Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s (2023) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Profession and Its Societal Impacts: Gateways to Science, Pathways to Diversity, Equity, and Sustainability
3 The Profession and Its Societal Impacts: Gateways to Science, Pathways to Diversity, Equity, and Sustainability
Pages 83-127
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From page 83... ...
The Astro2020 decadal survey reflects the increased importance and attention on human investments and public impacts in multiple ways. First, the funding agency sponsors are increasingly visible and vocal on the urgent need to develop the nation's human capital, with a specific focus on what the National Science Board (NSB)
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From page 84... ...
3.1 PRECEPTS AND PRINCIPLES FOR THE PROFESSION AND ITS SOCIETAL IMPACTS The successful execution of the vision in this report will depend on the skill, creativity, and dedication of the community of scientists, engineers, educators, and aspirants who make up the astronomy and astrophysics profession. The ambitious facilities, instruments, and experiments envisaged by the survey, and the transformative discoveries that they promise, will not make themselves; the people who comprise the astronomy and astrophysics profession do these things.
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From page 85... ...
3.2 ASTRONOMY'S ROLE IN SOCIETY: A GATEWAY TO STEM CAREERS, A BRIDGE BETWEEN SCIENCE AND THE PUBLIC Astronomy, perhaps more than any science, has the power not only to educate but also to awe and inspire. Near-daily coverage of space science discoveries -- images of the event horizon of a black hole, descriptions of exotic exoplanets -- reveals the public's engagement with the field.
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From page 86... ...
As counterpoint to a period when some have challenged the legitimacy of science and the integrity of scientists, the broad public appeal of astronomy can serve as a force for good far beyond the boundaries of its own discipline. Conclusion: Astronomy research continues to offer significant benefits to the nation beyond astronomi cal discoveries.
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From page 87... ...
Its telescopes and instruments constantly push the limits of technology FIGURE 3.2 Astronomy has been at the forefront of citizen science, which has elevated traditional education and public outreach to true amateur-professional scientific collaboration. These images are from Galaxy Zoo 3D, a spin-off of the original successful Galaxy Zoo citizen science project.
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From page 88... ...
At the mm wavelengths, arrays of thousands of ultra-sensitive bolometric detectors have been developed to study the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
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From page 89... ...
recipients who forgo postdoctoral positions -- traditionally the next step toward a permanent position in astronomy research -- in favor of non-academic STEM workforce jobs. As of the most 12 See National Science Foundation, "Survey of Doctorate Recipients," last updated April 2021, https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ srvydoctoratework.
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From page 90... ...
between the number of trained astronomers and the number of desirable career routes for which those with technical training in astronomy find themselves in high demand. Conclusion: There is no evidence of mismatch between the number of Ph.D.- or postdoctorate-trained astronomers and the broad array of desirable career pathways into the STEM workforce.
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From page 91... ...
, choosing instead degrees in the life sciences or social sciences or in non-STEM fields altogether (Figure 3.4) .19 In contrast, in the life sciences the retention rate is substantially higher, at ~50 percent.20 When interpreting such statistics, it is important to recognize that the undergraduate curriculum for astronomers, whether they pursue degrees in astronomy, physics, or both, is dominated by coursework in physics, As a result, statistics for physics and astronomy undergraduate education are often aggregated.
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From page 92... ...
All of this suggests that astronomy and physics have a large opportunity to much more fully retain talented students and to much more fully contribute to the nation's technically trained STEM workforce, simply by shifting from a "weed out" mentality in the undergraduate curriculum, and from a "pure scientists only" mentality in research opportunities, toward approaches that much more intentionally attract and prepare -- and value -- students for the broad array of good career outcomes that astronomy and physics training provides anyway. The exclusive focus on academic careers, when options and positions are very limited, is overly constraining on trainees who might otherwise see industry as an interesting and lucrative career path through which they can continue to add value to the nation's technically skilled workforce.
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From page 93... ...
The field is becoming dominated by large collaborations and survey-scale missions, an explosion of data, and a workforce that is more digitally connected and more geographically distributed than ever before. Indeed, occupationally speaking, astronomy research today bears little resemblance to the old stereotype of a lone scientist cloistered in a remote observatory.
