Friday, February 26, 2016

AASWOMEN Newsletter for February 26, 2016

AAS Committee on the Status of Women AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of February 26, 2016
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Elysse Voyer, & Heather Flewelling

This week's issues:

1. Unconscious Bias Workshops: Why and Who?

2. Career Profile: Astronomer to Infographics Maker

3. Astronomy in Color Profiles

4. My Favorite News Line Up in One Week

5. Engaging Minority Scholars in Science Should Also Include Addressing Isolation and Mental Wellness

6. It's Time to Abolish Science's Boys Club

7. Ten Simple Rules to Achieve Conference Speaker Gender Balance

8. It's True, Hope Jahren Sure Can Write

9. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

11. Access to Past Issues


1. Unconscious Bias Workshops: Why and Who?
From: Ed Bertschinger via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Many universities and other organizations have begun training their employees or students about unconscious bias, and some readers may be thinking about proposing this in their organizations. I don’t mean the training of faculty search committees that has become fairly routine now thanks to efforts like the U. Michigan Advance Program’s STRIDE Faculty Recruitment Workshops, which have set a model for higher education. Instead, I refer to the systematic effort to reach most or nearly all employees, including faculty in universities. This is a big step for any organization to take, though it is easier for some than others. Fortunately, there exist good models in both corporations and universities.

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.ca/2016/02/unconscious-bias-workshops-why-and-who.html

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2. Career Profile: Astronomer to Infographics Maker
From: Stuart Vogel via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

[The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy and the AAS Employment Committee have compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.]

This is our interview with Katie Peek, an astronomer turned data visualizer. After receiving her PhD in astronomy she went to NYU to get a masters in science journalism. She then interned as a writer and editor at Popular Science magazine, and stayed on to become a designer and then an editor. More recently she has transitioned to an independent career as a information graphics editor. She describes her path and her working environment.

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.ca/2016/02/career-profile-astronomer-to.html

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3. Astronomy in Color Profiles
From: Daryl Haggard [daryl.haggard_at_mcgill.ca]

The Astronomy in Color blog is running an excellent series of profiles on a diverse group of junior scientists who are poised to make major contributions to our field in the coming years:

Postdoctoral fellow highlight: Dr. Lia Corrales Student highlight: Amy Steele Student highlight: Brianna Thomas Student highlight: Moiya McTier

To read their profiles, please visit

http://astronomyincolor.blogspot.com

And stay tuned for more profiles to come!

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4. My Favorite News Line Up in One Week
From: Daryl Haggard [daryl.haggard@mcgill.ca]

My LinkedIn network sent me the news items below this week. Together with the profiles in the previous post, you can't get a better argument for the strength we, as individuals, as a profession, derive from diversity and inclusion. In quotes is the person in my network connected to the news article, but these links are full of amazing scientists with diverse backgrounds doing incredible work.

"Vicky Kalogera" Young scientists poised to ride the gravitational wave http://www.nature.com/news/young-scientists-poised-to-ride-the-gravitational-wave-1.19383

"Marcel Agueros" President Obama Honors Extraordinary Early-Career Scientists https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/18/president-obama-honors-extraordinary-early-career-scientists

"Debra Fischer" Alpha Centauri: Our First Target for Interstellar Probes http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Alpha_Centauri_Our_First_Target_for_Interstellar_Probes_999.html

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5. Engaging Minority Scholars in Science Should Also Include Addressing Isolation and Mental Wellness
From: Daryl Haggard [daryl.haggard_at_mcgill.ca]

by DNLee

Diversity efforts in higher education and sciences are overdue for a follow-up conversation about mental wellness and the feelings of isolation that many scholars — from college students to faculty members — often feel.

Is it me or is science a sad and lonely place? Or am I going through a tough season right now?

During my dissertation studies I hit the 4 year slump BIG TIME. I went nearly a year without collecting any significant data or heck even laying eyes on my research subjects. I poured myself into teaching and I said that’s what had me busy. But the truth is, I was woefully unhappy and feeling lost. I never once thought of quitting or dropping out of the program – because teaching college level biology and studying animal behavior was still my goal – but my focus was off and heart just couldn't take it.

To read more, please see

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/engaging-minority-scholars-in-science-should-also-include-addressing-isolation-and-mental-wellness

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6. It's Time to Abolish Science's Boys Club
From: Megan Watzke [mwatzke_at_cfa.harvard.edu]

by Megan Watzke and Kimberly Arcand

Let's celebrate the UN's International Day of Women and Girls in Science by vowing to abolish the sexism and other prejudices in fields of science, tech, engineering, and math.

This has been a challenging year for women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, otherwise known by the acronym STEM. To be sure, every year is challenging for women and other under represented groups. But lately more of those issues that plague them are being brought to light.

To read more, please see

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/10/it-s-time-to-abolish-science-s-boys-club.html

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7. Ten Simple Rules to Achieve Conference Speaker Gender Balance
From: Johanna Teske [jteske_at_carnegiescience.edu]

by Jennifer L. Martin (PLoS Computational Biology Editorial)

Recently, the quantum molecular science world was in uproar. The preliminary list of approximately 25 speakers for the International Congress of Quantum Chemistry (ICQC) was published online, with no women speakers listed. One reaction to this list was to set up a petition to 'condemn gender-biased discriminatory practices of which ICQC-2015 is the most recent example'. This resulted in an apology and a new speaker list with six women speakers.

Sadly though, this is not an isolated incident: men-only invited conference speaker lists are all too common.

How can we get gender balance right? To begin with, it's worth reminding ourselves why gender balance is important.

Read more, and learn Dr. Martin's ten rules, at:

http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1003903

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8. It's True, Hope Jahren Sure Can Write
From: Rick Fienberg [rick.fienberg_at_aas.org]

by Matt Shipman

I just finished reading Hope Jahren's forthcoming book "Lab Girl," due out April 5. It's somewhere between a popular science book and a memoir – two tricky genres. Either one, done poorly, can feel like impenetrable jibberish or self-indulgent navel-gazing. Luckily, Jahren handles both styles well.

To read more, please see

http://www.scilogs.com/communication_breakdown/jahren-review-2016

You can also pre-order the book, which will be available in both hardcover and Kindle editions

http://www.amazon.com/Lab-Girl-Hope-Jahren/dp/1101874937/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455900561&sr=1-1&keywords=lab+girl+hope+jahren

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9. 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.

When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.

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

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10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List by email:

Send email to aaswlist+subscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have subscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

Be sure to follow the instructions in the confirmation email. (Just reply back to the email list)

To unsubscribe by email:

Send email to aawlist+unsubscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have UNsubscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

To join or leave AASWomen via web, or change your membership settings:

https://groups.google.com/a/aas.org/group/aaswlist

You will have to create a Google Account if you do not already have one, using https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en

Google Groups Subscribe Help:

http://support.google.com/groups/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=46606

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11. Access to Past Issues

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

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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