| CfA Women in Science |
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Meetings for Academic Year 2016-2017Here are the quotes borrowed from the Amazon web site: New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dava Sobel, the "inspiring" (People), little-known true story of women's landmark contributions to astronomy A joy to read.... The Wall Street Journal Named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Economist, Smithsonian, Nature,and NPR's Science Friday In the mid-nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or human computers, to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope each night. At the outset this group included the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but soon the female corps included graduates of the new women's colleges—Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned from computation to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates. The glass universe of half a million plates that Harvard amassed over the ensuing decades—through the generous support of Mrs. Anna Palmer Draper, the widow of a pioneer in stellar photography—enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim. They helped discern what stars were made of, divided the stars into meaningful categories for further research, and found a way to measure distances across space by starlight. Their ranks included Williamina Fleming, a Scottish woman originally hired as a maid who went on to identify ten novae and more than three hundred variable stars; Annie Jump Cannon, who designed a stellar classification system that was adopted by astronomers the world over and is still in use; and Dr. Cecilia Helena Payne, who in 1956 became the first ever woman professor of astronomy at Harvard and Harvard's first female department chair. Elegantly written and enriched by excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs, The Glass Universe is the hidden history of the women whose contributions to the burgeoning field of astronomy forever changed our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe. Dr. Kathy Flanagan has a host of experiences to talk about, starting from the Peace Corps, grad school at MIT, development and work with Chandra's High Resolution Camera and the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer--and then Interim Director at Space Telescope Science Institute. Kathy will tell us about all the learning steps which go into this saga--and doubtless some lively stories as well. This is particularly relevant for early career grad students and post-docs, since every step after grad school brings new challenges, rewards, and adjustments. Of course, everyone is welcome. Kelly Korreck and Sherry Winkelman Kelly and Sherry will talk about their experiences in the Smithsonian Leadership Training program. Nancy Houfek Many women in science feel competent and powerful in their area of expertise. However, when entering into a meeting or negotiation, some begin to feel as if they are playing in a game where they don’t know the rules. This workshop provides participants with skills to succeed in accomplishing their goals in difficult interpersonal situations. Participants will be introduced to techniques synthesized from both theater and leadership training to help them be more effective. They will learn how to articulate a clear purpose and land their message, become aware of their presence in order to be heard, develop an understanding of the parties’ interests, package alternatives and options to enhance the possibility of reaching agreement, implement a range in the “zone of possible agreement”, manage hot moments, and think strategically about alliances and tactics. Participants are asked to bring examples of challenging negotiations or meetings, either from the past or upcoming. These moments will be examined in the workshop through the use of role-plays. The replay of scenarios with personalized coaching creates a highly interactive and personal learning of the wide range of tactics available. Participants will leave with an improved sense of how to think strategically about their professional opportunities – and act with success. |