AASWOMEN for January 16, 2009

Hannah Jang-Condell is a Michelson Fellow at University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She has been a member of CSWA since 2006 and an editor of AASWOMEN for the past two years. She is ending this tenure to devote more time to the new Women in Astronomy blog, which was announced in last week?s issue of AASWOMEN. Recent entries to the blog include news from the AAS Meeting in Long Beach. Check it out at:

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com .

We would like to welcome CSWA member Michele Montgomery of the University of Central Florida. She has kindly agreed to volunteer her time and join Caroline and me as the new editor of AASWOMEN.

Thank-you, Hannah! Welcome, Michele!

Mark your calendars for the Women in Astronomy III Meeting!

http://wia2009.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Women in Astronomy and Space Science: Challenges of gender, generation, and minority status in an increasingly diverse scientific work place

Oct 21-23, 2009, College Park, MD

Goddard Space Flight Center, along with co-hosts National Science Foundation, University of Maryland, AAS, STScI, NGST, and others, will be hosting a meeting October 21 - 23, 2009 at the University of Maryland Conference Center on the topic of women in astronomy and space science with a focus on not only gender, but also on generation and minorities. This meeting follows up on the "Women in Astronomy" meeting hosted by Space Telescope Science Institute in 1992 and the Pasadena meeting hosted by CalTech in 2003. The topics include: 1) statistics on the state of the field, establishing trends over the last 15 years including the "longitudinal studies" of age vs. makeup of the field and identifying areas for celebration or for concern; 2) research on the impact of gender/ generational/ cultural differences in the science workforce with a focus on practical solutions, 3) issues concerning the work environment and best practices for success of scientists in a diverse work force, and 4) special sessions on the issues of minorities in science, and women in Earth Science.

There is evidence for considerable success in increasing the percentage of women in the field of science and so we aim here to focus more on issues concerning the success of those in the field and solutions for managing a diverse workforce. This meeting will highlight best practices to help the diverse scientific work force to succeed, and will address both the junior members of the field, as well as those who mentor and manage today's diverse scientific workforce. We hope you will join us. More information will be posted on our website as it becomes available.

Today's big news was announced both by John Huchra, AAS President, this morning, and by Meg Urry during the CSWA Town Hall. The AAS will be providing childcare at the next three winter meetings! I think this is totally awesome, even I personally won't benefit. My kids are old enough that they are in school now, so it's simpler for me to just leave them at home with my husband. Still, I think it's a great step forward. I've seen several women pushing strollers or toting infants, and it seems like every year there are more of them. So I'm sure that this will come as a great relief to many. It sounds like the childcare will be pretty affordable: $8/hr, is what Meg said this afternoon, because it will be heavily subsidized by an industry sponsor. This program will not replace the current childcare grants program, where you can apply for $100 toward childcare at the AAS Meeting, so you can apply for the grant *and* use the on-site childcare. The important thing is that this is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition: if they don't get enough people using the service, "it will go away for good" as Meg said. So if you're in a position to use this service, do it! Okay, that's about all the time I have for now: I'll post a recap of the CSWA session later.

The panel discussion featured six women in various stages of their careers: Virginia Trimble, Meg Urry, Jennifer Hoffman, Jane Rigby, Ginny McSwain, and Caty Pilachowski. Geoff Clayton, chair of the CSWA, started off the discussion with an interesting question:

Is there still a role for the CSWA these days?

On the face of it, barriers have largely been swept aside. Women can attend graduate school. Women are allowed into observatories. Women can receive tenure at Ivy League universities. There was a time when this wasn't the case. Still more promising, the percentage of women in astronomy at the undergraduate level and entering graduate school is approaching parity. However, there was a general consensus that the fight is not yet over. Women still get discriminated against in more subtle ways. Also, there are still few women at the top level, and until equity is reached at all levels, there is still room for change. During the discussion, a number of concrete suggestions were made and I'll simply list them here:

-There is a Women in Astronomy Database,

http://www.aas.org/cswa/WIAD.html

which is a useful resource for finding women to invite as speakers, ask to apply for jobs, serve on committees, etc. This database is user-maintained however, so you need to add yourself to the database and keep your entry up-to-date.

-Mentoring is extremely important. MentorNet is a great place to find a mentor, but you can only use it if your institution subscribes to it. But, if you join AWIS (Association for Women in Science), you can join MentorNet through them, even if your institution does not subscribe.

-The APS (American Physical Society) has a program where if your institution invites two women to give talks, APS will pay for a third one to come.

Check out the article from Physics Today on applying Title IX to university science departments. It?s posted on the Women In Astronomy blog:

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com .

ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers

Letter of Intent Due Date (required): January 20, 2009 Full Proposal Deadline: February 24, 2009

The goal of the ADVANCE program is to develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce.

Creative strategies to realize this goal are sought from women and men. Members of underrepresented minority groups and individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Proposals that address the participation and advancement of women with disabilities and women from underrepresented minority groups are particularly encouraged.

Proposals from primarily undergraduate institutions, teaching intensive colleges, community colleges, minority-serving institutions (e.g. Tribal Colleges and Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions), women's colleges, and institutions primarily serving persons with disabilities are encouraged.

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09504/nsf09504.htm

Applications are invited for one post-doctoral research position at Caltech / Spitzer Science Center. The successful applicant will work with Dr. Kartik Sheth and the S4G (Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies) team. S4G is designed to be the ultimate legacy survey for the distribution of stellar structure in the nearby universe:

http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/geninfo/es/p60007_obs_summary.pdf

Using IRAC Channels 1 and 2 over the two year Spitzer warm mission, we will obtain extremely deep observations of the stellar mass distribution for a sample of ~2,300 nearby (d<40Mpc) galaxies (dwarfs, ellipticals, irregular, spirals), thus assembling an unprecedented dataset for studies of structure formation during galaxy evolution. The successful applicant is expected to become an integral and equal member of the team. S/he will work with the team members to reduce, analyze and verify the data, design and deliver the data products for the community. The ideal candidate will also design and pursue a vigorous, independent science research program primarily using the S4G data. S/he may also envision using and/or obtaining data from new observations or existing surveys (e.g., COSMOS, SDSS) to complement the proposed science. Applicants are encouraged to research the survey, discuss the goals with any of the co-Is and formulate an ambitious research proposal, which should be submitted as part of the application package.

Candidates should have obtained, by the starting date, a Ph.D. in astronomy, physics or equivalent, in an area relevant to these projects. The appointment is for two years (with the possibility of a renewal for a further year) and could start as early as May 2009.

To apply, please send a cover letter describing your interest in the position, a curriculum vitae, publication list, a statement of past research and a detailed proposed research statement, as described above. Please also have 3 letters of recommendation sent independently to Dr. Sheth kartik_at_ astro.caltech.edu by March 1, 2009.

Caltech is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, Minorities, Veterans, and Disabled Persons are encouraged to apply.

We invite applications for a postdoctoral research scientist to work in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy at Barnard College, Columbia University. We are members of the VERITAS collaboration, which is operating an array of four 12-meter air-Cherenkov telescopes in Southern Arizona. The successful applicant will work with Prof. Reshmi Mukherjee on the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of VERITAS data and on design studies for future gamma-ray observatories (e.g., AGIS, the Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System). In addition, the research scientist will have the opportunity to work on the analysis of Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope data. Barnard College is a four-year liberal arts college for women, affiliated with Columbia University. The candidate will be a member of the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory. The successful candidate will be based in New York and will be expected to travel to Arizona periodically to work at the VERITAS site.

We encourage candidates with experimental backgrounds in astronomy/astrophysics or particle physics to apply. A Ph.D., or equivalent degree, in physics or astronomy is required, and related experience in gamma-ray astrophysics is desirable. Additional experience in analysis of X-ray data would be useful. Applicants should send a cover letter, CV and a statement of research interests, and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to:

Prof. Reshmi Mukherjee Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Barnard College 3009 Broadway New York, New York 10027

Letters of recommendation can be sent via e-mail. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The appointment will initially be for 2 years, with a possibility for extension. Barnard College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women and individuals from under-represented groups.

The Department of Physics at Mount Allison University invites applications for a full-time, 12-month term position at the rank of Lecturer or Assistant Professor commencing July 1, 2009, subject to budgetary approval. The successful candidate will teach courses in general astronomy, potentially a course on life in the universe, and courses in physics. Instructional facilities include the new Mount Allison Observatory (www.mta.ca/gemini). The successful applicant will hold a PhD in physics, astrophysics or astronomy, and active involvement in research would be an asset.

Mount Allison University is a highly rated, primarily undergraduate institution with active and diverse research programmes involving undergraduate students in physics.

Review of applications will begin February 1, 2009, and will continue until the position is filled. Applications (pdf preferred), including cv, names and contact information of references, statements of teaching and research interests, should be addressed to:

Dr. Ralf Brüning Chair of the Search Committee Physics Department 67 York Street Mount Allison University Sackville, NB E4L 1E6 Phone (506) 364-2530 Email: physics_at_mta.ca

Mount Allison University welcomes diversity in the workplace and encourages applications from all qualified women and men, including aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Canadian and permanent residents should indicate their citizenship status in their application.

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