Friday, October 13, 2017

AASWomen Newsletter for October 13, 2017

AAS Committee on the Status of Women AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 13, 2017
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Cristina Thomas, and Maria Patterson

This week's issues:

1. Ada Lovelace Day Honors "the First Computer Programmer"

2. Don't count yourself out: reminder about fellowship qualification exceptions

3. Before and after: Women finally get their due in STEM stock photos

4. The female code-breakers who were left out of history books

5. Job Opportunities

6. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

8. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter


1. Ada Lovelace Day Honors "the First Computer Programmer"
From: Maria Patterson [mtpatter_at_uw.edu]

This past Tuesday was Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate Ada Lovelace and women’s achievements in math, science, and engineering.

Read about Ada Lovelace's "short but consequential" life as the "first computer programmer" in the 1800's at

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/ada-lovelace-day-honors-the-first-computer-programmer

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2. Don't count yourself out: reminder about fellowship qualification exceptions
From: Katey Alatalo [kalatalo_at_stsci.edu]

There seem to be a lot of people who do not know this, so I am hoping to raise the volume before it is too late so people know this exists:

This needs to be on blast: for my friends applying for fellowships BOTH the NSF and the NASA Hubble Fellowship offer *exceptions* to the rule that you be within 3yrs of your Ph.D. There are LOTS of reasons they grant exceptions, so don't count yourself out if you did not have the "perfect path," email them and ask.

Greatness sometimes comes from grit, and grit is especially clear for people who had hurdles placed in their path.

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3. Before and after: Women finally get their due in STEM stock photos
From: Maria Patterson [mtpatter_at_uw.edu]

"While some people bizarrely debate whether women belong in science, tech, engineering, and math careers, Getty Images is busy replacing outdated stereotypes with stock images of women in STEM as they actually are: driven, talented, curious, and skilled.

To mark Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration to honor the achievements of women in STEM, Getty shared with Mashable contemporary and archival photos that demonstrate just how much progress has been made in creating more accurate depictions of women in these fields."

Read more at

http://mashable.com/2017/10/10/stock-images-getty-women-science-tech-engineering-math-stem/#1LN5.bYn6mqF

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4. The female code-breakers who were left out of history books
From: Maria Patterson [mtpatter_at_uw.edu]

"Picture this. In 1917, the United States is just entering World War One. But to begin with, its military is small and its capacity for intelligence gathering is severely limited. There is no NSA or CIA. In fact, military code-breaking is being done on a small but intense scale – at a mansion estate in the Illinois countryside owned by an eccentric millionaire.

And the two people at the centre of this extraordinary operation are the code-breaking team Elizebeth Smith and William Friedman, who would later marry. Neither had formal training in cryptanalysis. Elizebeth had studied Shakespeare and Tennyson at college and Friedman had a PhD in genetics. But – as is important both in literary and genetic analysis – the two were adept at recognising patterns."

Read more at

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20171009-the-female-code-breakers-who-were-left-out-of-history-books

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5. Job Opportunities

For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here: https://cswa.aas.org/diversity.html#howtoincrease

-Astronomy Laboratory Instructor and Observatory Manager, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA https://career.wellesley.edu/postings/1855

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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 aaswlist+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:

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8. Access to Past Issues

https://cswa.aas.org/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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