Yikes. The UCs have benefited tremendously from the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship program. It is an outstanding recruitment tool for talented faculty; this is a major loss.

Heads up: the deadline for regular registration for #AAS247 is Friday, November 7. (Late registration is still an option after Friday, but more expensive). While you and your colleagues/students register, remember to register for the @astropy.org workshop! 🔭 #astrocode

Glad to see this story covered by the press. I've heard from colleagues that Goddard labs are being moved/closed during the government shutdown while employees are unable to receive notification/e-mail/warnings. There's fear that they'll return after the shutdown & labs will be gone. 🔭

Are you a grad student interested in writing for Astrobites, or do you know one? We're recruiting! Apply by November 26 :) astrobites.org/2025/10/31/a...

I gave a presentation at @sacnas.bsky.social on "archival astrophysics" in a session "Astronomy on the Cheap", showing tips on pursuing research using only archival data. Here are my slides, which include examples of different public archives & how to use them! 🔭 drive.google.com/file/d/1mw42...

Day 2 of SACNAS included a plenary from former @aascsma.bsky.social chair Nicole Cabrera Salazar!

So excited for the first day of SACNAS #NDiSTEM2025 with @denisemondragon.bsky.social @sacnas.bsky.social 🧪

Day One of #NDiSTEM2025 delivered! ✨ Opening Ceremony, Expo, Posters, and STEM symposia brought the energy. Plus—marketplace, mentoring, and networking moments that connect our community. @aaberhe.com #STEMCommunity #SACNAS #STEM #STEMWorkforce #STEMLeadership

Please join us in our petition to Ohio State to reject the Trump Compact and all forms of coercive federal encroachment on higher education that threaten to undercut + undermine academic freedom, merit in evaluation, & institutional autonomy @aaup.org @osuaaup.bsky.social #HigherEducation

✨ AAS member Nia Imara received one of this year's Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. These awards recognize science journalists, research scientists, and science communicators. aas.org/posts/news/2... 🔭

🔊Announcing a new Physics/Astro PhD scholarship scheme in Edinburgh, for students from a Black heritage, inc mixed Black background. Please help me spread the word. The scholarship covers all tuition fees, living costs & research travel. #blackinSTEM 🔭👩‍🔬⚛️ ℹ️: www.ph.ed.ac.uk/studying/pos...

Growing list of astronomy PhD programs that are pausing admissions this year 🔭 aas.org/posts/news/2...

Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only.

To date, no schools have agreed to the compact, and UVA is now the fifth to reject it, after MIT, Brown, UPenn, and USC!

Do you know how many of 340 astronomy/astrophysics PhDs earned in 2024 were by Native Americans? Zero. Do you know how many of 323 astro PhDs earned in 2023 were by Native Americans? Zero. How many of 289 in 2022? One. 1 / 952 PhDs in 2022-2024 = 0.1%. (Data from NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates) 🔭

Congrats to all 87 scholars, including the talented OSU senior Phoenix-Avery Sarian who is currently applying to astronomy and physics grad programs! 🔭⚛️

Glad to be interviewed by @kathrynpalmer.bsky.social for this story. Good @victorerikray.bsky.social quote: “The swiftness with which these organizations have complied with legally dubious orders shows that their commitments to diversity were often paper-thin before this administration’s pressure.”

More coverage of OSU’s new restrictions on conference attendance: “These conferences are open forums for us to present our work, network and collaborate. Telling us that they’re going to regulate whether or not we can participate feels very stifling, prohibitive,” said @ohdearz.bsky.social

Folks in my department fought to attend these meetings by showing our white colleagues are members and participants. OSU said it didn't matter because the meetings may still be exclusionary (even though they aren't). It is maddening and racist to limit attendance at affinity group conferences.

FYI I strongly encourage any Ohio State faculty instructors who face issues like these restrictions on conference attendance, use of research funds, etc, to let @osuaaup.bsky.social know by filling out our Campus Concern Form so we can support you: www.aaup-osu.org/campus-conce...

OSU limiting participation in SACNAS is heartbreaking. I have attended SACNAS since 2003 as an undergrad, & it was the first scientific space where I felt welcome. I always bring students (pic is OSU participants at 2022 SACNAS), & now it is in our city & OSU doesn't want us to go? So disappointing.

OSU spent many thousands of $$ on booth registrations for SACNAS earlier this year. Now they said they would rather take the financial loss than let us recruit at this meeting of >6000 scientists.

Super interesting work!! I've begun thinking more about these kinds of questions as my 4yo becomes more aware of the world and am noticing who she chooses as her close friends.

