Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 15:46:29 -0500 (EST)
Subject: CSWA Newsletter of 11/22/2000
To: AASMAIL: ;
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
weekly issues of 11/22/2000, ed. by Priscilla Benson
*** send submissions and subscription info to
aaswomen
wellesley.edu ***
This week's issues:
1. Responses to Berkley grad students
2. A New Idea
3. Jobs
Editor's apology - Sorry there was no newsletter last week.
I injured my back and couldn't sit up long enough to deal
with it.
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1. 1. Responses to Berkley grad students
From: aronsastroplasma.berkeley.edu
Item 2 in the November 8, 2000, Newsletter on the Status of
Women in the AAS makes an assertion whose implications we,
as students and faculty members of the Berkeley Astronomy
Department, would like to address.
The Berkeley Astronomy Department is engaged in a search for
a new member of its faculty (see the the CSWA Newsletter of
8/16/2000). The emphasis of that search is theoretical
astrophysics. This article suggests that this search is not
open, and is being conducted in a manner that is prejudicial
against women applicants. This is not correct.
The Search Committee's activities have been confined to
asking widely in the community for names of candidates who
we should encourage to apply. The purpose of this activity
is to guarantee the greatest possible diversity in the
applicant pool before the job ad closes on November 22. The
Search Committee, which consists of students and faculty,
has solicited names of both women and men, and suggested
that some of these people (women as well as men) should
apply. When the advertisement closes all applicants will be
given equal consideration, regardless of gender or
ethnicity.
Our primary reason for responding to the Newsletter article
is to ensure that no one is deterred from applying. To this
end we would be grateful if you bring the job advertisement:
http://astron.berkeley.edu/job_ad.html
to the attention of your readership as soon as possible, and
certainly before the November 22 closing date of the
advertisement.
Sincerely yours,
James Graham Jonathan Arons Alison Coil Imke de Pater Andrea
Gilbert Geoff Marcy Ivan King Ryan Chornock Henry Roe
Douglas Leonard Gibor Basri Marc Davis Joshua Simon Jonathan
Swift Alex Filippenko Andrew Youdin Shuleen Chau Martin,
Frank Shu, Jack Welch, Jim Gibson, Carl Heiles, Don Backer,
Chris McKee
------------------
From: hufnadlererols.com
A few years ago, succumbing to curiosity about a similar
situation, I took the ratio of female to male authors in the
AJ (assumed to be observational) and ApJ (assumed to be
theory). The results were 20% observational and 8% theory,
averaging to the oft-quoted 15% total. I also assumed that
I could not identify/misidentified gender for an equal ratio
of scientists. I conclude that it is indeed more difficult
to find a female theorist than a female observer.
However, I am disquieted by your describing the faculty as
not precisely defining the job requirements by using the
phrase ' "Thanks, but no thanks. These people don't have
what we are looking for." ' This is a typical pattern for
discrimination, identified in at least one article in
Status, where the job requirements change subtly and perhaps
unconsciously to exclude the under-utilized group of the
person competing for the job.
Given all this, I refuse to believe that there is *no* woman
who is qualified! Please request a specific *fixed* list of
job requirements and a promise from the search committee to
pay for the trip and interview anyone meeting those
requirements. (After all, if there are no such women as
they contend, it won't cost them a dime.) You might wish to
jump off the grapevine and look through the journals for
authors.
Thank you for realizing that the status quo is wrong, and
for acting to change it.
Beth Hufnagel
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2. A New Idea
From: coblecmb.physics.ucsb.edu
A friend of mine pointed me to an article by a Michigan
professor on an idea which I think could help solve many of
the problems of academia that readers of this list describe
all of the time.
The idea is for PhD holders to have the option of becoming
freelance instructors with state or national accredidation.
A professor could work at a university or own her own, much
as doctors and lawyers can either work at a hospital/law
firm or set up private practice.
This solves two problems at once:
1. Many students do not have access to higher education
2. There are not enough university positions for PhD
recipients
This system would allow much more flexibility for both the
instructors and the students. With the low overhead,
students could pay less and instructors would earn more than
at traditional state universities. I think this system would
especially benefit women and minority instructors and
students. Instructors would no longer be tied to the system
where you have to focus on a narrow research field at the
expense of many other things to get tenure or have no
position at all in your field. They could set up private
practice in any location where there were students desiring
college classes. For example they could live in any city and
teach in neighborhood centers of (minority) neighborhoods.
Imagine if only 10% of MD's were allowed to practice
medicine, and only at (research) hospitals, when there were
people who needed medical attention?
There are so many good implications for this option that I
haven't listed here. As far as I know it has not been put
into full practice, so I think it would be good for our
community to push on it. I'm very excited about it. I
welcome any comments to me personally or to this list!
The original article has more details and can be found at:
http://www.mackinac.org/article.asp?ID=2102
Kim Coble, UCSB
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3. Jobs
From: fverterdao.gsfc.nasa.gov
For anyone who would consider a career change from
astrophysics to atmospheric physics (specifically, climate
modeling), here are some job openings with my company in my
NASA group. I have made this transition and would be willing
to discuss it with other astronomers who are contemplating
switching to a field that gets good funding...write to
verterdao.gsfc.nasa.gov. This posting is only going to
AASWOMEN, not the Job Register, so forward it to any
interested friends.
