Date: Thu 29-Aug-2019
Speaker: Pradip Gatkine, Carolyn Kierans, Nathan Roth, Geoffrey Ryan, Eliza Kempton, Drake Deming
Title: "Postdoc Panel: Applying for Postdoc Positions in Astronomy"
Current postdocs will share their insights into applying for postdoc positions, searching for a mentor, and general tips for transitioning into this career stage. Faculty members who served on postdoc committees will talk about their experiences and provide advice to graduate students. Questions during the panel are welcome!
Date: Thu 05-Sep-2019
Speaker: Dr. Carlton Green (UMD Office of Diversity and Inclusion)
Title: "UMD Office of Diversity And Inclusion -- Tips for Creating an Inclusive Classroom Environment"
Join us to discuss strategies for creating a classroom that supports students from diverse backgrounds and identities. We will offer practical recommendations geared toward creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment, as well as talk about the possibilities and challenges of serving a diverse student body.
Date: Thu 12-Sep-2019
Speaker: Various
Title: "Thirty Meter Telescope Discussion I"
A group discussion about Mauna Kea and the Thirty Meter Telescope. Part one of a multi-session series. This discussion will focus on getting participants up to speed on the conflict, its history, and setting a framework for the next session.
Date: Thu 19-Sep-2019
Speaker: Shaye Storm (POSTPONED DUE TO ILLNESS)
Title: "Working At An FFRDC"
I will discuss my research path that started with astronomy research at MIT, UMD, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and has continued with research at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). CNA is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) in Arlington, VA that primarily supports the US Navy and Marine Corps. There are many FFRDCs in the DC area and I will give an overview of what they all do and who they like to hire (hint: STEM PhDs!). I will discuss my current research projects and how a degree in astronomy has helped me smoothly enter the world of FFRDC research. I will also touch on practical matters, including job stability, expectations of work-related travel, work-life balance, and workforce diversity and inclusion.
Date: Thu 26-Sep-2019
Speaker: Various
Title: "Thirty Meter Telescope Discussion II"
A round table discussion about Mauna Kea and the Thirty Meter Telescope, building off of the Sep 12 session. Part two of a multi-session series.
Date: Thu 03-Oct-2019
Speaker: Various + Special Guest Dr. Daus
Title: Thirty Meter Telescope Discussion III
A professor of Asian American, Filipino American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Studies here at UMD, Professor Gem Daus, will be joining us for some guided discussion around the topic of "The Protectors". After introductions, Prof. Daus will share some AV content with us before diving into the discussion.
Date: Thu 10-Oct-2019
Speaker: Dr. Shaye Storm
Title: "Working at an FFRDC"
I will discuss my research path that started with astronomy research at MIT, UMD, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and has continued with research at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). CNA is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) in Arlington, VA that primarily supports the US Navy and Marine Corps. There are many FFRDCs in the DC area and I will give an overview of what they all do and who they like to hire (hint: STEM PhDs!). I will discuss my current research projects and how a degree in astronomy has helped me smoothly enter the world of FFRDC research. I will also touch on practical matters, including job stability, expectations of work-related travel, work-life balance, and workforce diversity and inclusion.
Date: Thu 17-Oct-2019
Speaker: Dr. Rachel Ivie and Dr. Anne Marie Porter (AIP/SRC)
Title: "The Representation and Retention of Women in Physics and Astronomy"
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) conducts nationwide surveys of physics and astronomy departments, students, and faculty, and collected data on women’s representation in degrees earned, graduate school enrollment, and faculty employment in 2018. AIP also examined gender differences in salary and stipend amounts, advisor relationships, and retention in astronomy. A greater percentage of women are represented in astronomy compared to physics, and the representation of women in astronomy is increasing over time. In 2018, women earned 22% of physics bachelor’s degrees and 36% of astronomy bachelor’s degrees; furthermore, women earned 20% of physics doctoral degrees and 35% of astronomy doctoral degrees. In academic departments, 19% of physics faculty members and 23% of astronomy faculty members were women. We found no gender differences between the stipend amounts that astronomy students received during graduate school or the salaries that students received after graduating. In our longitudinal study of astronomy graduate students, women were less likely to agree that their advisor encouraged them in attaining their goals, which influenced whether they were employed within the astronomy field five to six years later. We discuss the implications of our findings for the representation and retention of women in astronomy.
Date: Thu 31-Oct-2019
Speaker: Various
Title: "Inclusive Astronomy Conference: Feedback and Selection Process"
We will discuss lessons learned at the second Inclusive Astronomy conference, held at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Details about the conference can be found here. We will also talk about this year's selection process that caused many discussions regarding its effectiveness.
Date: Thu 07-Nov-2019
Speaker: Tomás Ahumada, Ginny Cunningham, Sara Frederick, Ramsey Karim, Matthew Knight, Becca Levy, Elizabeth Warner, and anyone else who wants to join!
Title: State of the Department: Outreach
We will discuss different outreach initiatives that our department members have been involved with, including mentoring, writing for Astrobitos, library outreach, volunteering at a Smithsonian, hackathons, ACE, EDI, observatory, and more! The structure is rather informal--our participants will spend ~5 minutes or less to share what their initiative is about, how they heard about it, what did they learn from it, and if and how one can join. Anyone is welcome to contribute with their own experiences, even if your name is not listed above. Sharing information about opportunities that you heard about but haven't been personally involved with is OK too--we just want to learn about as many outreach programs as possible!
Date: Thu 14-Nov-2019
Speaker: Patrick Banner and Adam Ehrenberg
Title: Mental Health Task Force
In this talk, we will discuss results from a mental health survey administered earlier this year to both astronomy and physics graduate students at UMD. We asked about experiences and symptoms relating to depression, anxiety, impostor phenomenon, and other aspects of mental health, and received over 60 responses with a large spread of answers. We will summarize the results from the astronomy department, compare these with physics and the general population, and present free responses. We will then use these results to start an open discussion among attendees about ways that the university, faculty, and students themselves can improve the mental health of astronomy graduate students at UMD. We encourage interested parties, including both graduate students and faculty, to attend to take part in this discussion and to raise awareness about mental health concerns in the department.
Date: Thu 21-Nov-2019
Speaker: Open Discussion
Title: Journal Club
Date: Thu 05-Dec-2019
Speaker: Kelly Fast (NASA HQ)
Title: "Lemons are for Lemonade"
Only a Star Trek-obsessed, Celestron-wielding teen would say, “I want to be an astronomer when I grow up!” But it’s likely no teen ever said, “I want to work at NASA Headquarters when I grow up!” But now more than ever, it seems that people feel empowered to take that astronomy degree and springboard into a related science, cross over to industry, start a family, pivot to a completely unrelated career…or maybe actually do astronomy! Alternative career paths are now seen more as astronomy success stories as people embrace the twists and turns… but I sure didn’t at the time! After being dragged kicking and screaming down a path that wound back and forth through NASA and UMD and continues to do so in unexpected ways, it’s nice to see others now actually embracing their own journeys for themselves. What about you? Who are you doing this for anyway?
Kelly Fast received her Astronomy M.S. in 1993 and her Ph.D. in 2005 from UMD, had a couple of babies in between and worked at NASA Goddard, and one day woke up disoriented at NASA Headquarters. Send chocolate.
