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. 

Women in Astronomy: Space for Students - Part 9: Tatum Umiamaka

By: Libby Fenstermacher

In our popular Career Profile series, the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy has compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers, planetary scientists, and those in related fields. In a twist on this series, we video-interviewed students in astronomy and astrophysics to highlight their personal and academic career paths. The purpose of this series is three-fold. It aims not only to give a voice and exposure to those who are up and coming in the field but also to give feedback to the Astronomical community at large about the experiences of students who identify as women. The hope is that these interviews will not only share advice and lessons learned but will shed light on how to encourage and inspire more women, from various backgrounds and skill sets, to follow space trajectories and reach towards the stars.

Below is our interview with Tatum Umiamaka, a recent graduate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a degree in Astrophysics and Computer Science. This summer and last, she has worked as an intern at the W. M. Keck Observatory. This fall, she’ll be heading to Caltech to start her PhD in Astronomy. Outside of her Astronomical pursuits, Tatum is an artist. She especially enjoys making rugs inspired by Hawaiian quilt patterns and believes that her artistic mind gives her a different and unique perspective.

Tatum emphasizes the importance of living a balanced and healthy life. She also reminds us that it’s okay to take your time and be patient with yourself when chasing big goals. Her story is filled with inspiration, and I look forward to sharing it with you. 

Watch the video here : https://youtu.be/OBAOx1Cr7mk

Interview Transcript between Libby Fernstermacher and Tatum Umiamaka

Libby: Hey everybody, thanks for joining me today. My name is Libby Fenstermacher,and today I'm here with Tatum, and she's going to tell us a little bit about her journey in astronomy and astrophysics. So thank you so much for joining me today, and I can't wait to hear your story. So can you tell us a little bit about your background?

Tatum: Of course. So hi everyone. My name is Tatum Umiamaka and I'm currently a senior at the University of Hawaii Manoa where I study astrophysics and computer science. I am originally from Colorado Springs, Co, so I grew up there but moved to Hawaii for college. But of course, Hawaii has always had a special place in my heart. I grew up visiting here all the time to see family and such. So I really was excited to get the opportunity to move here, both for, you know, having a really great astronomy and astrophysics program, but also to get a little more connected to my roots and to spend more time with family. A little about myself outside of school, though. I am an artist. I love to create things I rug make, so. I'm making like Hawaiian quilt design rugs right now, all by hand. So it takes a little while to make those, but they're my stress relief. It's what I do in my free time and it gives me peace of mind a little bit. I'm also really active. I love to surf. I love to do volleyball and everything like that to balance out my life a little bit. But, that's a little about me.

Tatum's Hawaiian quilt designs

Libby: Awesome. I can't wait to see more of your rugs. They're just so cool. So. What inspired you to choose a path in astronomy and astrophysics in the 1st place? 

Tatum: Yeah, so my path towards astronomy is not necessarily traditional, I feel, in fact that I came across the field because I found it very hard. So in high school my last two years, so my junior, senior year, I took physics. And physics gave me a lot of trouble. Having to connect math with the science was a little hard for me at first. Using calculus in my science classes, I didn't necessarily feel too comfortable with at that time, and it really frustrated me. So I was set, and I was like, I am going to figure this out. So I decided to maybe consider physics. But then I was talking to my professor and she mentioned that a lot of women end up going into astrophysics or astronomy. So that kind of made me consider astronomy a little bit and then trying to find out where I was going to school. Hawaii was a really good option, especially cause you know, coming back to see family and like rejoin my roots was really interesting to me, so. Manoa has a really good astronomy program, especially cause we're so close to the telescopes. And so that kind of, you know, the two two lines connected and I decided to go for astronomy and astrophysics. I added on computer science just because a lot of what we do in astrophysics is with computers and having those skills is super useful and super important and not a lot of astronomy programs necessarily prepare their students enough. For, you know, a PhD or going to Graduate School at astrophysics if they don't have really strong computer science backgrounds. So I thought that was a good choice and it ended up working pretty well. So yeah, that's kind of how I came to astronomy. It's not like I had it in me from when I was little. It's more because I'm stubborn and determined and I have to understand things.

Libby: So now that you found your way to astronomy, what about it excites you? What's kept you, kept you in?

