The National Academy of Sciences has appointed Fiona Harrison and Robert Kennicutt Jr. to co-chair the upcoming Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astro2020. We encourage our community members to strongly consider having their voices and priorities for the next decade heard through white paper submissions, especially our junior, female and/or underrepresented minority professionals and those served by AAS diversity committees.
Please also consider attending the Decadal Survey Town Hall and Astro2020 Status Report at the upcoming AAS 233 meeting in Seattle, Wed. Jan. 9, 6:30-8 PM, Room 6B.
Anyone wishing to provide scientific input to Astro2020 now has an extra month to do so. The window for submitting science white papers opens at 12:01 am Eastern Time on Monday, 7 January 2019 and submissions will be accepted through 5:00 pm ET on Tuesday, 19 February 2019. This call is only for science white papers. Later calls are anticipated for other topics, like missions, facilities, policy, and the state of the profession.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Cross-post: AAS 233 events from the CSMA Newsletter
The winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society will take place Sunday January 6 through Thursday January 10 in Seattle, WA. This cross-post contains events and sessions featured in the latest CSMA Newsletter that may be of interest to those supporting astronomers of color and social justice topics. We have supplemented the listing with additional events featuring the other AAS diversity committees.
Friday, December 28, 2018
AASWomen Newsletter for December 28, 2018
Issue of December 28, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride
[Happy Holidays to all! --eds.]
This week's issues:
1. Go For The Outliers - Top 10 Tips For Driving Diversity In STEM
2. What This New 500 Women In Medicine Initiative Aims To Do
3. NSF Career Compass Challenge
4. Nancy Grace Roman, involved with Hubble telescope, dies
5. TNW's top 11 women making waves in STEM from 2018
6. Hawaii students have IDEAS for a STEM Workforce
8. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
Friday, December 21, 2018
AASWomen Newsletter for December 21, 2018
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
December 21, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride
[Happy Holidays to all! --eds.]
This week's issues:
1. Transitioning From Astronomy to the Space Industry
2. Conference attendance boosts authorship opportunities
3. COSPAR SYMPOSIUM CALL FOR PAPERS: “Small Satellites for Sustainable Science and Development”
4. Women Scientists Who Made Nuclear Astrophysics
5. NASA Appoints Its First Female Chief Flight Director
6. How One Organization Is Keeping Women In STEM Careers
7. How Implicit Bias and Lack of Diversity Undermine Science
8. What Happens When You Double Blind Astronomers?
9. Job Opportunities
10. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
11. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
12. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Transitioning From Astronomy to the Space Industry
By Therese Jones
Making the decision to transition out of astronomy was very hard, especially because I loved the people in the field. It turns out that people in the space industry are incredibly friendly and willing to go out of their way to support young professionals; many of the organizations and conferences listed provide great inroads into the industry. No experience in the space world? Not a problem—the Space Generation Advisory Council is an international organization of young professionals under 35 that hosts events in the US and abroad, sends out regular opportunities, and has working groups that you can join to work on different space issues. The Students for the Exploration and Development Space has chapters at colleges and even high schools, and supports a number of activities including rocket teams, satellite design projects, has an annual student-run conference, and is very well-connected to companies in the industry. No chapter at your school? You can also become an individual member or start your own chapter; they are great at supporting new chapters that are trying to get started!
Friday, December 14, 2018
AASWomen Newsletter for December 14, 2018
Issue of December 14, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Cristina Thomas, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride, guest ed. Alessandra Aloisi
This week's issues:
1. The First Lady Astronaut Trainees: Time for a Congressional Gold Medal
2. This Brilliant Woman Could Have Won a Physics Nobel for India. Yet Few Indians Know Her Story.
3. Introducing the 2019 Franklin Institute Awards Laureates
5. Ethnic minority academics earn less than white colleagues
6. It's Unscientific To Credit 'Inherent Differences' For Underrepresentation In Science
7. Rise of the Science Ph.D. Dropout
8. Gender Diversity Is Urgently Needed Say Prominent Women In Technology
9. World's Top 50 Women In Tech 2018
11. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
The First Lady Astronaut Trainees: Time for a Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal, our nation's highest civilian honor, has been given over 200 times. Fewer than 10% of the medals have been received by women and just five (5!) have been awarded for outstanding contributions in air and space exploration. The good news is that legislation to award Gold Medals to the “Hidden Figures” is moving forward and the better news is that momentum is building to also support a nomination for the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs), also known as the “Mercury 13”.
I first learned about these women when I read Martha Ackmann's book and had the privilege of meeting both Martha and Wally Funk, one of the FLATs, when they visited Albion College in 2008. As a result of this visit, I have started a campaign to nominate this group of 13 women aviators for the Congressional Gold Medal.
The FLATs were tested for “the right stuff” by NASA doctor William Lovelace almost 60 years ago and proved themselves to be just as good as, if not better than, the Mercury 7 astronauts in withstanding extreme physical and psychological tests. Results of the tests eventually lead to the inclusion of women within NASA’s astronaut corps, with Sally Ride paving the way for American women in 1983 and Eileen Collins becoming the first female pilot to command a space shuttle in 1995.
 |
| Members of the FLATs, at the launch of shuttle pilot Eileen Collins in 1995 (NASA image). |
In the current era of renewed interest in space exploration, and in the spirit of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, I believe it is imperative to recognize the 13 FLATs, six of whom are still alive, for their trailblazing accomplishments that demonstrated women are just as capable and qualified as men in the exploration of space. These women are:
Jerrie Cobb (Oklahoma)
Wally Funk (New Mexico)
Myrtle “K” Cagle (North Carolina)
Gene Nora Stumbough [Jessen] (Oklahoma)
Rhea Hurrle [Woltman] (Colorado)
Sarah Gorelick [Ratley] (Kansas)
Irene Leverton (Illinois, now deceased)
Jane B. Hart (Michigan, now deceased)
Jerri Sloan [Truhill] (Texas, now deceased)
Bernice “B” Trimble Steadman (Michigan, now deceased)
Jan Dietrich (California, now deceased)
Marion Dietrich (California, now deceased)
Jean Hixson (Illinois, now deceased)
To support the nomination of the FLATs for the Congressional Gold Medal, sign the petition and/or contact your local representative. Thank you!
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