AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 2, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. A Resource For Women in Astronomy from the Columbian Astronomical Society
2. Response to Advice Request: How to be a Good Mentor
3. Female Friendly Physics Departments
4. NASA LCROSS Moon Impact Mission October 9, 2009
5. ALMA Science Center Postdoctoral Fellowship(s)
6. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
7. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. A Resource For Women in Astronomy from the Columbian Astronomical Society
From: Maria Carolina Brühl Rojas [bruhlita
gmail.com]
Original Email:
Buenas tardes, me llamo María Carolina Brühl Rojas, soy de Bogotá-
Colombia, tengo 30 años, soy astrónoma desde hace 12 años de la
Asociación de Astrónomos Autodidactas de Colombia"ASASAC" ( soy la
única mujer de la asociación).
He trabajado en diferentes entidades como astrónoma, y desde hace 1
mes soy la Directora del Observatorio Astronómico del Colegio Italiano
Leonardo da Vinci en Bogotá - Colombia; siendo este suceso un gran
logro para mi, ya que soy la primera mujer astrónoma en todo mi País
en dirigir un Observatorio Astronómico. Me interesaría mucho
contribuir al desempeño de la mujer en el área de la astronomía y por
eso les escribo para apoyarlos en todo lo que sea posible ya que, yo
también he sentido el rechazo y pocas oportunidades en el área de la
astronomía en mi país porque siempre ha sido un área liderada por
hombres...pero con amor, esfuerzo y dedicación logré ser lo que ahora
soy: Directora de un Observatorio.
Los felicito por su magnífica labor!
Muchas gracias por su atención.
En espera de una respuesta...
Maria Carolina Brühl Rojas
English Translation (and additional information):
Good morning, I am María Carolina Brühl Rojas, I am from
Bogota-Colombia, I am 30 years old, I am astronomer since 12 years
ago of the Association of Astronomers Self-taught of Colombia"ASASAC"
(I am the only woman of the association...45 men-1 woman) and member
of RAC (Red de astronomía en Colombia- network of astronomy in
Colombia) too.
I worked in different entities and companies like astronomer, but
since 1 month ago I am the Director of the Astronomical Observatory of
the Italian School Leonardo Da Vinci in Bogota - Colombia; for me,
this event is very significant because I am the first woman astronomer
in all my Country in directing an Astronomical Observatory and I am
very proud for this. In my city, 95% of astronomers are men, so, it
is very difficult work in astronomy for a woman, but with dedication,
love and effort I achieved my dream...to be a Director of the
Astronomical Observatory.
I have been very attentive of the chapter "she is an astronomer" of
IYA and I think that the woman need more support and opportunities for
work in science, in this case in astronomy.
Congratulations for AASWomen! your work is very important in the
world! and I like help with us in anything.
I am keen to contribute to the performance of women in the area of
astronomy which is why I am writing to support them in whatever way is
possible. I too have felt the rejection and few opportunities in the
area of astronomy in my country because this field has always been led
by men.
Thank you very much for your attention and I hope your response.
Maria Carolina Brühl Rojas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Response to Advice Request: How to be a Good Mentor
From: Maryam Modjaz [mmodjazastro.berkeley.edu]
[In last week's issue of AASWOMEN, we posted an anonymous request for
advice on how to me a good mentor. We got several replies, including
this one. We would also like to thank Bob Stencel and Margaret Hanson
for additional information - Eds.]
For a general website on how to be a good mentor, here is a
compilation of resources that was put together based on a similar
call/question to group I'm a member of [the very active Earth Science
Women's Network (ESWN) which recently got an ADVANCE grant]
http://www.rem.sfu.ca/COPElab/mentoring.html
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/research/students.html
Some of them are specific to earth sciences, but others apply to all
of the natural sciences, e.g. the one by the national academies:
"Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students
in Science and Engineering"
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5789
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Female Friendly Physics Departments
From: WIPHYS September 28, 2009
The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics (CSWP) has collected
responses to a series of questions about graduate programs in physics
that should be helpful to those interested in assessing the climate
for women at various graduate schools. The responses can be found at
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/female-friendly/index.cfm
All the responses are self-reported by department chairs (or their
assignees), and the APS and CSWP assume no responsibility for the
accuracy of the information submitted.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. NASA LCROSS Moon Impact Mission October 9, 2009
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomeryphysics.ucf.edu]
Are you looking for current events for your general astronomy course?
On October 9, 2009 at 4:30 AM PDT, various organizations across the
USA are hosting LCROSS impact events that are open to the public. The
LCROSS mission is a search for water on the moon. The LCROSS mission
is going to send a rocket crashing into the Moon causing a big impact
and creating a crater, throwing tons of debris and potentially water
ice and vapor above the lunar surface. This impact will release
materials from the lunar surface that will be analyzed for the
presence of hydrated minerals which would tell researchers if water is
there or not.
If you wish to host a public observing event or want to find
information on where to find a hosting site, please see
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/impact/event_index.html.
For more information on the LCROSS mission, please see
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/overview/index.html.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. ALMA Science Center Postdoctoral Fellowship(s)
From: Kartik Sheth [astrokartikgmail.com]
Applications are invited for one or two Postdoctoral Scholars at the
North American ALMA Science Center at NRAO in Charlottesville,
Virginia. The successful applicant will work under the supervision of
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/60007.txt.
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. The applicant is strongly encouraged to take
advantage of the location and the involvement of the NRAO and
University of Virginia's existing and future facilities, particularly
ALMA and eVLA. Applicants are encouraged to research the survey,
discuss their 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 November 2009.
For further requirements and to apply, please visit our Careers site at
https://careers.nrao.edu
or see
http://members.aas.org/JobReg/JobDetailPage.cfm?JobID=25942.
Please include a cover letter describing your interest in the
position, a curriculum vitae, publication list, a brief statement of
past research (1-2 pages), and a detailed proposed research statement
(3 pages), as described above. Please also have 3 letters of
recommendation sent independently to hrnrao.edu. Review of
applications will begin November 15th and will continue until the
position is filled. NRAO is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
[Please remember to replace "_at_" in the below e-mail addresses.]
To submit to AASWOMEN: send email to aaswomenaas.org. All material
sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us otherwise
(including your email address).
To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to
http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswlist
and fill out the form.
If you experience any problems, please email itdeptaas.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. 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.
AASWList mailing list
AASWListaas.org