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From page 94... ...
2 20 DOE 4 70 2-year college 2 15 DOD 4 71 Self-employed 1 7 Foundation/Grant/Donors 3 74 Planetarium or museum 1 7 Other 12 83 Secondary school - 4 Total N 1410 Other 3 27 Categories with <3% are not included Total 948 Includes full-time employed respondents with PhDs excluding current postdocs. NOTE: These data represent only those individuals with active AAS membership; not reflected in these statistics are the large number of individuals who obtain academic degrees in astronomy and astrophysics but who "leave the profession" for jobs in the private or public sectors, and for whom the data suggest their training has enabled gainful employment in the STEM workforce (see Section 3.2)
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From page 95... ...
Pold and R Ivie, 2019, Workforce Survey of 2018 US AAS Members: Summary Results, Statistical Research Center, American Institute of Physics, https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/AAS-Members-Workforce-Survey-final.pdf.
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From page 96... ...
population. This underrepresentation was identified as a problem as far back as the 1980 decadal survey.27 As of 2012, there was not a single astronomy department that had representation of both African American and Hispanic faculty, and roughly two-thirds of astronomy departments had representation of neither.
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Representation of African American students, however, remains nearly steady and alarmingly low. FIGURE 3.7 The number of astronomy degrees earned by African Americans and Hispanics.
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From page 98... ...
b 2,764,690 1,655,714 766,844 Estimated number intending physical sciences major (2007) c 66,000 41,000 11,500 … of whom __ complete physics or astronomy degrees 10% 11% 4% Bachelor's degrees in physics and astronomy (2012)
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See Section 3.3.4. 37 See Appendix N, Report of the Panel on State of the Profession and Societal Impacts.
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From page 100... ...
The Akamai Workforce Initiative, led by the University of California and supported in part by funding from NSF, Air Force, Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory, and others, has helped hundreds of local students, including many Native Hawaiians, attain employment with telescopes and the broader STEM workforce (Figure 3.8) .42 There are also examples from other countries, such as the ALMA observatory in the Atacama region in Chile, which involves the Likan Antai people in many of its activities, including efforts to preserve the Indigenous language and cosmic worldview.
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From page 101... ...
Importantly, these funding initiatives were operated at the relevant division levels of the agencies with purview over astronomy and astrophysics, not centralized at the top agency levels where their impact specifically on the astronomy and astrophysics workforce at the undergraduate and graduate levels might be diffused. The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD)
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From page 102... ...
SOURCE: Adapted from the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics, https://www.aip.org/statistics/reports/trends-physics-phds-171819. and College Education and Research Partnership Initiative (MUCERPI)
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From page 103... ...
In recognition of the early successes of these programs,52 the American Physical Society (APS) launched a program to emulate these efforts and incentivize similar programs in physics departments nationally.53 NSF AST's 2013 portfolio review specifically recommended line-item funding for "workforce diversity" as part of its broader recommendation for augmenting the small- to midscale budget for NSF AST.54 Unfortunately, all of these division-level workforce diversity funding programs have since been defunded, as a result of budget pressures, top-level agency programmatic consolidation, or both.
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From page 104... ...
.55,56,57 Importantly, one core recommendation from Inclusive Astronomy in the "Power, Policy, and Leadership" category was that the Astro2020 decadal survey should "include recommendations (i.e., not merely findings as in previous decadal surveys) ." More generally, the Inclusive Astronomy recommendations included a roadmap for establishing a "community of inclusive practice," engaging the astronomy community as a whole (including AAS committees such as SGMA, CSMA, CSWA, and WGAD, among others)
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Exemplar approaches suggested by, for example, the National Academies report on the Science of Effective Mentoring (2018) and the AIP National Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy (TEAM-UP)
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In addition, the reports reach broad consensus that the federal legal framework alone is essential, but is by itself not adequate for reducing or preventing sexual harassment and discrimination. Indeed, one of the major recommendations of the 2018 report is that "academic institutions, research and training sites, and federal agencies should move beyond interventions or policies that represent basic legal compliance and that rely solely on formal reports made by targets."c The report argues that there must be proactive, not reactive, efforts Recommendation: NSF, NASA, and DOE should implement undergraduate and graduate "traineeship" funding, akin to the NIH Maximizing Access to Research Centers and NIH "T" training grant programs, to incentivize department/institution-level commitment to professional workforce development, and prioritize interdisciplinary training, diversity, and preparation for a variety of career outcomes.
