Highlighting Stories of Black Women In Science This Month

As we celebrate Black History Month this February, we've gathered stories and interviews of Black women in science. Read on!

Image by ekavesh from Pixabay

In Stories From Black Physicists in Our Collection, the AIP collected interviews from members and presented them this February in a series of not-to-be-missed articles.

Read about Lynnae C. Quick, a Senior Planetary Scientist at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Quick previously worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center  before joining the Applied Physics Lab. Currently, she focuses on modeling volcanic processes on the terrestrial planets and the icy moons of the outer solar system. Read Quick's story, and find her AIP Oral History Interviews at AIP.org. 

Director of Johnson Space Center Vanessa E. Wyche oversees a broad swath of programs, from Mission Control Center, International Space Station, Orion, and Gateway programs. Wyche has held many leadership positions within NASA. Check out this Fireside Chat with Wyche from ExploreMars.org, where Wyche outlines the roadmap to returning humans to the Moon and more on Johnson Space Center's programs. 

Join Vanessa Wyche, NASA's Acting Associate Administrator, in an exclusive fireside chat at the 2025 Humans to the Moon and Mars Summit (H2M2), held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Moderated by J.R. Edwards, President of Explore Mars, Inc.

Scientific American interviewed Aomawa Shields in 2023 at the release of her memoir Life On Other Planets. Find the interview Only 26 Black Women Have Ever Become Astrophysicists in the U.S. Here's One Story. Shields also founded Rising Stargirls to encourage girls of all colors to learn and discover more about space. You can watch SheShields' TEDx talk "How We'll Find Life on Other Planets" on YouTube, among other videos. Shields brings an acting background to her work, giving her a unique, multifaceted approach to science. 

Aomawa Shields, How We'll Find Life On Other Planets, TedEx. 

From the Women in Astronomy blog archives, (re)read this crosspost by Dr. Jedidah Isler: On Planck's Law, Blackbodies, and the Physics of Diversity, first published in the June 2014 issue of Status. 

Happy Black History Month. We celebrate all of the contributions Black women have made in astronomy and physics and look forward to even more to celebrate. 

Spotlight on Dr. Beth Brown

As we hit the end of February, let’s revisit one of astronomy’s brightest stars who left us too early. 

Beth Brown was born February 4, 1969. She grew up in Roanoke, Virginia watching reruns of Star Trek and was enthralled with Star Wars, and both fueled her love for the stars. In high school she visited an observatory, where she viewed the Ring Nebula through a telescope. That school trip impacted her deeply, and after graduation, Brown decided to pursue astronomy.

She chose Howard University as an astrophysics major, dreaming of one day becoming an astronaut. While an undergrad, she learned her dislike of tight spaces (like those in a space shuttle) and that being near-sighted might not be the best attributes for an astronaut. Brown still pursued astrophysics, though, and graduated summa cum laude in 1991. While still an undergrad, she interned twice for NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center.

Brown pursued her graduate degrees at the University of Michigan, earning both her Masters and her doctoral degrees there. She became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in astronomy from the university. While studying astronomy, Brown also participated in science communication, teaching students and the general public about astronomy through the local planetarium and developing a short course at the university for non-astronomy majors to learn about the subject.

Photo: NASA

After obtaining her PhD, Dr. Brown returned to NASA, first as a post-doctoral research associate focused on elliptical galaxies, using both the ROSAT X-ray satellite and Chandra X-ray observatory to gather data. In her career at NASA, Dr. Brown worked at Goddard Space Flight Center and the X-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory. She also taught classes at Howard University on physics and astronomy as part of a NASA administrator fellowship.

Dr. Brown had just accepted a new position at GSFC as the Assistant Director for Science Communications and Higher Education, a job that combined her love for teaching and communicating about astronomy. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the chance to fulfill that role. Dr. Brown suffered a pulmonary embolism in October of 2008 which led to her unexpected death at the age of 39.

The Dr. Beth A. Brown Science Foundation was founded to remember and honor Dr. Brown by awarding scholarships to students studying physics or astronomy. The foundation awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are attending a university and majoring in either subject, as well as current students at Howard University and the University of Michigan.

