Astronomy

AASWOMEN for July 29, 2011

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 29, 2011
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery

This week's issues:

1. Starting Up

2. Portman's 'Thor' Highlights Women in Astronomy

3. Recommended Article: "A Woman's Place"

4. NASA Research Opportunities for Educators (NITARP)

5. The Last Word on the Planetary Science Survey

6. Job Opportunities

7. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

9. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

1. Starting Up
From: Hannah Jang-Condell [womeninastronomy.blogspot.com]

[From the Women in Astronomy Blog at womeninastronomy.blogspot.com; also posted on the CSWA Facebook page, where several resources have been listed in comments. -- eds.]

It's almost the end of July, and summer is slipping by fast. As a new academic year approaches, some of us are looking forward to beginning new jobs. A perennial question around this time of year is, what advice do you have for brand new faculty members? How do you make the transition from postdoc to professor? I pose these questions to readers of this blog with no small amount of self-interest, I must admit.

While I'm at it, what advice would you give to newly minted PhDs becoming brand new postdocs?

My own advice to new postdocs would be to network like mad and build up your professional connections. Doing research and publishing papers should go without saying, but networking is vital for career development. So knock on doors, strike up conversations, go to conferences, and ask questions during talks.

Now it's your turn: what advice would you give new postdocs? faculty members? What do you wish you had been told when you started your new job?

-- by Hannah

2. Portman's 'Thor' Highlights Women in Astronomy
From: Judy Johnson via the CSWA Facebook page

Article by Stephen P. Maran, Inside Science News Service:

"Natalie Portman plays an astrophysicist in the recently released movie 'Thor,' but she is hardly the first Hollywood actress in a leading role as an astronomer.

There were other woman scientist actresses prior to Portman's role in 'Thor.' Comet-observing Darryl Hannah in the film "Roxanne," and alien-searching Jodie Foster in 'Contact,' -- but their star turns as astronomers mirror recent progress in the scientific profession itself. Once, women were scarce in astronomy, and confined to low-status, poorly-compensated positions. But their numbers have grown in recent decades, and they've begun to attain important positions and achieve well-deserved scientific recognition."

See the entire article at http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2011/05/19/portmans-thor-highlights-women-in-astronomy?PageNr=1&s_cid=rss%3Aportmans-thor-highlights-women-in-astronomy

3. Recommended Article: "A Woman's Place"
From: Heidi Hammel [hbh_at_alum.mit.edu]

I recommend this article (and enjoy the embedded irony): Annals of Communications: A Woman's Place, by Ken Auletta. Can Sheryl Sandberg upend Silicon Valley's male-dominated culture? http://nyr.kr/jt9BrX

4. NASA Research Opportunities for Educators (NITARP)
From: Luisa Rebull [rebull_at_ipac.caltech.edu]

Are you, or do you know of, any educators who might be interested in doing authentic astronomical research with NASA data, and who are willing to take three all-reasonable-expenses-paid trips?

NITARP is now accepting applications for 2012. The application site is ready, and you can upload your application any time before Sep 23!

NITARP, the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program, gets teachers involved in authentic astronomical research. We partner small groups of educators with a mentor professional astronomer for an *original* research project. The educators incorporate the experience into their classrooms and share their experience with other teachers. The program runs January through January. Applications are available *now* and due on September 23.

This program, to the best of our knowledge, is completely unique in the following two important ways: (1) each team does original research using real astronomical data, not canned labs or reproductions of previously done research; (2) each team writes up the results of their research and presents it at an American Astronomical Society meeting (the AAS is the professional organization for astronomers in the US). Each team also presents the educational results of their experience in the program.

Most, but not all, of our educators are grade 8-13; informal educators have participated as well. The kinds of educators we are looking for are those who already know the basics of astronomy, are interested in learning exactly how astronomy research is conducted, and are willing to share their experiences with colleagues and students in their environment. Three all-reasonable-expenses-paid trips are integral to the program!

More information and the application for NITARP for 2012 is now available here: http://nitarp.ipac.caltech.edu

and our application site is now accepting uploads. Applications are due Sep 23!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at this email or at our central email, nitarp_at_ipac.caltech.edu.

Please pass this along to any educators you feel might be interested.

5. The Last Word on the Planetary Science Survey
From: AASWomen Newsletter Editors

The planetary science survey referred to in the 1 Jul 2011 issue of the Newsletter was mistakenly attributed to AIP. Although AIP did consult during the development of the departmental questionnaire, it was in fact a NASA-sponsored study led by Fran Bagenal from the University of Colorado.

6. Job Opportunities

1. Various Job Opportunities are currently available at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory/National Solar Observatory. See http://www.noao.edu/cas/hr/jobs/jobs_list.html

7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org

All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.

Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter, please fill in the required information at:

http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswlist

If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org

9. Access to Past Issues

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

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

- Aaswomen For November 11, 2011
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of November 11, 2011 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. Gender Differences in Self-Promotion2. Sexual Harassment Issue, OCUFA Magazine "Academic Matters"3....

- Aaswomen For October 22, 2011
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of October 21, 2011 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. A metric for workplace environment culture: How long do mothers nurse?2. APS Meetings Child Care Grants3....

- Aaswomen For August 12, 2011
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of August 12, 2011 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. Gender Gap in Lifetime Earning2. Educator workshops for astronomy educators3. Discover Earth Opportunities...

- Aaswomen For June 10, 2011
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of June 10, 2011 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. Unconscious Bias and the Impact on Women entering Science2. Maternity leave for graduate students ...

- Aaswomen For August 13, 2010
Committee on the Status of Women Issue of August 13, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson amp; Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. "Agora": movie about Hypatia2. Maternity leave 3. Man Boy(cott)?4. NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program5....

Astronomy