AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 14, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. Most Inspirational Women Astronomers?
2. Do-It-Yourself Glass Ceiling
3. In Memoriam: Phyllis Fleming, Women in Physics Pioneer
4. Seeking nominations for Australian Women in Physics Lecure Tour 2010
5. PRA.G.E.S. - PRActising Gender Equality in Science
6. GBT Software Engineer, NRAO
7. ALMA Software Engineer, NRAO
8. Postdoctoral Position in Exoplanets, Wesleyan University
9. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
10. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
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1. Most Inspirational Women Astronomers?
From: Jill Tarter [tarter
seti.org]
[Last week, Margaret Burbidge was listed by Jill Tarter as a personal
hero and inspiration. Here is more information about this pioneering
woman astronomer -- eds.]
Geoff Burbidge was kind enough to relate the history of how Margaret
(and he) opened up the mountain tops for female observers. I think
this story should be shared and commemorated.
Dear Jill and Ivan,
I don't know what you are proposing for Margaret but here are the
facts concerning her observing at Mt. Wilson. We took a position in
Pasadena in September 1955. I was a Carnegie fellow - the first
theoretician - and Margaret had an appointment at Caltech in Kellogg
supported by the Atomic Energy Commission. When it came to observing
time I was eligible for observing time at Mt. Wilson as a Carnegie
fellow but Margaret was not. Palomar was off limits to all junior
staff at Mt. Wilson and all Carnegie fellows. It is correct to say
that Margaret got observing time because I applied for it and it was
given to me and not to her even though it was an open secret that
Margaret was the observer.
Of course, we had to stay at the Agassiz cottage because women were
allowed to stay at the monastery. This worked alright until the
Spring of 1956 when the weather was bad and I told Humason who was the
Secretary of Mt. Wilson that we would have to go up to Mt. Wilson in
the truck and not drive our own car up because of the weather
conditions. Up to that time we had always driven our own car up
there. Milton said that while I could go up in truck Margaret could
not. This led to a real row. We told our friends at Caltech and
particularly Willie Fowler about this discrimination and they got
extremely angry. Ira Bowen, the director of Mt. Wilson, supported
Humason's decision. At Caltech the president of Caltech was informed
of this situation and he became so angry that he told us that he would
call Bowen about this. He did this in our presence together with
Willy Fowler in his office at Caltech. Bowen relented and allowed us
both to travel up in the truck. From that point on it became clear
that Margaret had more rights on the mountain than any woman had. But
still they maintained that women were not allowed to observe up there
(she was the sole exception). This went on during our whole stay
while I was a Carnegie fellow and she was basically at Caltech. This
was the year (1956) when our daughter Sarah was born and of course we
published B^2FH.
Best wishes,
Geoff
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2. Do-It-Yourself Glass Ceiling
From: Female Science Professor Blog [ http://science-professor.blogspot.com/ ]
[This week, Female Science Professor blogs about her thoughts on a
study that concludes women create their own glass ceiling. The story
on the study is at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32364451/ns/business-careers/
We include some excerpts from Female Science Professor's blog on it
here. For the full post, see
http://science-professor.blogspot.com/ .
-- eds.]
"Women have imposed their own glass ceiling, and the question is why,"
said Scott Taylor, an assistant professor at the University of New
Mexico Anderson School of Management who conducted the study.
No, Scott, the answer is why you chose to interpret your results that way.
Taylor says the findings could indicate why many women don't rise to
head companies or why there is a wage disparity between men and women.
That's a bit of a leap. All we have to do is ask and we can get paid
more and promoted more? Problem solved? How cool is that?
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3. In Memoriam: Phyllis Fleming, Women in Physics Pioneer
From: WIPHYS August 10, 2009
Phyllis J. Fleming, physics professor at Wellesley College and a
pioneer among women in science, teaching and research, passed away
June 23, 2009 at the age of 84. See notices in the Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/07/16/phyllis_fleming_84_pioneer_among_women_in_physics/?page=1
and New York Times
http://www.legacy.com/NYTimes/DeathNotices.asp?page=lifestory&personid=129321900
.
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4. Seeking nominations for Australian Women in Physics Lecure Tour 2010
From: Rachel Ivie [rivieaip.org]
The Australian Institute of Physics has a special program which funds a
women to undertake a lecture tour in Australia to talk to schools, the
general public and physicists. This year nominations have been opened
internationally to women physicists to be nominated. Please see the
web site for more information:
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/wip/Main/Wiplecturer
Dr Pina Dall'Armi-Stoks
Australian Institute of Physics Women In Physics Group Chair
Australian Institute of Physics - SA Branch Chair
giuseppina.dallarmi-stoksdsto.defence.gov.au
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5. PRA.G.E.S. - PRActising Gender Equality in Science
From: Geoff Clayton [gclaytonfenway.phys.lsu.edu]
Newsletter No. 3 is now available from PRA.G.E.S. The project
"PRActising Gender Equality in Science" - PRA.G.E.S. consists of an
action of coordination, lasting 21 months, aimed at comparing the
various strategies implemented for promoting the presence of women in
decision-making positions relating to scientific research in public
institutions. It pursues the objective of collecting, classifying and
evaluating good practices and positive actions (involving those where
a positive contribution from men is recorded) that can be found in
OECD countries, both at the national level and at the level of the
individual institutions, and to make them available, in a usable form,
to a number of selected targets, including both decision-makers and
other relevant stakeholders.