General Sciences Corporation, a subsidiary of Science
Applications International Corporation (SAIC GSC), has an
immediate opening for the following position:
#578 SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMMER/ANALYST - to provide support to
the Data Assimilation Office (DAO) at NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center in the area of constituent data assimilation.
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to work with
leading atmospheric scientists in the field of stratospheric
modeling and data assimilation. The initial work includes
further development of an ozone data assimilation system,
comparison and validation of its products, and maintenance
of its code and datasets. The work involves programming in
Fortran and Unix, and the use of Matlab, IDL, and GrADS in
development and validation. Candidate will have the
opportunity to participate in the presentation and/or
publication of results at scientific conferences and in
referreed journals. This position requires an M. S. or a
Ph. D. in atmospheric sciences or a related field, strong
analytical, quantitative, and communication skills, and
proven experience programming in Fortran in a Unix
environment. Desired skills include a background in
atmospheric data assimilation, atmospheric chemistry, or
numerical algorithms; and experience in Matlab, IDL, and
GrADS analytical packages.
Additional information about the Data Assimilation Office
can be found at http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov. Further
information about the research area related to this position
can be found at
http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAO_people/ivanka/ozn_assim/
#562 SUPPORT SCIENTIST -- to Support the Laboratory for
Atmospheres Sounder Research Team (SRT) at NASA/GSFC. SRT is
developing algorithms for determination of terrestrial
atmospheric, surface, and cloud properties from satellite
measurements. The SRT has developed advanced algorithms for
retrieval of these geophysical climate products using
multi-spectral measurements from the Atmospheric Infrared
Sounder (AIRS), Advanced Microwave Sounder Unit (AMSU-A),
and Humidity Sounder Brazil (HSB) which will be flown on
the EOS-Aqua platform, scheduled for launch in May 2001.
The SRT has also processed 21 years of POES satellite
measurements, including NOAA-15, which has the AMSU-A and
AMSU-B instruments along with the High-resolution InfraRed
Sounder(HIRS), and is in the process of adapting the
AIRS/AMSU/HSB retrieval system to the HIRS/AMSU system in
order to evaluate the performance and robustness of the new
algorithms with real data. The successful applicant will
develop, test, and implement software to apply the new
algorithms to both current and future satellite data
systems. Applicant will have the opportunity to work with
leading NASA scientists in state-of-the-art Unix-based
computer systems. Requires a BS or MS in physical science
or computer science, at least 3 years experience programming
in Fortran in a Unix environment, solid Unix skills -
including shell scripting, and experience working with large
scientific data sets. Desired skills: experience
programming in C and Perl, as well as experience with
radiative transfer algorithms using infrared and microwave
data a plus. M.S.in Atmospheric Science or related
experience.
SAIC/GSC is an Affirmative Action Employer with competitive
salaries and excellent benefits. Qualified candidates should
send their resume for consideration, identifying position of
interest, to: General Sciences Corporation, 4600 Powder Mill
Road, Suite 400, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2675; or FAX
your resume (301) 953-3797; or E-mail: resumesgsc.saic.com
Visit our Web site: http://www.saic-gsc.com
----------------------------------
From: mkiegelisnatsci.ucsc.edu
Tenure-Track
Assistant Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics
University of California, Santa Cruz
Astronomy & Astrophysics Department
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
FAX: 831-459-5265
Email Inquiries:
recruitucolick.org
URL: http://www.astro.ucsc.edu/
Attention: Faculty Search Committee in Astronomy
Applications are invited for a tenure-track position in mm,
sub-mm, far-IR astronomy, or theoretical planetary science
at the Assistant Professor level, starting July 1, 2001.
We seek an individual with expertise and interests in 1) the
formation, structure, dynamics and evolution of planetary
system bodies; 2) the formation of young stellar objects and
evolution of protostellar disks; or 3) the structure of star
forming regions within or beyond the Galaxy. The candidate's
expertise could include mm, sub-mm, far-infrared astronomy,
orbital, atmospheric, and internal dynamics or the evolution
of planetary and satellite bodies. The research could entail
radio or infrared observations, analytic theory, computer
modeling or involvement in space exploration missions
including remote sensing of planetary environments.
The successful candidate is expected to develop a first-
class research program in astronomy, astrophysics, or
planetary science, teach undergraduates and graduates, and
supervise student research.
SALARY: Based on qualifications and experience.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D., or equivalent, in Astronomy,
Physics, Planetary Sciences or related field, a demonstrated
record of research excellence and a commitment to teaching.
To be assured of full consideration, applicants should
submit curriculum vitae, a brief summary of research and
teaching interests, and at least three letters of
recommendation by closing date of 01-15-01.
Please refer to Provision #562 on all correspondence.
AAE/EOE.
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End of CSWA Newsletter of 11/22/2000