Career Profile: Dr. Naomi Rowe-Gurney

The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy is compiling 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. Naomi Rowe-Gurney, a planetary scientist at 

Image Credit: Lydia Neary

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center employed by University of Maryland College Park under the CRESST II Cooperative Agreement. She earned her PhD in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Leicester in 2021.

What has been your career path since you completed your degree?

I did my undergraduate degree, an integrated (4-year) Master’s in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Leicester (2008-2012). I then left academia and moved to Shanghai, China and ended up staying for 5 years. Initially I moved for an internship in financial services but I didn’t like it and missed Physics, so eventually I became a Physics teacher there. I taught international GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and A-Level Physics at a Chinese college for 2 years then went back to Leicester for my PhD (2017-2021). My equal love of meteorology and astronomy brought me to studying Planetary Atmospheres on my favourite planets, Uranus and Neptune. I used data from the Spitzer space telescope  to do that. Its successor is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), so now I work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center supporting the JWST for Solar System Planetary Science.

What have been particularly valuable skills for your current job that you gained through completing your degree?

Because I came from a teaching background, I did a lot of science communication and engagement during my PhD. I’m glad I did because this was a main reason for which I was chosen to do my job for JWST at NASA. They needed someone to represent the telescope for Solar System science to both the science community and the general public.

What is your salary?

I was on $65K for the first year of my contract but they saw the need (thankfully!) to give us a cost of living adjustment and now I am on $74K.

What opportunities does your job provide to be creative and/or to take initiative?

I get a lot of opportunities to take initiative and work on all kinds of different projects. My favourite project so far was in my role as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the JWST outreach images of Neptune released in September 2022 by the team at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). I managed to get onto this project after my boss serendipitously introduced me to the Principle Investigator in a car park at the NASA centre! As SME, I helped get the raw telescope data to a point to send to the artists and then also told the artists and the writers what was new and exciting about the images that we want to tell the public. It was an amazingly successful project and the first time I saw the images in a museum I was shook! Those images can be found here.

What advice do you have for achieving work-life balance (including having a family)?

Set boundaries early on. I am from the UK so I am used to not being expected to work weekends, holidays etc., and having plenty of holiday time to take. The US is very different but I am in the US not only for the job but to explore and enjoy living in this country as much as possible before I leave.

What do you do for fun (e.g., hobbies, pastimes, etc.)?

My wife and I brought our dog to the US with us so we like to go on a lot of walks and go camping to explore new places. I also love to read and play games (one of my first purchases in the US was a PS5).

Can we include your email address for people who may want to contact you directly about your specific career route?

II’m happy to be contacted about careers and also potential job leads. I’m looking for a role in the UK starting at the end of 2023,after I finish my contract here at NASA My email address is naomi.rowe-gurney_at_nasa.gov.

Naomi and her dog (Pengyou) on a walk in the UK before they moved to the US.

Learn more about Dr. Rowe-Gurney:

• NASA Bio
• NASA Early Career Scientist Spotlight
• Personal Homepage

Crosspost: Dr. Shannon Curry: If you like learning everyday, run a spacecraft Mission!

By Kelsi Singer and Jamie O’Brien

Shannon Curry is a planetary physicist and Assistant Deputy Director at the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.  She is involved in many spacecraft missions and concepts, and last year was named as the Principal Investigator of the NASA Mars Scout MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission.  Her research focus is on terrestrial planetary atmospheres, primarily in atmospheric escape and dynamics at weakly magnetized planets. She is also involved in instrument development and mission concept development for future flight exploration of the solar system. Other collaborations include serving as the Project Scientist on ESCAPADE (a Phase C NASA SIMPLEx-II mission) and as a science team member for Parker Solar Probe (PSP) missions, as well as a collaborator on NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) program

Learn more about Dr. Curry and her work here, on the Women in Planetary Science blog site.

Crosspost: Dr. Ellen Stofan: In many cases careers are not linear!

By Mikayla Huffman and Kelsi Singer

Ellen R. Stofan, PhD, stands in front of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed 5B Vega at the National Air and Space Museum
(NASM photo by Jim Preston, NASM2018-01471)

Dr. Ellen Stofan is the Under Secretary for Science and Research at the Smithsonian.  She oversees its science research centers as well as the National Museum of Natural History and the National Zoo. The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, Office of International Relations, Smithsonian Scholarly Press and Scientific Diving Program also report to Stofan. Her focus is the Smithsonian’s collective scientific initiatives and commitment to research across the Institution, especially addressing issues such as biodiversity, global health, climate change, species conservation, astrophysics and the search for life outside Earth’s solar system.

Previously, Stofan was the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (2018–2021) where she was the first woman to hold that position. Under her leadership, the museum began its seven-year renovation of its flagship building in Washington, D.C., in 2018. Stofan also oversaw the momentous celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in July 2019 at the museum and on the National Mall.  She joined the Museum in 2018 with more than 25 years of experience in space administration and planetary science. Dr. Stofan was previously Chief Scientist at NASA.

She also held senior scientist positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including work on missions exploring Venus, Earth, Mars, and Saturn; as chief scientist – New Millennium Program; and principal investigator on the proposed Titan Mare Explorer. Dr. Stofan holds master’s and doctorate degrees in geological sciences from Brown University, and a bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary. She is an honorary professor at University College London, and was on the board of the College of William & Mary.

Read the full interview at

https://womeninplanetaryscience.wordpress.com/2022/09/13/dr-ellen-stofan-in-many-cases-careers-are-not-linear/

Crosspost: Science as a way to heal and connect

Dr. Elkins-Tanton is the PI of Psyche. 

Lindy Elkins-Tanton has two launches on her calendar this year.

Most prominent is the launch of the Psyche spacecraft. Elkins-Tanton, a Regents Professor in Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and vice president of ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative, is the principal investigator of the Psyche mission.

But before that is the book launch. On June 7, Elkins-Tanton’s memoir, “A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman,” will be released. It is the story of science as a place of healing, as a way of building a life philosophy — finding meaning through the wonders of the world and the universe around us.

ASU News:

Why did you decide to write the book? It’s not as if you had a lot of extra time on your hands while you’re leading a NASA mission.

Elkins-Tanton:
What I’m really hoping is that people who read the book feel a connection. I think that so many people are contemplating or have been along career paths like mine and encountered challenges like what I have, whether that’s gender, age, nationality or whatever. So, for me, it’s this motivation to try to connect with people, and I just hope that people say, “You know, I feel that, too.”

Read the rest of Dr. Elkins-Tanton's interview and check out an excerpt from her new memoir at: https://news.asu.edu/20220603-creativity-asu-scientist-lindy-elkins-tanton-new-book