AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of September 3, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. The "Astronomy in Society" chapter of the Decadal Report 2. Essential Cosmology school 3. Young Leaders Program for Undergraduate Women in their Junior Year 4. Tenure-track Faculty Position in Astrophysics 5. National Research Council Canada (NRC) - Fellowship Postings *** FOLLOWING JOB POSTING TAKEN FROM WIPHYS *** 6. MIT Pappalardo Fellowships in Physics 7. AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships 8. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN 9. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The "Astronomy in Society" chapter of the Decadal Report From: Women in Astronomy Blog [ http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/] Posted by Hannah Jang-Condell As virtually every US astronomer knows, the 2010 Decadal Report was released on Friday the 13th, August 2010. Personally, I was on vacation at the time and missed the live webcast. What I have gathered is that if you work in a field that was prioritized by the report and would benefit by WFIRST, then you think the report is great. Otherwise, you think the report sucks. Kidding aside, I'm not here to discuss the science prioritization. I'm here to discuss the small part of the report relevant to the Women in Astronomy blog, the chapter entitled "Astronomy in Society." After downloading all 81 MB of the report and giving it a cursory read, I note that they say all the right things about bringing in more minorities and women into astronomy. I'm glad that they also note that retention of women in particular is tied into the narrow career trajectory that astronomers are expected to follow. However, the thing that I think is missing from the report is integrating these issues of diversity in with the science priorities. There are definitely some subfields of astronomy that have fewer women than others. Offhand, I would list cosmology, theory, and instrumentation as those that have fewer women, and exoplanets and extragalactic observation as those that are more enriched with women. So if the top science priorities are high redshift astronomy, exoplanets, and fundamental physics, I'd guess that exoplanets are enriched in women and the other two depleted. What I would like to understand is how program prioritization based on the Decadal Report's recommendations is going to affect the demographics of the astronomy community. But given the way the panels were subdivided into science topics separate from demographics, perhaps it was inevitable that an integrated perspective would be lacking. What we can do with this report now that the science priorities for the next decade have been announced is to encourage young women to pursue growth fields and hope that they succeed. [Interested in joining the conversation? Leave a comment on the blog at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Essential Cosmology school From: Eric Linder [evlinder_at_lbl.gov] We have now opened our website and application form for the Essential Cosmology for the Next Generation (aka Cosmology on the Beach) winter school/research conference. The website is http://bccp.lbl.gov/beach_program/index2011.html and the application deadline is October 15. The conference itself is January 10-14, 2011 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We strongly encourage a diverse group of advanced graduate students and postdocs to participate and would very much appreciate any help you could give in communicating this opportunity widely. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Young Leaders Program for Undergraduate Women in their Junior Year From: WIPHYS for August 20, 2010 The National Math + Science Young Leaders Program was launched in 2009 to provide leadership examples for young women at a key decision-making point in their academic career. It is a prestigious, competitive program that introduces girls who are college juniors majoring in STEM fields to female executives at FORTUNE 500 companies. The businesswomen will introduce students to the tangible impact of math and science in their companies. This partnership provides role models for college students majoring in innovative fields and heightens the visibility of the need for more girls to specialize in math and science. Full information available at: http://www.nationalmathandscience.org/index.php/national-math-and-science-young- leaders-program/national-math-and-science-young-leaders-program.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Tenure-track Faculty Position in Astrophysics From: Deanna Ratnikova [ratnikova_at_aps.org] The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh - http://www.physicsandastronomy.pitt.edu/ - invites applications for a new tenure-stream faculty member in astrophysics. The appointment, which is subject to budgetary approval, will be at the assistant professor level and would begin in the Fall Term of 2011 or thereafter. We are especially interested in candidates with strong physics backgrounds who will complement current research strengths in astrophysics, particularly in cosmology and extragalactic astronomy. In addition to research accomplishments and future promise, candidates must show potential for a high degree of teaching effectiveness at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Find more information at http://careers.aps.org/jobs/3505213/faculty-position-in-astrophysics ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. National Research Council Canada (NRC) - Fellowship Postings From: Joy Jose [joy.jose_at_nrc-cnrc.gc.ca] As an employer who values diversity in its workforce, the