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From page 107... ...
org/10.17226/24994; NASEM, 2018, Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press, https://doi.org/10.17226/25038; NASEM, 2019, The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press, https://doi.org/10.17226/25568; NASEM, 2019, Minority Serving Institutions: America's Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Workforce, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press, https://doi.org/10.17226/25257; NASEM, 2018, Exoplanet Science Strategy, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press, https://doi.org/10.17226/25187. b NASEM, 2018, Sexual Harassment of Women, p.
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From page 108... ...
64 I.N. Reid, 2014, "Gender-Correlated Systematics in HST Proposal Selection," Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 126(923)
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From page 109... ...
As indicated by a number of widely reported cases in astronomy and astrophysics in the past decade, the astronomy and astrophysics profession cannot yet claim to have eliminated the scourges of sexual harassment and discrimination that continue to afflict many professions. Indeed, as powerfully illustrated in the recent National Academies (2018)
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From page 110... ...
These include an especially important role for the federal funding agencies that, backed by existing federal laws, can use the power of the purse as a forcing function to help drive needed change. F inding: There are best practices to eradicate and prevent harassment and discrimination, and to pro mote healthy and inclusive work cultures across the astronomy and astrophysics profession, described in detail in previous National Academies and other reports.
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From page 111... ...
THE PROFESSION AND ITS SOCIETAL IMPACTS 111 Obtaining these critically needed data remains a challenge. For example, the SoPSI panel requested data on astronomy-related programs from NASA, NSF, and DOE as well as management organizations for major astronomical facilities.
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From page 112... ...
The SoPSI Panel report provides examples of criteria that might be established -- for example, describing plans for achieving diversity, participation in agency-sponsored demographic and climate assessments, mentoring and advising plans for project students and postdoctorates, and others. In this context, the committee interprets diversity to encompass not only demographic diversity but also possibly institutional and/or geographic diversity, depending again on the appropriateness of such criteria for the nature and scale of the projects being proposed.
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From page 113... ...
Atalay, 2012, Community-Based Archaeology: Research with, by, and for Indigenous and Local Communities, University of California Press; reproduced with permission from the Daphne Odjig estate. 72 The survey drew heavily for this section from a set of white papers submitted by the community, including especially those titled "K u ¯ Kia'i Mauna: Historical and Ongoing Resistance to Industrial Astronomy Development on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i," "Impacts of Astronomy on Indigenous Customary and Traditional Practices as Evident at Mauna Kea," "A Collective Insight into the Cultural and Academic Journeys of Native Hawaiians While Pursuing Careers in Physics and Astronomy," "Collaboration with Integrity: Indigenous Knowledge in 21st Century Astronomy," and others cited in the SoPSI panel report.
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From page 114... ...
In addition, activities on Maunakea are major sources of revenue for the State of Hawai'i.d Furthermore, access to the site by the State of Hawai'i's university system is a significant opportunity for increasing the engagement of Native Hawaiian students with astronomy and for training of students for entry into the astronomy profession specifically or into the STEM workforce more generally.e In 1968, the University of Hawai'i received a Master Lease from the State of Hawai'i to manage the Mauna Kea Science Reserve (MKSR) , a ~13,000-acre region surrounding the summit of Maunakea.f This lease will expire in 2033.
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From page 115... ...
To ensure alignment of current and future engagements with these shared values, the astronomy community could commit to the following principles specifically as part of a Community Astronomy model: • Listen and empower. Make every effort to ensure that all stakeholders are heard; while it may not be possible for all to have a formal say or vote in every matter, all can have a voice, and all stakeholder voices deserve to feel listened to.