Tatum: You know, growing up, my dad always watched the Discovery Channel and learning about like the string theory and everything that we don't know in the universe is super interesting to me. And it makes me question a lot of the things that we know and are researching and it's just a super interesting field because it's always developing. We're always looking for the next thing. And what sometimes you don't realize is that the astronomy field also gives us so much like new technologies. You know, it changes the way we think of life as we know it and. It's just a super developed field that I think is just really inspiring. The people in it are also really exciting. Everyone is so passionate about it, which I think is super important. But yeah, it's just a great community to be a part of and it's just overall so exciting to, you know, work towards discovering the next best thing in the universe.

Libby: Yeah, the passion I've discovered from all of the people I've met in the field has been undying and unwavering. It just is, it's so immense because there is so much to discover and it's just so endless. I'm so excited for you. What about astronomy have you found challenging? You mentioned physics, but what have you done to overcome the challenges that you faced?

 Tatum: So of course, going into astrophysics or astronomy, you're going to take hard classes. You're basically getting a physics degree with an astronomy concentration a little bit. So you're gonna take all the normal physics classes and then maybe have some more specialized ones for astronomy or computer science, mathematics. So yeah, there's a lot of courses out there, but the main thing I've used to kind of help myself through is remaining rooted in my vision and knowing what I want to do. So if you come to the point where like, you know, you lose track, you're just taking all the classes, like take a deep breath, you know, remind yourself why you're doing this and make a plan. You know, I have a planner and it is my Bible. I love to schedule things, sometimes even by the hour and minute. But you know, just remind yourself that you're here for a purpose. You can get through. Everything will be fine in the end. You'll, you know, you'll make it to the finish line if that's where you want to be. But, you know, remind yourself that you know you're working towards something that's hard, but it's going to feel so good at the end.

Libby: Yeah, absolutely. Something that's been told to me before is when it feels the hardest, it means you're in that learning space. You're in that space between not knowing and knowing, and it's going to be difficult. But then once you reach that end goal, it's all worth all the struggle.

Tatum: It's kind of like in volleyball where, you know, the conditioning and the stages where, you know, you're in the most pain or you're the most tired, that’s going to show you that you can go that far and that you can play at the best of your ability, even when you're tired. And that really translates, I think, to college in general.

Libby: Absolutely. That's a really wonderful analogy. So what do you think is a common misperception about astronomers or astronomy as discipline or career path in general?

Tatum: I think one misperception is that astronomy is just for astronomers. This field is so diverse and there's so many people that are needed in order to make it work. So you need technicians, you need engineers, you need computer scientists, you need even illustrators to realize like theories and perceptions of what we think is true in a visual way so you can present it to an audience to allow people to learn what we're thinking about. You know, so you can be involved in astronomy in so many different ways. And you don't necessarily need to get astronomy or astrophysics degree in order to be a part of the community. For example, I this past year have been going on a lot of graduate visits, and a lot of the people that were on these visits with me weren't necessarily from astronomy. They're from physics, they're from mathematics. And you know, you can succeed in the field still, even if you come from different pathways. Another misperception, I think, is that you. Have to be really good at math and science. Yes, it helps to be traditionally kind of geared towards science and mathematics in the STEM field. But even if you're from, I don't know, if you're more strong in literature or you're more strong in history but you're very interested in astronomy and think you want to go into it, there is definitely a place for you and. You can learn these things over time. You know, no one is good at something by doing it once and you have to work at it. You have to practice, you have to do the homework. So you know, you're gonna eventually be, you're gonna eventually develop those skills and you will get there. I think I'm a good example because I'm an artist. I was traditionally good at writing and not necessarily reading, but art in general. I'm a very artsy person, but you know. Learning about physics and mathematics really interested me. I wasn't good at it, but I kept practicing and now I'm on my way.

Libby: Excellent. You know, as a social scientist, there's also ways to work within astronomy. There's even PhD routes I've seen through universities in Australia, that specialize in indigenous astronomy or like the Anthropology of Astronomy. So there's so many routes that people can take. As I said before, it's endless.

Tatum: It's a very big field. Yeah.

Libby: So what are you currently working on? You're just about to graduate.

