AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 21, 2006
eds. Patricia Knezek, Jim Ulvestad, & Joan Schmelz
This week's issues:
1. Woman who named Pluto, Venetia Burney Phair, honored
2. MIT neuroscience professor under fire over possible interference in a
hiring decision
3. Women-science-family book project
4. Female Science Researchers get 4.8 Million Euros
5. AIP Fellowship
6. Two permanent academic positions in astrophysics, University of Bristol, UK
7. Data Management Specialist, NOAO
*** FOLLOWING POSITION WAS TAKEN FROM WIPHYS ***
8. Temporary Faculty Position in Physics, Creighton University
9. How to submit, subscribe, or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
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1. Woman who named Pluto, Venetia Burney Phair, honored
From: Tom Kinman (tkinman
noao.edu) and Patricia Knezek (knezeknoao.edu)
[Eds. note: The short article is available to read on the web, but requires
a subscription or a fee for the article if you wish to download the pdf file.]
The 14 July 2006 issue of Science contains a short article on Venetia (Burney)
Phair, the woman who suggested the name for Pluto. She was recently honored
by having one of the instruments on the New Horizons spacecraft named after
her. To see the full text:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/313/5784/167c
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2. MIT neuroscience professor under fire over possible interference in a
hiring decision
From: Meg Urry (Meg.Urryyale.edu) & Patricia Knezek (knezeknoao.edu)
[Eds. note: Below are a few publically available summaries of articles about
the allegation that a professor at MIT may have attempted to intimidate a
female scientist who was offered a position at MIT, but declined, as well as
the subsequent decision of MIT to form an ad hoc committee to foster
collaboration within their field, neuroscience. The back issues of the Boston
Globe and Science are available for a fee, or for free to suscribers to the
paper version, and links to those go straight to the purchase web site.]
From the Boston Globe:
MIT VOWS TO PRESS ITS SCIENTISTS TO COLLABORATE
Published on July 19, 2006
Author(s): Marcella Bombardieri and Gareth Cook, Globe Staff
CAMBRIDGE The president of MIT yesterday called for a broad examination of the
university's world-renowned brain research program following recent allegations
that a Nobel laureate bullied a scientist the university was trying to
recruit.. Susan Hockfield, a neuroscientist who is president of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the school will form a committee to
find ways to improve collaboration between neuroscience professors, some of
whom are bitter competitors.
https://verify1.newsbank.com/cgi-bin/ncom/BG/ec_signin
MIT STAR ACCUSED BY 11 COLLEAGUES
Published on July 15, 2006
Author(s): Marcella Bombardieri and Gareth Cook, Globe Staff
Eleven MIT professors have accused a powerful colleague, a Nobel laureate, of
interfering with the university's efforts to hire a rising female star in
neuroscience.. The professors, in a letter to MIT's president, Susan Hockfield,
accuse professor Susumu Tonegawa of intimidating Alla Karpova, "a brilliant
young scientist," saying that he would not mentor, interact, or collaborate
with her if she took the job and that members of his research
https://verify1.newsbank.com/cgi-bin/ncom/BG/ec_signin
And from Science:
WOMEN IN SCIENCE:
MIT Hiring Controversy Sparks Faculty Fracas
Andrew Lawler
Faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
neurobiologists elsewhere are in an uproar over a decision last month by an
up-and-coming scientist to decline a position at MIT.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/313/5785/284a
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3. Women-science-family book project
From: Amy Simon-Miller (Amy.Simonnasa.gov) and the AAAS Fellows listserv
Hi all. I am editing a book about women, science and family, tentatively
titled Motherhood: The Elephant in the Laboratory. I think the time is right
for women to speak out about their different experiences, opportunites and
personal choices.
Below is an excerpt from the book proposal. I am currently collecting essays.
If you are interested in contributing and would like more information or would
like the full proposal, please respond to: emonossonverizon.net.
Also if you know of others who might be interested in contributing please
forward this far and wide.
