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Pages 103-130

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From page 103...
... astronomers 1 Education in STEM as important areas of competency is emphasized in, for example, the America COMPETES Act (H.R.
From page 104...
... Indeed, the results of modern astronomical research are already deeply ingrained in our cul ture, and terms like "light-year," "big bang," and "black hole" have joined the vernacular. The astronomy aisle of any fully stocked bookstore includes large, beautiful picture books of the cosmos as well as technical books about the advanc ing frontier -- written by working astronomers, writers educated as astronomers, and journalists.
From page 105...
... These nascent corporate efforts to connect people with the broader universe offer yet another indication of the breadth and depth of influence that discovery of the cosmos enjoys in our culture. Astronomers, too, have seized opportunities to be innovators in public outreach.
From page 106...
... new worlds, new HorIzons astronoMy astroPHysIcs 0 In and FIGURe 4.2 The dust sculptures of the eagle Nebula are evaporating as powerful starlight whittles away these cool cosmic mountains, leaving statuesque pillars. SOURCe: The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/aURa)
From page 107...
... SOURCe: NaSa. FIGURe 4.4 Image of a new large and diffuse extragalactic object, Voorwerp, which is thought to be a gas cloud illuminated by a nearby active galactic nucleus discovered by Galaxy Zoo citizen scientist Hanny van arkel.
From page 108...
... The U.S. effort culminated on October 7, 2009, when President Obama hosted a star party for local school children on the White House lawn (Figure 4.5)
From page 109...
... NSF supports astronomy education and public outreach through budget allocations at its observatories and technology centers, as well as through its Directorate for Education and Human Resources and specific grants programs, especially those for young people such as the CAREER and astronomy and astrophysics postdoctoral fellow awards. NSF Astronomy Division data indicate that more than 6 percent of research grant funding is devoted to education and special activities.
From page 110...
... population is scientifi cally literate.7 Furthermore, the National Science Board estimates that more than a third of Americans do not understand that Earth orbits the Sun and that two-thirds are unaware of the big bang origin of the universe;8 and a study performed by the California Academy of the Sciences found that nearly half of American adults do not know the approximate percentage of Earth's surface that is covered with water and that fewer than 1 percent know what fraction of that water is fresh.9 National science tests administered to schoolchildren show proficiency in science dropping from 33 percent in grades 4 through 8 to only 18 percent by grade 12.10 For the United States to remain scientifically and technologically competitive, science lit eracy and proficiency must become an urgent national priority.11 4 National Research Council, NASA's Elementary and Secondary Education Program: Review and Critique, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2008. 5 As highlighted in National Research Council, Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits (P.
From page 111...
... Undergraduate astronomy courses in colleges and universities serve 250,000 students annually, representing about 10 percent of all undergraduates nationwide. Among them are about 15 percent of future K-12 teachers, for whom introductory astronomy is often their only science course.12 Astronomy education itself is now recognized as an important area of re search, and education specialists (Ph.D.-holding astronomers with additional education degrees and credentials)
From page 112...
... The public outreach is impressive: in 2008, the 349 science centers and museums and 1,401 planetariums in the United States served 60.3 million people through onsite and online visits.13 Partnerships between professional research astronomers and professional edu cators at all levels build an important bridge between the classroom-based and informal education and outreach components of this effort. They can lead to particularly rewarding experiences by bringing first-hand knowledge of astronomi cal discovery directly to children.14 In addition to the goal of improving national science literacy and proficiency in general, informal astronomy education and outreach activities may also be effective in attracting more minorities and girls into the sciences or science policy, which could help achieve demographic parity at more advanced career stages (Figure 4.7)
From page 113...
... In addition to the applications mentioned above, image-processing techniques developed by astronomers are now in wide use in arthroscopic surgery, industrial applications, and even in tracking endangered animals. Scheduling software developed for the Hubble Space Telescope has now been adapted to optimize semiconductor manufacture and to manage patient flow in hospitals.
From page 114...
... College-level introductory astronomy courses play a central role in teaching the scientific method. The depth and sophistication of engineering analysis required for today's new astronomical facilities and missions provide a unique opportunity for interns and young professionals to strengthen their skills.