Tatum: Yeah, so I'm graduating in a couple of days actually, but I just actually submitted my first author paper with my mentor, Dr. Joshua Barnes. And this paper studies the effects of Halo anisotropy in the mergers of disk galaxies. So we use N-body simulations to visualize mergers of disk galaxies with anisotropic dark halos and specifically studying their orbit decay in tidal features and material. So I'm really excited about that project and now we're in the reviewing process, so we'll cross our fingers to see if we can get that published soon. But this past summer I was also a part of the Akamai Internship program, which is a program geared towards students studying at or studying in Hawaii or from Hawaii to get them introduced to local STEM companies in order to get them kind of a job in the future. So I was lucky to be a part of this program and I got connected to the W Keck Observatory where I am working with my mentor Dr. Charlotte Guthrie and there I am doing some software development. I'm a adaptive optics software engineer intern, so. I'm rewriting some of their old calibration scripts that were in IDL. We want to convert them to Python and update the system, make them more modular to, you know, increase code reuse, make it more understandable for people to read the code and yeah, just use overall in the future. So that is an ongoing thing for me. So I'm really fortunate to have gotten connected to the Keck Observatory. The people there are my favorite people in the entire world. Their passion and their kindness just really gave me hope for this field and makes me really want to be a part of this community in the future. So hopefully I will make my way back to Hawaii and hopefully join an observatory to better astronomy in Hawaii and just, you know, inspire everyone as they've inspired me.

Libby: Wonderful. Everyone at Keck that I've met has been just so, once again, welcoming and so smart, and they really stand up for science there and the community. So, I'm stoked that you get to go back and be a part of them, and their work again. It's really wonderful. So, what are your near future plans after that? Where are you going after Keck this summer?

Tatum: Yeah, so I was fortunate enough to get into a grad program. So I'll be working my way over to Pasadena in California where I'll be a PhD student at the California Institute of Technology, so Caltech. So I'm hopefully going to better instrumentation at Tech and both around the country, working with some professors over there. But I'm super excited to be going over there. It's a super great university, and I'm just really excited for the opportunities that will get me in the future.

Libby: So, Speaking of the future, what are your aspirations? Like what do you see your yourself having accomplished by the time you're 80?

Tatum: I think my biggest why right now of what I'm doing, what I'm doing and where I want to go in the future is coming back to Hawaii to go to school has really transformed me and really developed my identity and I definitely want to be back here. Especially helping the astronomy community be more rooted a little bit and connecting, you know, the Hawaiian people a little more with the astronomy community. Historically there's been some division, but my dream is to, you know, let these two communities coexist and thrive with each other and… I was doing some reflecting and so I'm taking a course called Pacific Worlds at UH and during this course we learned about wayfinding and how ancient people or people from Oceana or like ancient Hawaii used the waves to guide them through the ocean and to find the next island and how they did this is you study the waves and when an island is near, the waves will tell you by like diffraction patterns and how they're coming off of these islands. And so when I was learning about this, I was like, that's exactly kind of what we do in astronomy. You know, we studied light waves and by like studying the lights and its wave, we know what's out in the universe. So just connecting those two worlds of using ocean waves and using light waves, I think is, you know, connecting indigenous knowledge systems with modern knowledge systems, I think is super important and very interesting. So that's just what I kind of want to do in the future is connect the two communities and find a way where we can exist cohesively and learn from each other.

Libby: Beautiful. It's genius. I love that connection because it makes total sense. So I think that's a really great way of bridging that gap. What advice would you give to someone considering a trajectory similar to yours or wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Tatum: The biggest point of advice I would give is it's okay to step out of your comfort zone and it's needed. No one does great things when they're comfortable. You have to take a risk and you have to challenge yourself. But you also have to know when to stop as well. Don't burn yourself out, take time for yourself, make sure you have a balanced life. Physical and mental health is very important in order to do well academically. And as much time you put towards school, put time towards going outside, going to the beach, going on a hike, you know, having a well-rounded life will make you so much happier and allow yourself to actually learn more, for sure. Umm I like to exercise in the morning cause it engages my brain really early and so by the time I am in my class, my brain is fully awake. I can absorb everything that I'm learning and then I go to sleep later. But that balance towards taking care of myself and towards, you know, learning and going to my classes is super

important for me and has allowed me to do a lot in my career, so. I think those two points, taking care of yourself as well as you know knowing when to push yourself and yeah, just to be better is super important.

Libby: That's really great advice, but did you receive any mentorship or advice yourself along your path? And what is the most important guidance that you think that you've received?

Tatum: So I've had so many mentors, some more traditional than others. So the professors that I've done research with at the university as well as Keck Observatory have given me a lot of support throughout my journey and, you know, pushing, pushing myself, pushing my abilities. Doctor Barnes really pushed me to, you know, publish a paper, which I'm super thankful for. And some of the other mentors I've had, you know, pushed me to. Learning stuff that's outside of the classroom that's super important in the field, like how to manage your time, how to, you know, kind of fold your tongue, asking a question to try and figure out yourself first. That has been super helpful in my career, as well as, you know, non-traditional mentors who have really taught me to know my purpose and to push myself and be passionate about what I do and my purpose and not look back. Just once you make your decision, full force, you know, and just do it. That's probably the the biggest thing that I am following right now is, you know, don't look back, just go forward and see where it takes you.

