dr. Ethan Vishniac, who announced last year that he would step down from the role at the end of summer 2027 after 12 years of service.

Read more at: https://aas.org/press/emily-levesque-named-editor-chief-aas-journals

Back to top.


4. CSWA accepting applications for new members
From: Stella Kafka [Stella.Kafka _at_ aas.org]

The AAS Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) is accepting applications for new members.

Read more at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jc4I7Pt96e2PRDoqqg0uMrlnysv8Je-l-qFlRzk3Y-k/viewform?edit_requested=true

Back to top.


5. IAU Equity and Inclusion Survey 2026
From: Jeremy Bailin [Jeremy.Bailin _at_ aas.org]

The IAU Recommendations for improving equity, inclusion and diversity in astronomy – a document drafted by a group of astronomers and inclusion specialists at the initiative of the IAU, published on 10 January 2021 – highlight the need to collect data to help identify and address the barriers that hinder or prevent the full participation of IAU Members and Associates with disabilities in the Union’s activities and bodies. The survey is part of the professional study “Research on the barriers faced by astronomers with disabilities who are members of the IAU” conducted through a partnership between the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Read more at: https://iau.secure-platform.com/site/organizations/main/submissions/details/111880

Back to top.


6. New oral histories: Women’s experiences in moving into science
From: Jeremy Bailin [Jeremy.Bailin _at_ aas.org]

An AIP project supported by the Henry Luce Foundation has been working to document and celebrate women’s contributions to the physical sciences. As part of that effort, Niels Bohr Library and Archives fellow Dorothy Tang and Anna Doel interviewed sixteen scientists.

Read more at: https://www.aip.org/history/oral-histories-women-moving-into-science

Back to top.


7. In an Age of AI, a Physicist Seeks What Endures
From: Ben Keller [bkeller1_at_memphis.edu]

Sarah Demers, chair of the physics department at Yale University, sees the potential for large language models to both help and harm her field.

Read more at: https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-an-age-of-ai-a-physicist-seeks-what-endures-20260903/

Back to top.


8. 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

- Open Rank Professor - Planetary Science at Cornell University in Ithica, NY
https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32680

- Open Rank Professor - Astrophysics at Cornell University in Ithica, NY
https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32678

- Full Professor - Astronomy at Universidad de Tarapacá in Providencia, Chile
https://aas.org/jobregister/ad/656789e4

Back to top.


9. 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.

Back to top.


10. 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/aaswlist/subscribe/ and enter your name and email address, 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.

Back to top.


11. Access to Past Issues

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/search/label/AASWOMEN

Back to top.

No comments :