From page 115...
... Nuclear fusion was first understood early in the last century by astronomers seeking the energy source of the stars, and since then there has been a close and fertile collaboration between astrophysicists trying to understand the behavior of plasmas in astrophysical systems and fusion researchers working to control plasmas in the laboratory; indeed, the U.S. fusion program was started by the same astronomer, Lyman Spitzer, Jr., who first proposed the concept of a space telescope.
From page 116...
... Conducting astronomical research increasingly re quires detailed knowledge across many subfields of physics as well as knowledge of statistics and computational methods. In addition, with the increasing complexity of astronomy and astrophysics projects, both in space and on the ground, has come a greater need for expertise in areas such as instrumentation, project management, data handling and analysis, astronautics, and public communication -- a development requiring broader training.
From page 117...
... full members in the given year. The 1989 and 1997 statistics for 714 and 599 full members, re spectively, are from the NRC's 2000 Federal Funding of Astronomical Research (FFaR)
From page 118...
... SOURCe: Data from the american astronomical Society. for employment in education and public outreach FIGURe 4.8 employment of american astronomical Society members in 1989, 1997, and 2009 by astroPHysIcs
From page 119...
... Disciplines were assigned by bayesian classification on the basis of title, abstract, and keyword text extracted from the astrophysical Data System. The reported fractions are annual averages.
From page 120...
... Fields were assigned by bayesian classification on the basis of title, abstract, and keyword text extracted from the astrophysical Data System. NOTe: Pl, planetary and s 4-10 DEM-v2-1-12august2009.ep solar system; SO, solar; IM, interstellar medium and the galaxy; aG, active galactic nuclei; SF, star and planet formation; and IN, instrumentation.
From page 121...
... , reflecting the growing importance of introductory astronomy as a gateway science course and as a popular course for non-science majors to fulfill a science requirement. The annual number of astronomy Ph.D.s awarded in the United States has been fairly constant at about 200 over the past decade, compared with approximately 1,400 in physics and 4,000 in the physical sciences overall.
From page 122...
... They are a precious resource for the nation, and it is important to optimize and broaden the benefits to the nation that their talents bring. Young people trained in astronomical research have a high degree of competence in disciplines with applicability beyond just astronomy and astro physics.
From page 123...
... of postdoctoral positions taken by astronomy and astrophysics Ph.D. recipients whotom_ percentagepostdocs.eps 4-12_bot remained in the United States, 1997 to 2006.
From page 124...
... Careers outside astronomy and astrophysics are available that make use of the technical expertise gained through an astronomy education, and astronomers are demon strably employable in a large variety of professions, such as computer science, data systems, image processing, detector technology, and medical technology, as well as other physical sciences. Implications for Employment and Training Training in astronomy research is good preparation for a wide range of careers.
From page 125...
... RECOMMENDATION: The American Astronomical Society and the Ameri can Physical Society, alongside the nation's astronomy and astrophysics departments, should make both undergraduate and graduate students aware of the wide variety of rewarding career opportunities enabled by their edu cation, and be supportive of students' career decisions that go beyond aca demia. These groups should work with the federal agencies to gather and disseminate demographic data on astronomers in the workforce to inform students' career decisions.
From page 126...
... Lopez, The diversity of tenure track astronomy faculty, Spectrum, American Astronomical Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy, June 2004, available at http:// csma.aas.org/spectrum.html; the AIP Academic Workforce Survey and the AIP Statistical Research Center (see http://www.aip.org/statistics/)
From page 127...
... 19 The Harlow Shapley Visiting Lectureship Program of the American Astronomical Society is a program of 2-day visits by professional astronomers who bring the excitement of modern astronomy and astrophysics to colleges of all types. See http://aas.org/shapley.
From page 128...
... The fraction of astronomy graduate students that are women has increased from a quarter to a third over the past decade, and the fraction gaining Ph.D.s and occupying assistant and associate professor positions is also a quarter. However, only 11 percent of full professors are women, fortunately a proportion that is likely to improve as more women advance up the ranks.
From page 129...
... 22 The "Pasadena Recommendations" of the National "Women in Astronomy" meeting in 2003 were endorsed by the American Astronomical Society.


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