The American Astronomical Society remembers Dr. Brown through the Beth Brown Memorial Award. In conjunction with the National Society of Black Physicists, the awards are given to an undergraduate and a graduate student who presents their research to the NSBP in poster format, and one student who presents in an oral format. Those selected receive a year of membership in AAS and registration to an AAS event with reimbursement for expenses. Members of the Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy (CSMA) are often involved in the selection process through the NSBP. 

Though Dr. Brown’s time in astronomy was cut short, she made deep and lasting impacts everywhere she went. Astro 127, or Naked Eye Astronomy, is still taught at the University of Michigan, allowing students to experience the joy of learning about the most common astronomical objects that can be observed with the naked eye.

Photo: NASA

Through her work, teaching, and outreach, she inspired young people to look to the stars, just as she did that first time she peered through a telescope and felt the stars calling her.

Cross-post: Defying the Stereotype of Black Resilience

Cross-post: Defying the Stereotype of Black Resilience

(Original article written by Jyoti Madhusoodanana for Nature.com, May 30, 2024)

Kaela S. Singleton has pushed back against Black stereotypes again and again as she pursued her PhD in neuroscience and then made a career shift to nonprofit leadership. Singleton faced common assumptions and myths about Black students in academia. In 2020, she co-founded Black in Neuro, a community for Black researchers in neuroscience and their allies. This network provides mentorship and professional development for Black researchers in the field.

 

Image Credit: Kaela S. Singlton at kss-phd.com.

Singleton also finds herself confronting racism and has found ways to engage others about it, even when it makes both parties uncomfortable.  “A lot of times, it comes down to just having conversations and being direct with people,” Singleton says in her Nature.com interview. She also discusses the myths of Black resilience and changing her mind about her career direction after receiving her PhD. 

Read Singleton’s full interview Defying the stereotype of Black resilience at nature.com.

Learn more about the history of Black History Month at ASALH - The Founders of Black History Month. 

Find out more about what drives Kaela Singleton, read her bio, and view copies of her successful applications (free resources for others to view) at Kaela S. Singleton, PhD.

Andrea Mosie: Curator of Lunar Samples

Andrea Mosie calls herself "a Moon person". As she should. For nearly five decades, Andrea has worked at NASA's Johnson Space Center, where she is responsible for curating Apollo lunar samples, a job that is truly out of this world. She helps to allocate the samples to scientists around the world, who then use them for scientific research, studying anything from understanding the Moon's origin and evolution to investigating its bombardment history to inventorying its chemical reservoir that includes water, among other topics. Andrea started the job almost immediately after college (earning degrees in Chemistry and Math from Huston-Tillotson University) and found that the job suited her penchant for organization and having things "just right". 

Mosie, Senior Scientist Specialist, holds an Apollo 15 lunar sample (credit: NASA). 

Learn more about Andrea's amazing career in her own words.

Learn more about the women who curate extraterrestrial samples here.

View NASA's Black History Month Image Gallery.

Cross-post: Meet the scientist protecting women of color from the wrong side of AI

[Eds. note: February 11 was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.]

Dr. Joy Buolamwini during 2023 Massachusetts Conference For Women in Boston, on Dec. 14, 2023.
(Image Credit: Marla Aufmuth / Getty Images file)

By Daniela Pierre-Bravo, for msnbc.com

At 34, computer scientist and poet, Dr. Joy Buolamwini, has already made her mark as a pioneer in the rapidly developing field of artificial intelligence.

She’s advised President Biden and Big Tech on the benefits and dangers of AI, was named one of Time’s "100 Most Influential people in AI," has worked on documentaries about the subject, and she recently released a book about her personal journey in the space: “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines.”

Her research as an AI scientist came into focus during her time as a graduate student at MIT: addressing the downfalls in machine learning (the building blocks of AI systems).

At the time, Dr. Buolamwini was working on a face detection technology for an art installation she was building. She noticed the software program was having trouble detecting her skin color. It wasn’t until she decided to place a white mask on her face that it finally started to work properly.