Thank you - Emily
Motherhood: The Elephant in the Laboratory
The aim of this book is to initiate a national discussion about science, work,
and motherhood, by highlighting the unique accomplishments and challenges of
women, as scientists and as mothers, with the ultimate goal of redefining the
concept of "career" scientist.
Scientists with families, particularly women with young children, find it
difficult to achieve a balance between work and family in these highly
competitive often male dominated fields. But many do. They work part-time or
full-time, they opt-out, and opt back-in, they become entrepreneurs, they job
share, they get creative. Along the way, many feel they have become an
invisible, under-utilized and misunderstood work-force. The majority of
surveys and studies on women in science are directed at recruiting and
maintaining women in the traditional academic sector.
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4. Female Science Researchers get 4.8 Million Euros
From: WIPHYS of 21 July 2006
Science Foundation Ireland recently announced that it would devote 4.8 million
euros to female science and engineering researchers. The majority of the
funding will go to the SFI Principal Investigator Career Advancement Award
(PICA), a program intended to assist academics returning to research after
maternity, adoptive, career, or parental leave. PICA will provide 4.3 million
euros to a total of 10 researchers over a three-year period. The remainder of
the money will be allocated to three Irish universities to be used to encourage
women's participation in science and engineering research through the creation
of long-term sustainable initiatives. "We want to increase the number of women
conducting internationally competitive research. The returns on this investment
will include world-class research, positive role models and increased female
participation in Irish science and engineering research," said Minister for
Trade and Commerce Michael Ahern. For more information, see:
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6733 .
[Thanks to the AWIS Washington Wire 7/15/06 for this link]
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5. AIP Fellowship
From: Audrey Leath (aleathaip.org)
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS STATE DEPARTMENT SCIENCE FELLOWSHIP: Experience
a unique year in Washington, DC! Make a personal contribution to U.S. foreign
policy while learning how the policy-making process operates. This Fellowship
is open to qualified members of all ten AIP Member Societies (for list, see
http://www.aip.org/aip/societies.html.) All ages and career levels welcome to
apply. By sponsoring at least one Fellow a year in the State Department, this
program benefits the government, the science community, and the individual
Fellows. Qualifications include U.S. citizenship; membership in one or more
AIP Member Society; and PhD or equivalent in physics-related field. Applicants
should possess interest or experience in scientific or technical aspects of
foreign policy. APPLICATION DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 1, 2006. For details on how
to apply, please visit http://www.aip.org/gov/sdf.html or contact
aleathaip.org.
Thank you very much,
Audrey
Audrey T. Leath
American Institute of Physics
aleathaip.org
301-209-3094
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6. Two permanent academic positions in astrophysics, University of Bristol, UK
From: Diana Worrall (D.Worrallbristol.ac.uk)
As one of the elements of a major strategic investment in the Physics
Department, which includes a 44M pound development of research and teaching
facilities and an injection of new posts, the University of Bristol invites
applications for two permanent Lectureships in Astrophysics. The successful
applicants will have excellent research records or have demonstrated
outstanding research potential, and will lead research in an area related to
the Astrophysics Group's core interests in observational and theoretical work
on the formation and cosmological evolution of galaxies and larger-scale
structures, including the astrophysics and feedback of active galaxies.
The Bristol Astrophysics Group makes major use of international ground and
space-based observational facilities in pursuit of its research aims, working
from the lowest accessible radio frequencies, to CMB studies at cm and mm
wavelengths, to significant programmes with the VLT and HST, and major studies
with Chandra and XMM-Newton. The Group wishes these new appointments to
consolidate and broaden its thematic research base.
A further appointment, in experimental particle physics, will also be made.
Consult the WWW site (see below) for further details.
Informal enquiries (not applications) may be made to Professor Mark Birkinshaw
(Mark.BirkinshawBristol.ac.uk) or Professor Diana Worrall
(D.WorrallBristol.ac.uk).
For further information and to apply, please see:
http://www.bris.ac.uk/boris/jobs/ads?ID=52775
Applications from all qualified persons are welcome.
