Women in Planetary Science are doing amazing work essential to expanding our understanding of planets from Mercury to Neptune, and with icy bodies and extrasolar planets beyond. At the 2010 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, attendees at the women’s networking breakfast set a goal of conducting original interviews with 51 women in planetary science, and posting excerpts at the Women in Planetary Science blog for all to see. I’ve conducted over 40 of these interviews, and I invite you to browse the articles below. Each was written as a way to provide e-mentoring for aspiring scientists, and to highlight the great work that each has accomplished in her career.
51 Women in Planetary Science (Original Interviews, 2010-11)
- Dr. Claudia Alexander: Be prepared to be flexible in your career
- Dr. Fran Bagenal: Working on missions is the best part of my job
- Dr. Nadine Barlow: Believe in yourself
- Dr. Amy Barr on Soft Money, Proposals, and Caffeine
- Dr. Natalie Batalha: From postdoc to Deputy Project Scientist on Kepler
- Dr. Diana Blaney: Play to your strengths
- Dr. Bonnie Buratti on Cassini, CRAF, and M3
- Dr. Julie Castillo-Rogez: Keep your eyes open for opportunities
- Dr. Emily Cobabe-Ammann: Sometimes the path isn’t what you expect!
- Dr. Anita Cochran: Build collaborations
- Dr. Ghislaine Crozaz: Choose your mentor carefully
- Dr. Sally Dodson-Robinson: My ability to choose my own thesis project was a direct consequence of receiving the NSF fellowship
- Dr. Tasha Dunn: I teach planetary geology every spring, and I love it!
- Dr. Darby Dyar on being a good scientific citizen and managing work time
- Dr. Megan Elwood Madden: Set moderate-term goals and work towards them every day.
- Dr. Christine Floss: There are many definitions of success
- Dr. Alyssa Gilbert says, say yes!
- Dr. Vicky Hamilton: There’s no one pathway that’s right for everybody
- Dr. Heidi Hammel: Ask for help when you need it
- Dr. Candice Hansen: Get involved with an instrument team
- Dr. Vicki Hansen: Celebrating research and inquiry, and respect for different ideas
- Dr. Tanya Harrison: Being proactive helps you stand out from the crowd
- Dr. Amy Jurewicz: Stardust, Genesis, and SCIM
- Dr. Catherine Johnson: Participating Scientist
- Dr. Rachel Klima: Having your own funding opens a lot of doors
- Ms. Emily Lakdawalla: It is NOT failure to leave academia
- Dr. Amy Lovell: Radio astronomy and planetary science
- Dr. Kathleen Mandt: A nontraditional start
- Dr. Rhiannon Mayne: Choose the right person to work with
- Dr. Lucy McFadden: Acquire as many technical skills as you can
- Dr. Catherine Neish: Exercise your communication skills
- Dr. Karly Pitman: Being a soft money researcher… I have flexibility
- Dr. Louise Prockter: Be tenacious
- Dr. Carol Raymond, Dawn Deputy PI
- Dr. Sara Seager: Exoplanets
- Dr. Teresa Segura: Working in industry
- Dr. Rhonda Stroud: Be visible and be involved
- Dr. Zibi Turtle: Being a planetary scientist is one of the coolest jobs on the planet
- Dr. Amy Simon Miller: You have to advocate for yourself
- Dr. Carolyn van der Bogert: Be flexible and proactive (read another interview here)
- Dr. Faith Vilas: Take that opportunity!
Check back each week for another interview!
More Women in Planetary Science (External Links)
- NASA JPL featured Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, Dr. Joy Crisp, Dr. Carol Raymond, and Dr. Rachel Mastrapa (as a graduate student; Rachel is now a research scientist at NASA Ames
- NASA Quest featured Dr. Rosaly Lopes, Dr. Yvonne Pendelton, and Dr. Linda Spilker, among others
- The Astronomical Society of the Pacific has a large list of resources on Women in Astronomy, including features on Margaret Burbidge, Margaret Geller, Heidi Hammel, Nancy Roman, Vera Rubin, Carolyn Shoemaker, Ellen Stofan, Jill Tarter, and Virginia Trimble
- Dr. Wendy Calvin, Nevada Sagebrush article
- Dr. Marcia Neugebauer, autobiography
- Dr. Heidi Hammel, book by Fred Bortz
- Dr. Mini Wadhwa, U Arizona site
- Dr. Claudia Kessler, Chairwoman of Women in Aerospace Europe and Chief Executive of HE Space Holding BV.
- Amanda Damptz, undergraduate student profiled at USRA site
We also celebrate our engineering colleagues Donna Shirley, project manager on Mars Pathfinder and Mary Chiu from CONTOUR Project Manager. Know of more profiles of outstanding planetary science women? Leave a comment at Women in Planetary Science or email the site and we’ll be happy to link them here!
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