Friday, March 27, 2015

AASWOMEN Newsletter for March 27, 2015


AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of March 27, 2015
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Meredith Hughes, & Elysse Voyer

This week's issues:

1. Diversity in Large Scientific Collaborations

2. Math and Verbal Performance of Men and Women Under Competition and Time Pressure

3. Connecting Physics Students to Career Opportunities

4. Google Doodle honors Emmy Noether

5. NSF Gearing Up to Boost Women in Science

6. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

8. Access to Past Issues


1. Diversity in Large Scientific Collaborations
From: Neil Gehrels via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Large scientific collaborations or teams are becoming more common in astronomy and present particular opportunities and challenges for diversity. They have been the norm in some areas of physics, such as particle physics, for years and can be as large as 1000's of members. Sizes in astronomy are more typically 100's, although larger teams are on the horizon.

The special attributes of a large collaboration that can affect diversity include election or appointment of collaborations leaders, organization of sub-teams, collaboration meetings with large numbers of attendees, papers with large numbers of authors, and presentations at conferences decided by committees. In the context of the Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy, I will concentrate here on issues for women. I was motivated to write this piece by an excellent discussion of such diversity issues at a recent LIGO-Virgo collaboration meeting.

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2015/03/diversity-in-large-scientific.html

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2. Math and Verbal Performance of Men and Women Under Competition and Time Pressure
From: Jessica Kirkpatrick via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

[The following post was reproduced (with permission) from the June 2014 Issue of Status: A Report on Women in Astronomy. The author is Nancy D. Morrison, The University of Toledo, Department of Physics & Astronomy.]

Recently, we've heard a lot about the gender gap in wages: the full-time median salary for women is lower than that of men in almost all occupations, [1] and a gap persists in many occupations when age and skill level are controlled for. Explanations can be grouped broadly into three categories: bias, whether conscious or unconscious; entry of women into lower-wage occupations because of skills or preferences; and less competitiveness among women than among men.

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2015/03/math-and-verbal-performance-of-men-and.html

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3. Connecting Physics Students to Career Opportunities
From: Fran Bagenal [bagenal_at_lasp.colorado.edu]

Following up on David Charbonneau's post, "Why Did You Decide on a PhD in Astronomy and not Physics?", here is a recent post from the AIP's Statistical Research Center:

Fact Sheet - Connecting Physics Students to Career Opportunities http://www.aip.org/statistics/reports/fact-sheet-connecting-physics-students-career-opportunities

When visiting departments and meeting with students I have noticed that there is a major lack of advice on careers outside academia. This fact sheet is designed to help provide such advice. This report is a guide created by the Career Pathways Project (CPP) and is designed to enhance the work being done by career services professionals with physics undergraduates and physics faculty members. This document provides tips on resume writing, identifies some of the skills developed during the typical undergraduate physics experience, lists common job titles held by recent physics bachelor's degree recipients, and offers suggestions for effective career advising of physics undergraduates.

The CPP was a collaboration of the Education Division and the Statistical Research Center, both of the American Institute of Physics. The Career Pathways Project was supported by the National Science Foundation.

Sign up for AIP-SRC updates: http://www.aip.org/statistics/e_updates

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4. Google Doodle honors Emmy Noether
From: Arlene Knowles via APS Women in Physics

Emmy Noether revolutionized mathematics — and still faced sexism all her life

by Brad Plumer

Emmy Noether was one of the most brilliant and important mathematicians of the 20th century. She altered the course of modern physics. Einstein called her a genius. Yet today, almost nobody knows who she is.

In 1915, Noether uncovered one of science's most extraordinary ideas, proving that every symmetry found in nature has a corresponding law of conservation. So, for example, the fact that physical laws work the same today as they did yesterday turns out to be related to the notion that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Noether's theorem is a deep insight that underpins much of modern-day physics and things like the search for the Higgs boson.

To read more, please see

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/23/8274777/emmy-noether

You might also enjoy reading about the Google doodle for Anna Atkins

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0316/How-Anna-Atkins-blazed-a-garden-path-for-women-to-sneak-into-science

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5. NSF Gearing Up to Boost Women in Science
From: Daryl Haggard [dhaggard_at_amherst.edu]

[This is an interview by Paul Basken with the director of the National Science Foundation, France A. Córdova. They are discussing her efforts to advance female STEM professionals in honor of Women's History Month.]

The director of the National Science Foundation, France A. Córdova, is devising strategies to improve the standing of female scientists, who are paid less and promoted less often than men are, make up a smaller percentage of invited speakers at scientific conferences, win fewer grants, and have higher rates of career attrition than do their male counterparts.

To watch the interview, please visit

http://chronicle.com/article/Video-NSF-Gearing-Up-to-Boost/228521

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6. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org

All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.

When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.

Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.

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7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List by email:

Send email to aaswlist+subscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have subscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

Be sure to follow the instructions in the confirmation email. (Just reply back to the email list)

To unsubscribe by email:

Send email to aawlist+unsubscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have UNsubscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

To join or leave AASWomen via web, or change your membership settings:

https://groups.google.com/a/aas.org/group/aaswlist

You will have to create a Google Account if you do not already have one, using https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en

Google Groups Subscribe Help:

http://support.google.com/groups/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=46606

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8. Access to Past Issues

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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