Newton Lacy Pierce Prize Lecture
233rd AAS Meeting, January 2019
In January 2019, I had the privilege of accepting the 2018 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize from the American Astronomical Society for outstanding early career achievements in observational astronomy. In conjunction, I gave a plenary lecture to ~1000 attendees of the AAS meeting. While the primary focus of this lecture was on my research on The Obscured Early Universe, I took some text on each of my slides to speak truth to my negative experiences as a woman in astronomy, and how these experiences act as a constant distraction to the challenge of making broad scientific impact. It is worth pointing out that I hold many privileges that certain types of negative experiences invisible to me, especially racist, ableist, or homophobic actions. The incidents I shared are my own, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. I have true admiration for all who fight for equity in STEM from more marginalized positions.
A recording of my plenary lecture is available here in two forms (FB live stream and AAS Recording):
AAS Recording Coming Soon.
Afterward I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the broader community. Below are a collection of tweets.
Caitlin Casey will give the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize lecture on high-redshift star-forming galaxies and the importance of submillimeter observations in deciphering galaxy evolution. 4:30 pm, 6E #aas233 pic.twitter.com/n2h0loknBB
— AAS Executive Office (@AAS_Office) January 8, 2019
Next up at #aas233 is Dr. Caitlin Casey presenting her plenary on "The Obscured Early Universe"! Check out our interview with @astrocaits here https://t.co/K9ASsxsG5d
— astrobites (@astrobites) January 8, 2019
Hey #AAS233, if you're not in 6E to see the illustrious and incredible Newton Lacy Pierce Prize winner Caitlin Casey @astrocaits right now, get your butt in here! She's awesome! pic.twitter.com/bQNSSDeCoV
— Cara Battersby (@battersbot) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey from @UTAustin @UTAstronomy accepts the AAS Pierce Prize at #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/hazYCBr9BC
— astrosteven (@astrosteven) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey (@astrocaits) starts off her prize lecture at #AAS233 thanking her high school astronomy teacher and a shout-out to Astronomy Camp which she attended and was later my camp counselor!!
— Emily Petroff (@ebpetroff) January 8, 2019
Love how Caitlin Casey has started her talk by thanking her teachers, advisors, mentors and colleagues. #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/RZ4hNhlfZ4
— James Urton (@jamesurton) January 8, 2019
As the talk gets started Prof. Casey shows some of the pain of academia too #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/VIyqBljDwC
— dfphil (@dfphil) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey has included personal anecdotes from her experience as someone who was marginalized at the bottom of her slides. Great way to keep that as a reminder. It will be interesting to see how that blends with the science#AAS233
— Nola Taylor Redd (@NolaTRedd) January 8, 2019
A warm and gracious beginning to her Pierce Prize lecture by Caitlin Casey, thanking supporters and beginning with a high school teacher. #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/GKh6Qpj0q0
— Steve Kawaler (@SteveKawaler) January 8, 2019
Casey: It's not surprising that my mentors have been white men. While they have been great, and I appreciate them, it was very telling not to have someone who represented me as a mentor, so thank you for all those making that change.#AAS233
— Nola Taylor Redd (@NolaTRedd) January 8, 2019
I am strongly moved and fully support by Dr. Caitlin Casey for implementing this new idea of including sentences as a white woman in astronomy under her science plenary slides. That takes guts #AAS233
— Antonio Porras (@AntonioeneSpace) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey @astrocaits giving her plenary begins with many thanks to peers and advisors, and an acknowledgement that the path is hard, especially for those who are underrepresented in astronomy #AAS233
— Dr. Jillian Scudder @ #AAS233 (@Jillian_Scudder) January 8, 2019
Thank you all for your love, support and comments about my plenary talk on the Obscured Early Universe yesterday at #AAS233. It's impossible to divorce identity and experiences from science, and I wanted to convey that ever-present feeling while sharing my science with you.