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From page 116... ...
Beyond the scientific benefits, astronomical activities would ideally add human value -- educational, cultural, economic -- respecting that different communities and cultures may ascribe value in different amounts or kinds and may judge worth and worthiness through different lenses. A corollary is that the astronomy community must be willing to sometimes make difficult choices, and to be open to alternative solutions that optimize more than the science alone.
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From page 117... ...
Regardless of the ground we stand on, we share a wonderment of one sky, and the quest for human understanding and connection with the cosmos can only be realized through full engagement of our diverse human talents. Recommendation: The astronomy community should, through the American Astronomical Society in partnership with other major professional societies (e.g., American Physical Society, American Geophysical Union, International Astronomical Union)
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. The collection of radio frequency data for astronomical use has had impacts from sources of radio frequency interference almost from the origins of radio astronomy.
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From page 119... ...
F inding: Under current proposals, the number of large low Earth orbit satellites will increase by orders of magnitude compared to 2018 levels, owing to reductions in launch costs, expected increasing demand for Internet connectivity, and increasing effectiveness of networked satellites. Spacecraft in low Earth orbit also experience contamination from these satellites crossing their field of view,78 and this is an important consideration for space assets in this region in the present and future.
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From page 120... ...
JASON (an independent group of academic leaders that interfaces with the security community) was asked by NSF and DOE to assess the impact of current and planned large satellite constellations on astronomical observations, and issued reports in September and November 2020.80 The AAS has formed a Working Group on Satellite Constellations, and co-sponsored workshops with the NSF National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)
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3.4.2.2 Radio Frequency Interference Threats to the radio sky differ from those in optical and infrared astronomy. Radio frequency interference (RFI)
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From page 122... ...
Without action, RF emission from these satellites may well eliminate bolometric measurements of the CMB, both in temperature and in polarization from the ground in these critical frequency windows in the not-too-distant future. onclusion: The impact of commercial services and satellite constellations on radio frequency interfer C ence is becoming severe and threatens the scientific study of cosmic microwave background radiation, as well as detections of faint continuum sources necessitating wide bandwidths.
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From page 123... ...
Gergely, N Kassim et al., 2019, "Spectrum Management: A State of the Profession White Paper," APC white paper submitted to Astro2020: Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics, https://baas.aas.org/ pub/2020n7i136/release/1.
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From page 124... ...
It is critical that the astronomical community formally monitor commercial and federal uses of the spectrum managed by the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and actively participate in the spectrum management process by seeking critical primary allocations to radio astronomy in the high-frequency bands above 95 GHz, by providing comments to filings for spectrum allocations and by supporting the efforts of the Committee on Radio Frequencies, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and the Electromagnetic Spectrum Management division of NSF. To be most effective, international coordination is required.
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From page 125... ...
For the broader society, the benefits of these investments include expanded gateways to a very broad array of STEM careers; engagement in the excitement of astronomical discoveries for learners of all ages; expansion of the societal imperative of STEM literacy; and technological innovations with applications to remote sensing, navigation, and national security, among others. Together, these benefits contribute significantly to the nation's global leadership in science and technology beyond the obvious contributions to astronomical discovery.
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From page 126... ...
funding $1 million -- NASA $1 million -- DOE Independent postdoctorate fellowships $0.5 million -- NSF Typical NASA Hubble and NSF AAPF awards of $0.5 million -- NASA ~$100,000 per year. Mitigation of radio frequency and optical TBD -- NSF interference from sources including satellite constellations Totals $4.5 million -- NSF $6 million -- NASA $1.5 million -- DOE a Amounts listed represent new funding, reinstated funding, or augmentations over current funding, as appropriate.
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From page 127... ...
Over the past decade, our profession has made strides, individually and collectively, to address its longstanding structural inequities, borne of the historic barriers of race, gender, class, background, and identity inherited over decades across all of academia and society. As documented in this chapter and in the SoPSI Panel report, slow progress is being made on many fronts, and through the leadership of the American Astronomical Society, the American Physical Society, and the American Institute of Physics, efforts are ongoing to build on the successes.
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