Gazette Spring 2017, Vol. 36,. No. 1
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
& TM CSWP COM Vol. 36, No. 1 Spring 2017 Newsletter of the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics & the Committee on Minorities of the American Physical Society INSIDEGazetteGuest Editorial: Hidden Figures: Propelling the Next Generation Trina L. Coleman, PhD Guest Editorial: nticipation, excitement, camaraderie; Hidden Figures: Aall of these emotions oozed from ev- Propelling the Next eryone mingling inside of the Virginia Air Generation & Space Center on December 1st as we 1 gathered for the VIP screening of Hidden Blewett Fellowship Figures. The buzz surrounding the incred- Past Recipients ible story told by Margot Lee Shetterly of 1 three amazing women – Katherine John- CSWP WiP Awards son, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan – 2 and their contributions to the “Space Race” The Conferences makes native Hamptonians such as myself for Undergraduate giddy with pride. This pride comes from Women in Physics knowing that the true embodiment of sci- 2 ence, technology, engineering and math- Hidden Figures: ematics (STEM) required to propel the first Experiences of Black Americans into space happened in Hamp- Women in STEM ton, VA, home of the first NASA site. More 3 importantly, pride because these three bril- Inclusion Best liant, Black women were groundbreakers Practices? that opened doors for scientists and math- Trina L. Coleman, presenting a photo of African American 4 ematicians like me, although they were his- Women in Physics to Katherine Johnson. APS Adopts Code torically anonymous until recently. of Conduct For All The mechanics of the movie Hidden Figures were movie, Katherine G. Johnson. Having had the honor Meetings executed flawlessly; extraordinary writing, a stellar and privilege of meeting and briefly speaking with her 5 cast, attention to detail, great soundtrack, and a win- before, I immediately sensed extreme clarity in her, as Obituary: ning, feel good ending. That’s the experience that most well as the intrinsic characteristic of intellectual order Professor Marjorie will take away when they see it. What most will not that great minds possess. Corcoran experience is the incredible opportunity to watch the While watching the events unfold onscreen, I was 5 screening of Hidden Figures with the REAL star of the continued on page 3 Women and Minorities Named to APS Fellowship in 2016 M. Hildred Blewett Fellowship: Past Recipient Updates 6 he Blewett Fellowship was established with a gen- See what last year’s recipients have been up to and Recent APS Women Terous bequest from M. Hildred Blewett, an ac- how the award has helped them! Physicists of the celerator physicist, who died in 2004. Hildred Blewett Month was passionate about physics and wanted to help wom- 9 Nicole Lloyd-Ronning en overcome obstacles by establishing the fellowship Since the conclusion of my Blewett Fellowship, I Meet the 2017 COM to enable women to return to physics research careers have continued to work with the computational phys- and CSWP Chairs after interrupting those careers. The fellowship consists ics group at Los Alamos National Labs, investigating and New Committee of a one-year award of up to $45,000 for dependent Members a number of different aspects of massive stellar deaths 10 care (limited to 50% of the award), salary, travel, and relativistic outflows. Lately, I have been focusing equipment, and tuition and fees. The application dead- line is June 1, 2017. continued on page 12 2 Managing Editors CSWP Awards $10,000 to Women in Physics Groups Arlene Modeste Knowles Miranda Bard he APS Committee on the Status of Women in Women in Physics groups. Congratulations to TPhysics (CSWP) provides Women in Physics • City College of New York Members of CSWP Group grants to support the CSWP mission of recruit- • Colby College Patricia Rankin, Chair ing and retaining women in physics at the under- Kristen M. Burson graduate level. Women in Physics (WiP) groups are • Drexel University Miriam Deutsch uniquely able to address this mission by encouraging • Georgia Institute of Technology Roxanne Hughes and supporting the participation of women in their Laura McCullough departments. The purpose of the grant program is to • Rutgers University Elizabeth Mann improve recruitment and/or retention of women in • University of Colorado Boulder Kerstin N. Nordstrom physics through (1) the establishment of new WiP Pearl Sandick • University of Northern Iowa groups, (2) expansion or strengthening of existing Cha-Mei Tang • University of Oregon Jenna Walrath groups, and (3) improvement in sustainability within new and existing groups. • University of Wisconsin-Madison Members of COM Last year, 14 groups received funds to host alum- • Virginia Military Institute Edmundo J Garcia-Solis, ni talks, speaker series, programs for high school stu- Chair dents, mentorship programs, socials, journal clubs, • Western Washington University Ivy Krystal Jones community outreach, professional development work- For more