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Register a new userAssessing the influence of one astronomy camp over 50 years
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The International Astronomical Youth Camp has benefited thousands of lives during its 50-year history. We explore the pedagogy behind this success, review a survey taken by more than 300 previous participants, and discuss some of the challenges the camp faces in the future.
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The Physics GRE is currently a required element of the graduate admissions process in nearly all U.S. astronomy programs; however, its predictive power and utility as a means of selecting successful applicants has never been examined. We circulated a short questionnaire to 271 people who have held U.S. prize postdoctoral fellowships in astrophysics between 2010-2015, asking them to report their Physics GRE scores (this should not in any way be interpreted as a belief that a prize fellowship is the best or only metric of success in astronomy). The response rate was 64%, and the responding sample is unbiased with respect to the overall gender distribution of prize fellows. The responses reveal that the Physics GRE scores of prize fellows do not adhere to any minimum percentile score and show no statistically significant correlation with the number of first author papers published. As an example, a Physics GRE percentile cutoff of 60% would have eliminated 44% of 2010-2015 U.S. prize postdoctoral fellows, including 60% of the female fellows. From these data, we find no evidence that the Physics GRE can be used as an effective predictor of success either in or beyond graduate school.
From 2001 to 2007, COSMOS provided a teaching and outreach venue for the Center for Adaptive Optics Professional Development Program (CfAO PDP). COSMOS is a four-week residential mathematics and science summer program for high-school students organized by the University of California on four of its campuses. Two topical science courses comprised each COSMOS cluster. An astronomy course has always formed a basis for the CfAO PDP-affiliated cluster. The course included a variety of pedagogical techniques to address a diversity of learners and goals. We outline the astronomy course---lectures, activities, etc.---and provide the rationale for what was taught, how it was aught, and when it was taught.
We present the second edition of a Best Practices Guide for academic departments and other institutions striving to create more inclusive environments for physicists and astronomers in the LGBT+ community. Our recommendations incorporate new research since the original, 2014 edition, and are designed for anyone who wishes to become aware of -- and help mitigate -- the extra burdens that face members of the LGBT+ community in the physical sciences.
In the field of astronomy, Maunakea is known as a prestigious site for observing and science. In Native Hawaiian culture, Maunakea is revered as the connection between past, present, and future generations and their ancestral lands of Hawaii. We have reached a juncture at which it is necessary to allow and enable Native Hawaiians to pursue careers in astronomy, especially on Maunakea. This paper serves to tell the accounts of four Kanaka astronomers and raise awareness of the barriers they have faced while pursuing astronomy careers. The authors identify issues that the community faces due to the disconnect between astronomy and Hawaii communities and propose resolutions to lead the way forward.
Quantum information science and technology (QIST) has progressed significantly in the last decade, such that it is no longer solely in the domain of research labs, but is now beginning to be developed for, and applied in, industrial applications and products. With the emergence of this new quantum industry, a new workforce trained in QIST skills and knowledge is needed. To help support education and training of this workforce, universities and colleges require knowledge of the type of jobs available for their students and what skills and degrees are most relevant for those new jobs. Additionally, students need to know how to tailor their degrees to best align with the current needs of the quantum industry. We report on the results from a survey of 57 companies in the quantum industry, with the goal of elucidating the jobs, skills, and degrees that are relevant for this new workforce. We find a range of job opportunities from highly specific jobs, such as quantum algorithm developer and error correction scientist, to broader jobs categories within the business, software, and hardware sectors. These broader jobs require a range of skills, most of which are not quantum related. Further, except for the highly specific jobs, companies that responded to the survey are looking for a range of degree levels to fill these new positions, from bachelors to masters to PhDs. With this knowledge, students, instructors, and university administrators can make informed decisions about how to address the challenge of increasing the future quantum workforce.
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