Read more at

https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/business-culture/meet-scientist-protecting-women-color-wrong-side-ai-rcna137489

AASWomen Newsletter for February 9, 2024

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of February 9, 2024
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Nicolle Zellner, Sethanne Howard, and Hannah Jang-Condell

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

This week's issues:
1. Celebrating Black in STEM – Part 1
2. AAS Announces Honors
3. Help Protect Funding for Astronomical Sciences
4. Herschel Medal Awarded to Roberta Humphreys
5. Other Astronomy Prizes Awarded 
6. Passion, curiosity and perseverance: my mission to capture women in science on camera
7. Soapbox Science’s 2024 speaker call is NOW OPEN!  
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.

Celebrating Black in STEM - Part 1

NASA Pioneers and Innovators (Image Credit: NASA)

Since 1976, every American president has officially designated February as Black History Month, a celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time to acknowledge and recognize their central role in American history. The annual event grew out of "Negro History Week", initiated by historian and civil rights leader Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Around the world other countries also devote a month to celebrating Black history. Read more about the month's history here.

Organizations that support scientists in astronomy and physics have provided resources, guidance, and advice for advancing the careers of Black astronomers and physicists. Below is a partial list. 

• Black in Astro
• Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy (AAS)
• Astronomy in Color
• Black Lives in Astronomy (Andrew Fraknoi)
• Celebrating Black History, including curated physics resources and news (AIP)
• National Society of Black Physicists
• Women of Color: Pioneers and Innovators (NASA)
• Resource Guide for Black and African American Students in STEM (bestcolleges.com)
• Supporting Black/African Americans in STEM (NSF)

Do you recommend others? Please add them in the comments section.

Crosspost: How networking can bolster diversity in physics

By Claire Malone for Physics World

Image credit: Shutterstock/melitas

Physicists who want to solve the world’s great challenges don’t just need deep technical expertise, but also excellent networking skills. ... getting the most out of networking is all a question of practice – and providing those opportunities is key to increasing diversity in physics.

Whether it’s providing clean water around the world or designing space craft to monitor the impact of climate change, today’s young people are keen to find solutions to the many challenges society is facing. That effort needs many different approaches, but studying physics undoubtedly increases the arsenal of tools a young person can use towards these aims.

However, what is often not taught in the physics classroom is that soft skills – such as networking and communicating your work – can be just as important for your career as getting your head around nuclear fusion or quantum mechanics. Not only that, but practising these skills is helpful for giving young people confidence in all areas of life – and in turn, promotes diversity in physics.

Read more, including five tips for networking, at

https://physicsworld.com/a/how-networking-can-bolster-diversity-in-physics/

A peer-reviewed study by Wicker et al. on the "web of support" can be found at

https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/907272

NASA documentary: The Color of Space

As NASA prepares to return humans to the Moon, the Artemis generation is looking forward to seeing the first woman and the first person of color set foot there. In June 2022, NASA published a documentary, The Color of Space, that focuses on the lives and careers of seven current and former Black astronauts. Stephanie Wilson, Victor Glover, Jeanette Epps, Leland Melvin, Bernard Harris, Robert Curbeam, and Bobby Satcher each spoke about their path to selection as members of NASA's astronaut corps, as well as their training and mission experiences. The panel discussion was hosted by Vanessa Wyche, NASA Johnson Space Center Director and the first Black woman to lead a NASA center.  

Title slide, The Color of Space (credit: NASA)

.

More information about The Color of Space can be found here. NASA plans to have viewing events through fall 2023, which will be adverised on NASA's Eventbrite page.

View NASA's Black History Month Image Gallery.

AASWomen Newsletter for February 05, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of February 05, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Alessandra Aloisi, and Jeremy Bailin

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

Ada Carrera
from item 4
Credit: Unistellar

This week's issues:

1. AAS Code of Ethics and the Code of Ethics Committee

2. Early Career Astronomers & their supporters session on 28th of June 2021 - call for (suggested) speakers

3. PI Launchpad: Developing Your First Flight Mission Proposal

4. Asteroid naming contest sparks discussion of women in astronomy

5. Black History Month: Highlighting African-American Engineers, Pt. 1

6. Learn more about these 28 scientists for Black History Month

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.