Tatum Umiamaka

Libby: Yes. Commit to the course and see what happens. What, if any, changes would you like to see for women in astronomy?

Tatum: I think one of the biggest changes is equal representation and of course equality. I think it's super important to have a woman on graduate panel. More women in, you know, important positions in the in the astronomy community. I think sometimes that you know. Women can kind of, because we're not the dominant force in the field, we can kind of feel that we don't belong. But knowing that, you know, we deserve to be here and this feeling that we don't belong isn't because of us. You know, we have always belonged and we will always belong. So I think that's the biggest thing for me. I'm kind of getting some hope now cause I'm seeing just more and more women come into the field. A lot of underclass, a lot of the underclassmen below me are women. And so it's just very inspiring. And even like my peers, just seeing them develop and you know, are going to graduate schools, it gives me a lot of hope for us in the future, but I still think there's a lot of work that needs to be done. But it's changing slowly, but it's changing.

Libby: Yeah, even just the diversity of women that I've interviewed in this series has been really awesome to see that anybody can enter the field. And I really hope that that message resonates with our viewers out there. So total curveball here. What is your favorite movie or TV show?

Tatum: TV show, Stranger Things. I'm a diehard Stranger Things fan. I've watched it like so many times and it's my comfort show. So whenever I'm doing my homework, it's on in the background. In terms of movie, I have to say Chasing Mavericks. So it's a story about a surfer from Santa Cruz and he is set on surfing Mavericks, which is a surf break in California, don't know why it's so inspiring for me, but it really just motivates me, you know, like having a dream and accomplishing it and accomplishing it well for yourself. That's it. It like whenever I'm down, I just put it on and then I re motivated. So that has to be one of my favorites to date.

Libby: Awesome, I just wrote it down. I've never heard of that before.

Tatum: It's on Disney+.

Libby: Cool, cool. Well, thank you so much for being here again. This has been a wonderful interview, and I’ve just loved getting to know you over the past little while. Is there anything else you'd like to add or share before we say sayonara?

Tatum: Maybe one last piece of advice, is to keep your mind always open. I know that if it's if I lose myself in this field, maybe I need to go somewhere else. If you've if you're in a different place in your life right now where maybe you have a different career, but astronomy is super interesting to you and you want to come into this field, do it. You know, always keep an open mind. Everything is not fixed. This is a super, super interesting world we live in right now where, you know, everyone can make choices at different parts of their life. And it doesn't, you know, hinder things too much. You know, you can always make different decisions. And, you know, maybe if I decide to become an artist one day, maybe I'll become an artist. But for now, this is definitely my vision, and I hope to complete it.

Libby: Well, I will be rooting for you. And I can't wait to see what you accomplished in your PhD program and beyond. Thank you.

Tatum: Thank you for having me. This has been super wonderful.

Libby: Absolutely. Thank you, Tatum. And yes,see you soon. Bye.

Space for Students: Part 9 - Dalila Pisano

By: Libby Fenstermacher

In our popular Career Profile series, the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy has compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers, planetary scientists, and those in related fields. In a twist on this series, we video-interviewed students in astronomy and astrophysics to highlight their personal and academic career paths. The purpose of this series is three-fold. It aims not only to give a voice and exposure to those who are up and coming in the field but also to give feedback to the Astronomical community at large about the experiences of students who identify as women. The hope is that these interviews will not only share advice and lessons learned but will shed light on how to encourage and inspire more women, from various backgrounds and skill sets, to follow space trajectories, and reach towards the stars.

Below is our interview with Dalila Pisano, a recent graduate of Aberystwyth University in Wales with a Master’s in Astrophysics. A first-generation college graduate, she found her passion for the sciences at a young age and discovered her path in astronomy and astrophysics in her early teenage years. Dalila is now on the search for a funded PhD program where she can continue her studies researching exoplanets. When not focused on her path amongst the stars, tutoring, or doing outreach, Dalila loves crocheting, embroidery, travelling, reading, and spending time with loved ones.

 

“I did some mentoring in a local secondary school for young girls, and the main purpose of that was to tell them about careers in STEM and to let them consider even doing a STEM degree, because a lot of young people don't consider it if they don't have role models or people to look up to. So it's really important that we do that for young people. I think it should start really early on. By the time we get to university, it might be too late because they've already chosen their degree.”

Keep reading for the full interview between Libby and Dalila, or watch the interview on YouTube at Space For Students.