More information and a link to the newsletters is available at
http://www.retepariopportunita.it/defaultdesktop.aspx?page=2749
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6. GBT Software Engineer, NRAO
From: Dee Boyd [dlboydnrao.edu]
Software Engineer III
The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) is the world's largest
fully steerable telescope. Working at wavelengths ranging from 100cm
through 3mm, the GBT supports a diverse range of scientific research.
Additionally, the GBT has an ongoing program of research and
development projects which keeps the telescope at the cutting edge of
science and technology. The Green Bank observatory combines an
academic setting with a rural environment.
The Software Development Division at the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank
Telescope (GBT) in Green Bank, WV, is seeking a Software Engineer to
provide support for the scientists who use the GBT. The successful
candidate will join a team of professionals engaged in research and
development in the fields of science, engineering, software
development, and education. Work will likely be directed initially
toward improvements in the post-observing data analysis and reduction
software, as well as developing data reduction and analysis software
infrastructure for existing instrumentation.
A minimum of a B.S. degree in astronomy, physics, computer science, or
related field is required. Advanced education or other acquired
background in radio astronomy, physics, astronomical data reduction,
or spectroscopy is desirable, as is experience in IDL, object-oriented
programming, and/or Python. Excellent verbal and written communication
skills are required.
Applicants can apply online at
https://careers.nrao.edu . Review of
applications will begin immediately; however, applications will be
accepted until the position has been filled. NRAO is an Equal
Opportunity Employer - D/V/M/F
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7. ALMA Software Engineer, NRAO
From: Dee Boyd [dlboydnrao.edu]
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is recruiting a Software
Engineer II to assist the North American ALMA Science Center (NAASC)
operations. The position is located at the Observatory’s headquarters
in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The successful candidate will help evaluate, deploy, maintain, and
write applications for the NAASC user portal and support the
configuration and operation of the NRAO helpdesk. Will require
constructively evaluating and leveraging existing NRAO web services
and content, ALMA and NRAO prototypes, and new technologies. Duties
will also include architectural design, development, and maintenance
activities, in addition to working with stakeholders and users to
articulate and elucidate requirements, and produce designs that
support an integrated deployment of web-based applications throughout
NRAO. Will also design, recommend and deploy strategies to integrate
multiple web-based systems to support the diverse needs of the North
American ALMA user community through a User Portal that is consistent
in look, feel and message with the NRAO and ALMA User Portals;
configure and customize forms for the NRAO helpdesk; maintain helpdesk
implementation; understand technologies associated with authentication
and single sign-on; manage and extend content management systems in
support of the NAASC web site; formulate and operate a configuration
management scheme for applications linked to the User Portal; interact
with users, as needed, to assure that user needs are met by the User
Portal implementation and its underlying applications.
Qualifications preferred include a Master’s Degree in Computer Science
with four to seven years of related experience. Experience in
website testing and site architecture. Experience implementing and
deploying helpdesk systems. Astronomical knowledge and/or interest.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications. Skills and
working knowledge in these or related areas: UNIX and Windows
operating systems, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Java, Tomcat, the LAMP stack
(Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), plone, TWiki, Drupal, Joomla
Interested applicants may apply online at
https://careers.nrao.edu and
should include a resume and cover letter. Review of applicants will
begin immediately; however, applications will be accepted until the
position is filled. NRAO is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.
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8. Postdoctoral Position in Exoplanets, Wesleyan University
From: Seth Redfield [sredfieldwesleyan.edu]
Submit Resumes To: Seth Redfield
URL1: http://sredfield.web.wesleyan.edu
(Seth Redfield homepage)
URL2: http://www.wesleyan.edu/astro/
(Wesleyan Astronomy)
URL3: http://www.wesleyan.edu/planetary/
(Wesleyan Planetary Science Group)
Email Submission Address: sredfieldwesleyan.edu
Email Inquiries: sredfieldwesleyan.edu
The closing date for receipt of applications: 09/15/2009
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in exoplanets at
Wesleyan University. The successful candidate will work in
collaboration with Dr. Seth Redfield primarily on high resolution
optical spectra of transiting exoplanets obtained with the 9.2-m
Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The project is focused on characterizing the
atmospheres of extrasolar planets using this rich observational
dataset. Other related research areas of mutual interest may include
gas absorption in edge-on debris disks and the structure of the local
interstellar medium, using ground-based, Hubble, and Spitzer
observations. Wesleyan has a Planetary Science Group that includes
faculty from several departments. The successful candidate will be
encouraged to interact with other faculty and to carry out independent
research with full access to observational facilities available to
Wesleyan. Experience with data reduction and analysis, high-resolution
spectroscopy, and observational studies of exoplanets will be helpful.
Applicants must have a Ph.D. in astronomy or astrophysics at the start
of the appointment.
Wesleyan University is located between New York City and Boston, and
has a small but active astronomy program, which emphasizes involvement
of undergraduate and M.A. students in mainstream astronomical
research. We are particularly interested in candidates who feel that
they could both contribute to and flourish in this unique educational
environment. The postdoc would have the opportunity, if desired, to
take advantage of this setting to develop educational skills through
mentoring students in research and possibly teaching. The position is
available immediately, but the starting date is negotiable. Initial
appointment would be for two years, although funding for at least one
additional year is available. Applicants should send a cover letter,
curriculum vitae, bibliography, statement of research experience and
interests, and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to
the address above by 15 September 2009 for full consideration. Late
applications will be considered until the position is filled.
Wesleyan University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action
employer M/W/D/V and strongly encourages applications from women and
minorities.
Included Benefits:
The salary is competitive, and health and retirement benefits and
travel allowance are provided. Please see the Wesleyan Benefits
website for more information:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/hr/benefits/benefitslandingpage.html
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10. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at
http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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