information about applying for a Wom- Angela Little shops, and lab tours. en in Physics Group Grant, please visit go.aps.org/ Marie Lopez del Puerto This year, the CSWP awarded $10,000 to 11 wipgrants. Charles McGruder Casey Miller Jesus Pando William Ratcliff Carol Scarlett Garfield Warren The 2017 Conferences for Undergraduate Women in APS Liaison Physics Were a Big Success and 2018 Sites Have Been Theodore Hodapp Director of Project Selected Development and Sr. Advisor to APS Education PS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in • University of Toledo & Diversity Department Physics (CUWiP) help undergraduate women A • University of Virginia continue in physics by providing them with the op- Graphic Designer portunity to experience a professional conference, get Student registration will open September 1, 2017. Nancy Bennett-Karasik information about graduate school and professions in If you are interested in hosting a conference at your in- physics, and meet other women in physics of all ages stitution in 2019, please visit www.aps.org/cuwip and Publication Information with whom they can share experiences, advice, and fill out an Expression of Interest form by September The COM/CSWP ideas. On January 13-15, 2017, these conferences were 1, 2017. GAZETTE, a newsletter of the American Physical hosted simultaneously at 10 sites across the U.S. and Society Committee on Canada, with over 1,600 students in attendance. The Minorities (COM) and keynote was simulcast to all 10 sites, and featured Pro- Committee on the Status fessor Nergis Mavalvala of MIT, who is best known of Women in Physics for her work on the detection of gravitational waves. (CSWP), is mailed free of charge to all those In January 2018, CUWiP will be hosted at 12 listed on the Roster of sites, including: Women and Minorities in Physics, all U.S. • Arizona State University physics department • Cal Poly Pomona/Pomona College/Harvey Mudd chairs, and others upon College request. Please address all correspondence to: COM/ • Columbia University CSWP Gazette, American Physical Society, One • George Washington University Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, or • Iowa State University email to: [email protected]. • Rochester Institute of Technology Opinions expressed are those of the authors and • Queen’s University (Canada) do not necessarily reflect the views of the APS or of • University of Kansas the COM and CSWP. • University of North Florida Undergraduate student poster session at Virginia • University of Oregon Tech. Photo: Kate Scholburg 3 Hidden Figures continued from page 1 wondering how Mrs. Katherine was processing what strain. During that summer, our unit received pieces of was going on. Was she doing the calculations in her the Challenger remains. head? Was she reliving the “light bulb” moment of I would also spend time at NASA/Langley while the trajectory solution presenting itself to her? Was working on my M.S. research in Materials. It was not she reminiscing about her close friendship with Mary uncommon to run into now astronaut Leland Melvin; Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn? Was she thinking about his office was on the same floor as my advisor’s. the racial divide that existed to constantly remind her These experiences were special and an integral that she was a “Negro,” despite the fact that she was part of my academic path, but it wasn’t until recently an integral and necessary part of the success of the that I could see the true connection between my journey Friendship 7 mission and missions to follow? and the bigger picture. I was sitting in the theater with What occurred to me during the movie was the re- Katherine Johnson, watching her story unfold on screen ality that the trajectory of her life, the other West Area while concurrently reflecting on mine. That is one awe- Computers’ lives, and the necessity of inclusion were somely indescribable feeling. It won’t, however, negate strongly dependent on the competition between the US the sense of loss that I feel because I wasn’t allowed to and the USSR. Winning was everything, and the white, engage with her as a student, a student on-site at NASA Mrs. Katherine G. Johnson, male dominated research and development teams real- while she was still there. I am extremely grateful, none- whose life and career was ized they were at a critical stage. A broader, collective theless that I had the opportunity to meet her. portrayed in the movie, intelligence would be required while serving the com- If traveling around the city of Hampton, one will Hidden Figures, based on mon goal, so NASA/Langley had to step outside of the notice seven bridges with the names of the original Margot Lee Shetterly’s boundaries of the “zone of white, male privilege” to book by the same name seven astronauts: Grissom, Carpenter, Slayton, Coo- enlist more manpower and computing power. Despera- per, Shepard, Schirra and Glenn. Bridges, as defined, tion apparently breeds tolerance and tolerance breeds are built to ensure safe passage from one point to opportunity.