Transcript:

Libby: Hi, everybody. Thank you for joining me today. My name is Libby Fenstermacher, and today I'm here with Dalila and she's going to talk about being a student in astronomy and astrophysics. So thank you so much for being here today. Do you want to share a little bit about your background with us?

Dalila: Yes. Thank you so much, Libby. Yeah. Hi, I'm Dalila, and I graduated from university last year. I did a master's in astrophysics. I graduated from a small university on the coastline in Wales called Aberystwyth, and at school I did maths, physics and chemistry. Those were the main core subjects I did from the ages of 16 to 18. And I'm the first person in my family to go to university. So that's sort of my background.

Libby: Oh, congratulations.

Dalila: Thank you.

Libby: Yay for first generation. So what inspired you to choose a path in astronomy and astrophysics?

Dalila: Oh, I've always loved science. I remember documentaries were always on in my house, specifically National Geographic ones, just like nature documentaries. I always loved asking questions. I know most children ask a lot of questions. I would read encyclopedia books for fun. That was something I did. I was obsessed with dinosaurs and ancient Egypt. I actually was really into nature and animals before I became obsessed with physics specifically. So I sort of started my love for physics at the age of twelve. That's when it really started for me. And before that I just, I liked all science. I just remember looking for my telescope at the moon and just being in awe because you could see it so clearly. This was when I was about fifteen and it just gave me goosebumps. And I would track the International Space Station cause you can just Google it and it will tell you when it will pass overhead. And it was so cool. I remember just seeing it zoom past and then before you know it would disappear. I thought that was really cool. See those are the sorts of things I would do as a teenager.
Libby: I love tracking the International Space Station. If you go on my LinkedIn page, my cover is actually a photo I took of the space station and it looks like a heartbeat.
Dalila: That sounds so nice.
Libby: So what about astronomy excites you? I mean, you talked about the goosebumps. I totally get that when I look through my telescope as well.
Dalila: Yeah, basically everything. I love astronomy and astrophysics. I don't know how some people don't. I think like most people must love space. But yeah, I just, I think it's so cool the fact that we can peer into the universe. And especially now, we have advanced so much in the past 100 years. And yeah, I just, I think it's such an interesting field. And where we are now, we are discovering more and more cool things every day. Yeah. So that's basically why I love astronomy.
Libby: Awesome. I'm very excited about the collaboration of the new ESA, the JUICE mission and the mission from NASA looking at Jupiter's moons, it's going to be super exciting to see what comes from that.
Dalila: Yeah, that's so that's so interesting. I specifically love exoplanets, so I'm really interested in just discovering new worlds, anything from JWST or Tess. I love anything that comes from them regarding exoplanets and the fact that we only really found the first one in the nineties and now we have over five thousand to me is insane. Like the fact that we've discovered that many in such a short period of time, like my parents generation, they were born into a generation that didn't know exoplanets and now we know so many, which to me is just amazing. Like every time I think about it, my mind is blown.
Libby: I know my parents were born before when they still thought there were Martians on Mars. So it's amazing how much has happened in the past 100 years or 50. So what about astronomy do you find challenging and what have you done to overcome these challenges?

Dalila: So math. Maths and coding never really came naturally to me, so I found those aspects of my studies quite challenging. I had to really work on my math skills and coding as well. As I progressed through my degree, I realized that a lot of my peers were just so much better at coding. Like even if they weren't, even if they were beginners, they picked it up a lot quicker than me. So yeah, those were the two main things which they're basically the main components of most STEM degrees, especially physics, engineering, maths and coding. They are so important. Every assignment would contain math. And yeah, you basically can't go through your studies without that. So yeah, those are the main challenging points for me. And also this is sort of unrelated to my degree, but, finding funded PhD places beyond graduating is quite challenging in the field of astrophysics, specifically the topics that I'm interested in being exoplanets. I found that was another challenging aspect due to the competitiveness of the subject. It's just such a cool area of research that everyone wants to do a PhD in exoplanets. So that's another thing I found challenging, just finding funded PhD projects in that.
Libby: Yeah, I know you're on the hunt right now, so I'm sending you all the good vibes. I hope that someone sees this and is like, she's the one.
Dalila: Thank you.
Libby: So what do you think is a common misperception about astronomers or astronomy as a discipline or educational path in general?
Dalila: Yeah, so I think. The main thing is that people think we are all like the characters from Big Bang Theory. So yeah, so I guess on social media and in real life, people just think you're like those characters, which I guess then some people are like that, but. Yeah, I have friends and myself included. We have a multitude of hobbies beyond STEM. So I love crocheting, I love embroidery, I love crafts and reading. I have friends that did a physics degree alongside me. They are exactly the same. We found that we needed to take a break from the maths and the physics. So we had to like just relax with crafts and knitting and watching films. So yeah, that was that's a very common misconception that if you do a physics degree, I can't speak for the other STEM degrees, but physics in particular that you have no other hobbies. All you think about is physics, maths, that's all you think about. But no, the people, at least in my university, we had a lot of hobbies. So yeah, that was that was another thing. Sometimes astronomy gets confused with astrology as well. That's something I have heard in everyday life. So star signs and a science, completely different things. So and another thing that I get which I find really funny is that you tell someone you did astrophysics, they think…oh yeah, you want to be an astronaut. That's something that's really common, which I find really funny because it couldn't be further from the truth, like especially the extreme requirements needed to be an astronaut. And also it's one of the most competitive jobs in the world. And you take someone like me who's quite, I don't know, scared of flying. So it just makes me laugh. 