National Research Council Canada (NRC) encourages candidates to self-identify as members of the following designated groups: women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities when they apply on one of our job offers. (1) NRC-HIA Covington Fellowship URL: http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/hia/fellowship/covington/index.html The Covington fellowship is awarded to an outstanding recent doctoral graduate in radio astrophysics to enable forefront, independent research in the stimulating and collegial environment of NRC-HIA Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton, BC, Canada. The award is for a maximum of three years; the initial appointment of two years may be extended for one further year (subject to performance and availability of funds). Fellows will receive support for research-related travel and journal page charges, and have access to professionally managed computer systems. NRC-HIA DRAO staff are currently engaged in a wide range of projects, including a number of large radio surveys such as the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey and the Planck Deep Field Survey using the telescopes at DRAO, the GALFACTS survey at Arecibo, and the CORNISH survey at the VLA, but are also major users of radio telescopes around the world, including the VLA, VLBA, GBT, MERLIN, EVN, ATCA, LBA, Parkes and Arecibo. DRAO also carries out world-leading research and development of instrumentation and systems for radio telescopes, specifically the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA), the Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Fellows are welcome to participate in any of these projects. Applicants must have acquired their PhD within the last five years or expect to obtain the degree before starting the Fellowship in 2011. Application should be made by 1 November 2010. The Fellowship offers a highly competitive benefits and salary package. If you have any questions about the Fellowship, the facilities and research programs at DRAO that are not addressed in the remainder of this web site, please contact us at covington_at_nrc.gc.ca. (2) NRC-HIA Plaskett Fellowship http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/hia/fellowship/plaskett/index.html The NRC-HIA invites applications for Plaskett Fellowships tenable at DAO. The awards are made to outstanding recent doctoral graduates in astrophysics or a closely related discipline to conduct independent research in a stimulating, collegial environment. The award is for a maximum of three years; the initial appointment of two years may be extended for one further year (subject to performance and availability of funds). In addition to highly competitive benefits and salary, Fellows receive support for observing and conference travel, page charges, and access to professionally managed computers and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre, which is home to the Canadian Virtual Observatory and data archives from, e.g., CFHT, CGPS, HST, Gemini, JCMT . Staff expertise is in observational astrophysics, but we welcome applications from theoreticians whose research requires close interaction with observers. Fellows are eligible to apply for Canadian time on ALMA, CFHT, Gemini & JCMT, to use the optical and radio telescopes operated by NRC-HIA in Victoria and Penticton, and/or to apply for time on other facilities with open proposal processes. NRC-HIA is a leading developer of instrumentation for ground and space-based telescopes (e.g., ALMA, CFHT, Gemini, JCMT, JWST, TMT), and Fellows are welcome to participate in development or commissioning of new instruments. Applicants must have acquired their Ph.D. within the last five years or expect to obtain the degree before taking up the Fellowship in fall 2011. Applications should be made by 1 November 2010, via the process described at the URL provided. NRC is an equal opportunity employer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. MIT Pappalardo Fellowships in Physics From: WIPHYS for August 20, 2010 Nomination deadline is September 10, 2010 Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011-2014 Pappalardo Fellowships competition. Fellows are selected by means of an annual competition for which candidates cannot apply directly, but must be nominated by a faculty member or senior researcher within the international community of physics, astronomy or related fields. Full information available at: http://web.mit.edu/physics/research/pappalardo/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships From: WIPHYS for August 20, 2010 Deadline is December 5, 2010 The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellowships provide scientists and engineers with a unique opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to national and international issues in the federal policy realm, while learning first-hand about establishing and implementing policy. AAAS seeks candidates from a broad array of backgrounds and a diversity of geographic, disciplinary, gender, and ethnic perspectives. Fellows represent a spectrum of career stages, from recent PhD graduates to faculty on sabbatical to retired scientists and engineers. Fellows also come from a range of sectors, including academia, industry, non-profit organizations, and government labs. Find out more about these fellowships and other opportunities at the APS career center at http://careers.aps.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN [Please remember to replace "" 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 itdept_at_aas.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. 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