The State of the Universe

Chairman Lamar Smith and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson

of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

cordially invite you to attend: 

The State of the Universe: 

A lunch briefing on new discoveries

and the importance of diversity in the astronomical sciences

12:00 – 1:00 PM on February 5, 2015

2325 Rayburn House Office Building 

RSVP by February 3rd @ aas.org/rsvp-SOTUniverse-2015 

For the second consecutive year, the AAS in partnership with the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, bring you The State of the Universe, a briefing on the astronomical sciences. Our speakers will highlight exciting new discoveries and provide first-hand perspectives on the power of astronomy as a gateway science and the importance of bringing a broad and diverse set of viewpoints to bear on exciting scientific challenges. Through inspirational imagery and elegant descriptions of our universe, the astronomical sciences draw millions of students to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, preparing them for a wide range of careers in many sectors of the economy that support our nation's prosperity.

Fed Up with Sexual Harassment: Guest Post By Dara Norman

Reproduced from the January 2014 Issue of STATUS: A Report on Women in Astronomy. Guest post by Dara Norman, Research Associate, National Optical Astronomy Observatory.

I am not too social with my media and I am not much for reading blogs. However, even lacking modern connectivity, I still managed to hear about the “urban whore” episode through the electronic grapevine (a list-server). The outrage of the sender and the sketchiness of the account made me immediately curious. A very brief synopsis is that an African American female scientist who writes a blog for Scientific American under the title “Urban Scientist” was asked to contribute to another science blog. When she inquired about compensation, she was asked, in an email, by the editor if she was “an urban scientist or an urban whore.” Googling “urban whore” turned out to be sufficient to get the story.

My reaction – probably typical – was a cascade of emotions. First, I went through shock: not only that the name-calling happened but, even more, that someone would demonstrate such blatant disrespect in an email! I was also outraged at the editor’s assumption of his own privilege and power. I moved on to recognition that as a Black female scientist, similar power play put-downs have certainly happened to me. Finally I settled into a feeling of helplessness that these things continue to happen at all levels of science and in many scientific fields. In the explosion of commentary since the initial episode, I’ve seen a few discussions based on the assumption that a male scientist would never be insulted for asking about compensation for his work. I also wonder if even a white woman would have been labeled “whore”... but that is an outrage for another day.