Libby: Yeah, I've randomly been asked that before. As people found out that I'm, you know, interning for NASA, they’d ask…do you want to be an astronaut? I'm like, I have the worst seasickness. I get so nauseous when I move. There's no way like. Congratulations to everybody that can do that, but I will not be one of them. But what projects are you currently working on?

Dalila: Yeah, so my main thing that I'm working on at the moment is just getting a funded PhD place. So anything relating to exoplanets, I am so interested in their atmospheres and just detection as well. That's my main thing that I've been working on, also building my science Instagram. So I have a small account, a small physics account to promote exoplanet news. That's another thing I'm trying to work on, just trying to make good content for that. And I'm also taking part in some of the citizen science projects run by NASA on exoplanets. So using the exotic code, you can use data that they give you because I don't have any equipment myself. Sadly, I don't own my own like telescope that's good enough to view the stars with exoplanets orbiting and you can just try and plot transiting curves from the data they give you. And that's something I've been working on as well, which has been really cool. I've learned a lot and I've attended a few webinars online. So yeah, those are my main things as well as continuing tutoring. So I tutor in maths and physics and that's another thing I'm working on as well. So I find it really rewarding to just teach the younger generation the subjects that I love and hopefully they can pick up on my love for physics and maybe consider one day as a pathway.
Libby: Well, we'll make sure to put your Instagram link and the code for your to your tutoring in the blog. Yes. Oh yeah, make sure you give me those links after. Are you doing the NASA Exoplanet Watch, the citizen scientist project? Is that what it what it is?
Dalila: Yes. Yeah, that's what I'm doing. So yeah, I found it on their website and it's just perfect for what I want to do. It's really interesting. It's really accessible as well, I think because what I have is a STEM degree, so I found it quite easy to navigate because it was very similar to my dissertation that I did in my 4th year. But I think maybe the general public should find it OK because they have really good instructions. So they tell you exactly what to do, which I thought was really good. So it's really nice that they involve people in those sorts of projects.
Libby: Yeah, I totally agree. Another one of my interviewees is also involved in that project. So anybody out there who's interested in seeing what participating in astronomy and astrophysics is like check out the NASA Exoplanet Watch. So moving on here, what are your near future plans besides obtaining that PhD position?

Dalila: So that's my my main and biggest goal. Other things would be, yes, continue tutoring young people, just travelling as well. I'd love to do some more travelling. Mainly like summery places. So I really want to go to Greece somewhere hot just to get some sun. And I also love sightseeing as well. So like just visiting loads of museums and trying to like increase my knowledge. So this weekend I went to Portsmouth, which is in the South of England and I saw the Mary Rose ship. So I love doing things like that. So it was really cool. I just love museums and yeah, I thought that was a really cool experience. So, yeah, so those are my main plans for the incoming future.

Libby: Well, if you ever make it out to Oregon, make sure you get a hold of me and I'll show you around.
Dalila: Thank you. 
Libby: What are your aspirations? Where do you see yourself by the time you're like 80?
Dalila: Oh, that's that's such a good question. Yeah, that's such an interesting question because so many of my hobbies right now are like classic, like old people hobbies, so like knitting, crocheting. So when I'm 80, I'd love to have had a successful career. So I really would have loved to contribute to the exoplanet world. That would be my main thing. Also I would love to have Grandchildren. I'd love to have children, so that would be another thing. Also have travelled the world. So those are my main three things as an 80 year old. Have travelled to wherever I want to go. Have very what's the word? Happy family. Just to be surrounded by the people I love and have family just to be happy with my career.