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7. Data Management Specialist, NOAO
From: Patricia Knezek (knezeknoao.edu)
Job Title: Data Management Specialist
Job No. 799
The Data Products Program (DPP) of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory
(NOAO), has an immediate opening for a highly motivated Data Management
Specialist to join the DPP group based in Tucson, AZ. NOAO is leading an
effort to construct a petabyte-scale national archive for ground-based,
optical/infrared data from the next generation of large astronomical telescopes
and detectors. The aim of the Data Products Program is to enable new kinds of
scientific endeavor by creating end-to-end processing systems to generate data
products of major scientific interest, to implement forefront tools and Web
services for discovering, mining, and exploring them, and to serve these
products to the world-wide community through its participation in the
developing worldwide virtual observatory initiatives. The Data Management
Specialist is primarily responsible for the high level day-to-day operation of
this complex system, including overseeing automated pipeline processing of data
as well as archive ingest and retrieval of the data.
Qualifications and skills: The position requires a broad range of experience
in astronomical image processing and databases on UNIX systems. A university
degree in Astronomy, Physics, Math, Electronic Engineering or Computer Science,
or equivalent technical experience, is required. Two or more years of
professional experience in astronomical image processing is desirable. Desired
experience includes:
- Knowledge of image processing, preferably of optical or infrared astronomical
images using IRAF, MIDAS, IDL, or equivalent
- Experience with astronomical archives
- Working knowledge of UNIX-based computer operating systems, including Linux
- Some knowledge of UNIX-based relational database operations, including SQL,
preferably PostgreSQL or MySQL
- Working knowledge of one or more UNIX scripting languages (perl, python,
borne shell, etc.)
Additional information about the NOAO Data Products Program can be obtained at
our website http://www.noao.edu/dpp. NOAO offers an excellent benefits package,
competitive salary commensurate with experience, and an extremely attractive
work environment. The DPP team is distributed between Tucson and La Serena,
Chile, and close interaction with the operations based in the Chile is a key
component of the program. The position will involve occasional trips to Chile
and other destinations for collaborative work, training, and presentations.
NOAO offers an excellent compensation package including vacation, comprehensive
insurance and retirement benefits, and competitive salary.
Please apply electronically to: hrnoaonoao.edu (preferred) or mail to the
address given below.
Make reference to the Job Title & Job Number when applying.
Send resume to:
Human Resources Office
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
P.O. Box 26732
Tucson, Arizona 85726-6732
Email: hrnoaonoao.edu
FAX: 520-318-8494
NOAO and NSO are affirmative action and equal employment opportunity employers.
Preference granted to qualified Native Americans living on or near the Tohono
O'Odham reservation.
NOAO and NSO foster a diverse research environment. Women and candidates from
under represented minorities are particularly encouraged to apply.
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8. Temporary Faculty Position in Physics, Creighton University
From: WIPHYS of 21 July 2006
Creighton, a Jesuit university committed to excellence in the liberal arts
tradition, has been rated as one of the top two comprehensive universities in
the Midwest for over a decade. Creighton is located in downtown Omaha, a
vibrant community of 600,000. The Physics Department offers both Bachelors and
Masters degrees. Due to an unanticipated promotion, we have an immediate
opening for a one-year position at the rank of Assistant Professor. We seek a
candidate with effective communication skills who will join us in our
commitment to outstanding teaching and the tradition of involving undergraduate
students in our research programs. A Master's degree is required; a Ph.D. is
strongly preferred. More information about our department and this position
can be found at http://physicsweb.creighton.edu. Applicants must submit a
current curriculum vitae, transcripts of all college-level work, a statement of
teaching philosophy, evidence of successful teaching (if available), and
arrange to have three letters of reference sent to: Dr. Janet E. Seger, Search
Committee Chair, Department of Physics, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska,
68178, jsegercreighton.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately.
Creighton is an EO/AA employer and seeks a wide range of applicants for this
position in support of one of our core values-gender, ethnic and cultural
diversity.
Janet Seger
Physics Department
Creighton University
Omaha, NE 68178
phone: 402-280-4709
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