— Caitlin Casey (@astrocaits) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey’s plenary is fantastic— discussing her research and all the sexism she has faced in this field as well ð #AAS233
— osharing the national moi moi (@astroafro) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey is putting her negative experiences in science in her plenary talk. We have known each other since teenagers at astronomy camp, and I’ve been proud of her many times, but never as much as now. #aas233 pic.twitter.com/xY5NQ8eifP
— Yvette Cendes (@whereisyvette) January 8, 2019
In case you think Caitlin Casey’s cases are extreme #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/oLsYx6tam3
— Yvette Cendes (@whereisyvette) January 8, 2019
Casey: Diffuse gas makes up the largest share of baryonic matter in the Universe, and dust, though negligible by mass, effectively obscures and reprocesses half of all stellar emission. #ngVLA will be “transformative” instrument for doing this kind of science. #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/uOlJj1blGe
— NRAO (@TheNRAO) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey shared her negative experience in astronomy at the slide footnotes in her plenary talk at #aas233 . @astrocaits this was a brilliant way of speaking up against sexual harassment and bullying in astronomy!! pic.twitter.com/qWtUamgGQr
— Mojegan Azadi (@mojeganazadi) January 8, 2019
Sometimes we forget that being a scientist for [women] can be more difficult than for [men] Caitlin Casey remembered it, sharing her negative experience at #aas233 . Thanks @astrocaits for your brilliant and interesting talk! pic.twitter.com/VNeSRLPBed #astrophysics #woma https://t.co/h3ybjVkiRK
— Silvia Galano (@SilviaGalano) January 8, 2019
Congrats to Prof Casey on the Newton Lacy Pierce prize! She’s incredible. I also applaud her talk footnotes where she summarizes harassment she experienced in the astro community. She says focus on the science but if you have the extra 10% mental energy read her footnotes #aas233 https://t.co/Ptgv0ME9Vr
— Jayne Birkby (@jaynebirkby) January 8, 2019
¡Felicidades a la profesora Casey por el premio Newton Lacy Pierce! Ella es increible. También aplaudo sus notas a pie de página donde resume el acoso que experimentó en la comunidad astronómica. Si tienes un 10% de energía mental adicional, lee sus notas al pie. #aas233 https://t.co/R5TqpqiN5U
— Joaquín García (@GarciafXimo) January 8, 2019
What @astrocaits is doing here is nothing short of heroic, and I wish I could’ve seen it in person. Proud she’s employed in my state at @UTAustin. #WomenInSTEM #AAS233 https://t.co/AbQqBsyaF3
— Martin Hajovsky (@MartinHajovsky) January 8, 2019
Caitlin Casey shared her negative experience in astronomy at the slide footnotes in her plenary talk at #aas233 . @astrocaits this was a brilliant way of speaking up against sexual harassment and bullying in astronomy!! pic.twitter.com/qWtUamgGQr
— Mojegan Azadi (@mojeganazadi) January 8, 2019
Shout out to @astrocaits for delivering a prize talk that was A) a scientific tour de force, and B) called out the "unseen" $h1t that happens to women in astro #AAS233
— Kelsey Johnson (@ProfKelsey) January 8, 2019
There are days when it's hard to keep doing astronomy, and there are days when I am so excited for the future of our field that I can't imagine doing anything else. Today, with #KnowYourPowerAAS and the incredible plenary talk by @astrocaits is 100% the second kind of day #AAS233
— Ryan Trainor @ AAS233 (@crosstrainor) January 8, 2019
The Obscured Early Universe is important to understand, especially since it is much different than our universe today. Much like the importance of understanding other's experiences, especially when they differ from our own. @astrocaits, you're an amazing role model. #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/O7ylxwpueS
— Rebecca Larson (@SaturnsWings) January 8, 2019
this is an ingenious power move - thank you @astrocaits for using your platform to share your experience with people who might otherwise choose to ignore it, and to show marginalized folks that it's still possible to make it and do awesome science. #aas233 https://t.co/oBjnIVoDZr
— Kate Storey-Fisher (@katestoreyfish) January 8, 2019
How to make a good census of the early obscured universe? The answer from @astrocaits is surprising - low shallow mm surveys rather than deep surveys. #AAS233 pic.twitter.com/1AJutwXec7
— Peter Edmonds (@PeterDEdmonds) January 8, 2019
Distracted by the anecdotes on @astrocaits slides? Welcome to everyday life as a woman in science. #AAS233 #astroSH
— Jeyhan (@Jeyhan) January 8, 2019
Slides from @astrocaits #aas233 plenary (thread). She has allocated 10% of each slide to a personal anecdote of harassment she has experienced, and is proceeding to give an outstanding science talk. Just like so many of our colleagues live every day. https://t.co/64TS5QSn3Q
— Meredith Rawls (@merrdiff) January 8, 2019
.@astrocaits gives Newton Lacy Pierce Prize talk at #AAS233 and includes description of her experiences of abuse, bullying, and harassment on the bottom of each of her science slides. #astroSH #hero #metoo #timesup pic.twitter.com/GS6DJSzCUo
— Jessica Kirkpatrick (@berkeleyjess) January 8, 2019
Wow, what an intro by @astrocaits to her Newton Lacey Pierce Prize Lecture. Thanks to mentors, colleagues, friends; optimism for the future; acknolwedging all passionate students who face many more challenges than herself, & honesty about hurdles she faced in the field. #AAS233
— Johanna (@johannateske) January 8, 2019