Libby: Awesome. Couldn't ask for more. Let's see here. Where are we on my list of questions? So what advice would you give to someone considering a trajectory similar to yours?

Dalila: So depending on their age, I would say just take all the opportunities that come your way, whether they're from your school, your college, your local community, just take everything. Even if they're directly related to what you want to do forever in life, I think just take them because sometimes skills overlap. So you can have really useful work experiences or internships that will really help you later on for your CV and your applications too for a master's degree or a PhD. Or if you want to have a specific job in industry, I think certain work experiences are really useful. So just take every opportunity, just be your authentic self. So don't worry what anyone else is doing, just focus on where you want to be. And also it's OK not to know what you want to do at the age of 14,15,16, even later on. Most people don't know what they want to do. Even now at 24 I meet people that don't know what they want to do and it's totally OK and it's very normal. Also, I would say if you want to do PhD or anything relating to academia or research, start early. That's something I would tell my younger self, start early. I would have started everything in the middle of my degree rather than at the end. Because applications take a while and there's so much to it. So like just reading through your CV, your personal statement, your research proposal, getting references from your academic tutors, it's really important that you start those processes early. Otherwise it can take a while. You also have to proofread everything. So yeah, that's another thing I would say to young people just if you want to have a career in academia, start your applications for that early. But if you're not able to, then that's also OK because I didn't start mine early. So yeah, those are my those are my main things. And also build on your networking. So whether that's LinkedIn or attending conferences that perhaps your university will pay for or your school just really like networks and meet people that are in a similar field or the same field that you are in. That's really helpful. I think especially people beyond your town or your city, just meet loads of people because I think that's really helpful. Read loads of books like sometimes self-help books can help, but not just those, but just enrich your life with other things as well as your hobbies because they help you as well, even if they're not relating to your…To the job you want to do, I find that they really help. So with me, like my more creative hobbies have helped me I guess when I'm a bit stressed, I will just like pick up my crochet needle and make something or I will read. So it helps me focus then later on when I go back to it. So yeah, those are the main things.
Libby: Yeah, that methodical nature of crocheting. It's kind of like. You know, build everything that you have learned as you're processing it. That crocheting kind of just puts it into your mind the same way as if you were sleeping, you know, you're sleeping on that material, you're crocheting on that material. I find that for me, I play a video game called Hearthstone and I like to play that right after I study cause then when I play it, I find that it's like somehow helps me with what I studied before. So that downtime is super important.

Dalila: Yeah, no, that's true. Just I think that it really helps if you have things you love beyond your job. Just yeah, they can even be something sporty. So I love badminton or going to the gym, things like that. Just it really helps.
Libby: Totally. Did you receive any mentorship? And if so, what is some advice that you received along the way that you really held on to?

Dalila: So I had several mentors throughout my journey to getting to where I am now. So my teachers in school were really lovely. They really championed me. I had two really lovely teachers, my physics teacher and my chemistry teacher, and I will never forget them because they were so kind to me. They really helped me get to where I am. They were just so friendly. Yeah, my supervisor during my dissertation for my masters was really helpful. He taught me so much. We had weekly meetings. This was the run up to submitting my literature review. We had weekly meetings where we would discuss exoplanet papers. And I just fondly remember those meetings because everything we discussed was so interesting. I found it really useful. I learned so much from him. And yeah, he was a really great mentor. He taught me a lot in terms of the physics, I guess, of my project. So the equipment, just the formatting of my dissertation, what I guess scientists or researchers are looking for in that field, especially if your project or your dissertation is sort of online based. It wasn't something I did in a lab, it was something I did on my computer, so I learned a lot from him. Also, my partner has been really supportive, so he's really helped me overcome some hurdles. So when you face rejections, they're really disheartening. So he's been really kind and he's been there for me. He keeps supporting my dreams and keeps championing me because as people that have faced rejections will know, just sometimes people do give unsolicited advice. So my boyfriend has been really, really good. He's been so kind and giving me advice. And yeah, because people will suggest alternative careers, when you tell them you want to do a PhD, they will suggest, oh, have you considered this? Have you considered this? But my dream is to do a PhD. So, so yeah, so those are the main mentors I've had in my life regarding my STEM degree.
Libby: What, if any, changes would you like to see for women in astronomy? 

Dalila: So I would like to see definitely a few changes as you progress through academia. I've noticed there are less and less female researchers in some universities. That's not always the case, but I would like to see more representation, especially as you go up. And that's something that I guess should start at a lower level. So in schools we should encourage young girls or just anyone really, to pursue, to consider pursuing physics. They don't have to because obviously not everyone wants to. But it should be an option and it should be something that young people can consider, even if they don't know anyone or they don't have anyone in their family that did a STEM degree. I think that's so important. So I did some mentoring in a local secondary school for some young girls, and the main purpose of that was to just tell them about careers in STEM and to let them consider even doing a STEM degree, because a lot of young people don't consider it if they don't have role models or people to look up to. So it's really important that we do that for young people. I think it should start really early on. By the time we get to university, it might be too late because they've already chosen their degree. So yeah, I would like to see that for women in astronomy. Also just supporting other women in the industry I think would…I've seen it a lot like so I've had a lot of support from really lovely people to continue that. So I went to a conference at the University of Liverpool and it was a conference for undergraduate women in physics and it was so nice. Everyone there was really friendly and we all networked. We did really cool things.
We went to the George Roll Bank Telescope just on the outskirts of Manchester and it was so interesting and I just met loads of really lovely women that week. So I would like to see more things like that. That was a really useful experience and I still talk to some of the girls today. And I've got a lot of them on social media. So that would be a really cool thing. And I think also just teachers encouraging people to consider STEM. That's, yeah, that's the main thing.

Libby: Yeah, absolutely. I was quite a creative when I was younger and I was very into science. But space, space wasn't a really big. It wasn't a thing that most people could join when I was in high school. I'm 36 years old, so it's just I'm joining this all late. But I think a lot of creative women are just encouraged towards arts when they should be encouraged towards STEM. And so I really appreciate what you're doing out there with mentoring the next generation.
Dalila: Thank you. Yeah, no, honestly, I think it's never too late. If you are interested in physics or even anything relating to STEM, it's never too late. There are so many online courses you can do. A lot of them are free. There's Coursera and then there's there's another one. I can't remember the top of my head, but there are loads of online courses and you can learn like astronomy for beginners or even another thing would be to make use of your local library. If you have one there, you can just rent books out for free. And the things you find in there are amazing. At least my local library has really cool books. Like they have really useful books for beginners if you're interested in learning about space or even I've seen coding books in there, so it's never too late.
Libby: Nope, never too late. So we're going to take a little little curve here. What's your favorite movie or TV show?
Dalila: So I have. I had to think about this because I do have a favorite movie, like favorite movies. I would say my number one would be Harry Potter, like all of them, because they're the ones that I keep rewatching forever. And I love Titanic as well. That's another favorite movie. And Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. Those are my main movies. And then the Jane Austen films like Pride and Prejudice, those. Those are my main films. Yeah, I love those. They're just the ones that I rewatched. So that's that's how I decided. 
Libby: I think I've rewatched Harry Potter hundreds and hundreds of times. It was in like maybe second grade when the first book came out, but I still remember reading it and just being like, this is the most magical thing I've ever read.
Dalila: I know. I love it. Which one is your favorite out of the films or even the books?

Libby: Gosh, I remember being very taken back by the fifth book in particular when I read it, you know, so long ago. Now it's just one continuous story. So it's hard to pick just one favorite. But I remember when I read the 5th book being like, Oh my goodness, this is insane. But how about you?

Dalila: I think my favorite film is Prisoner of Azkaban. That's the one I just love so much that I rewatch the most out of all of them. And my favorite book, probably Chamber of Secrets. It was just a really nice, quick, easy read.

Libby: Yeah, right at the beginning. Oh, fun. Thanks for taking me back. Just imagining myself in my little bunkbed at summer camp reading Harry Potter. Well, is there anything else you'd like to share today? This has been such a wonderful interview. Thank you so much for being here.
Dalila: No, thank you so much for the opportunity. I would say, yeah. So if anyone is interested in following my Instagram page, my physics page…if you're interested in exoplanets, then feel free to follow me on there. And yeah, I think those are the main things. Just navigating life post degree has been an interesting journey, just navigating the postgraduate world of applications and just making sure I have my application up to scratch for a funded PhD in exoplanets. That is the main thing. It's a very interesting world, especially in 2024. 
Libby: For those who might not go on to the blog and be watching this on YouTube, what is your handle for Instagram? 
Dalila: So yeah, my handle is at and then Skyientist. I just made-up that word. It's SKY Sky and then IENTIST.

Libby: I love that. That's very sweet. It's a great name. Awesome. Well, please, please follow her on Instagram. And thank you all for joining us today. Again, I'm Libby and signing off.

Dalila: Thank you so much.

Libby: Bye.

Dalila: Bye.