Ohio State astronomy is still waiting to see what happens with the federal funding landscape before deciding whether to proceed. With programs that are still TBD, I recommend waiting right now because *application fees do not get refunded if they decide to cancel after you have already paid*!!

So far the astronomy PhD programs that have cancelled admissions are Washington, Michigan State, and Case Western.

Valuable info about the Physics Nobel Prize today from Prof. Joseph Barranco at SFSU on Martinis and Devoret being a grad student and postdoc in Clarke's lab at UC Berkeley & Clark and Devoret being immigrants. "California *public* education made this happen. Immigration made this happen." ⚛️

AJ Link is an active member and leader in Black in Astro, and his permanent ban for a description in alt text has me seriously questioning whether Bluesky deserves my presence.

I get so tired from fighting the good fight, and this week has been a lot. This message from Jane Goodall reminds me/us to keep going. 🥹

With proper Alt text Friendly reminder that’s it’s easy peasy to do this when pix have words. Literally select the text from within the image and copy/paste into the ALT field

It seems several universities, potentially all 45 who participated in the PhD Project (www.ed.gov/about/news/p...) , were pressured to sign a "resolution agreement" that they will not participate in anything that MAY be exclusionary by race. Here's the text of the agreement from U Kentucky.

OSU PhD student Sebastian Lopez led 2 papers on arXiv today, including one on the hot & warm gas in the NGC 1266 AGN-driven outflow! It uses Chandra data that Katey Alatalo and I proposed for as grad students; grad students can do great science together without advisors! 😀 arxiv.org/abs/2510.01321

ALSO IMPORTANT FYI : Letters of rec for NSF GRFP are due A WEEK BEFORE the applications on Nov 7!!!! 🔭⚛️

For those asking why OSU advised all students and staff not to attend SACNAS: it was after pressure from the US Dept of Ed.

Ohio State just advised all staff and students not to attend the SACNAS (Society for the advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) annual meeting of 6000+ scientists -- which is in Columbus, OH this year! -- saying it may be exclusionary, even though it is open to all.

Astronomy 🔭 and physics ⚛️ GRFP applications are due Nov 14! Only seniors and 1st-year grad students can apply now (no second years).

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NEW: Hours before a new entry ban is supposed to go into effect, the federal government officially acknowledges for the first time that the restrictions do NOT apply to people who currently have H-1B visas. Link: www.uscis.gov/sites/defaul...

Also to clarify, the cost is $100K per year of the visa, so it is actually $300K for a 3-year visa. As postdocs cost about $100K/year, this fee doubles the cost of postdocs on H1-B visas.

I grew up in a VERY Catholic family, full of nuns, priests, & 2-3 masses / week. The use of Jesus to justify hate and anti-science policy is basically the opposite of what Jesus would want. It really irks me every time religion is invoked to hurt others.

Here's the complete quote from a new advisor on the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices, Prof. Catherine Stein from Case Western.

A great, perhaps the best, >10 min song is "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone. Aside: it features strongly in the movie "Thomas Crown Affair" that Michael B. Jordan is remaking right now!! 😀 Yay! I listen to it when I need to feel motivated. open.spotify.com/track/5xRP5i...

1. UCLA is in negotiations with Trump. Now we know the demands. Trump wants a statement that UCLA does not recognize trans student identities, a ban on youth care at UCLA clinics, bathroom bans, and more. Students are fighting back. The latest from S. Baum. Subscribe to support our journalism.

My periodic reminder for #astrosci #astrodon #exoplanets Early Career Researchers to please, please, please have a simple web site with your current email address on it - rationale here: kenworthy.space/advice/

2yo and 4yo successfully vaccinated!! Oh thank goodness!

NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoc Fellowship apps are OPEN! 🔭 However, app only appears on research.gov if your role "Proposed Postdoctoral Fellow"! Click "Proposals", "Prepare and Submit Proposals", then "Prepare New". If you do not see NSF 22-621, change role to "Proposed Postdoctoral Fellow"!

We found a Florida grad student who was able to start it, so we can confirm the NSF AAPF is OPEN!! I will post instructions since it is actually challenging to navigate (none of the OSU grads had been able to figure it out)!

Okay, astro sky! 🔭 Has anyone successfully started a NSF AAPF application on grants.gov or research.gov? My advisee says it is grayed out/not available, but the program officer confirms that the AAPF should be open!

Great story about @capricephillips.bsky.social by @tatyanazaria.bsky.social in the OSU alumni magazine! 🔭 alumnimagazine.osu.edu/story/capric...

Here was guidance handed out yesterday at OSU to all grad studies chairs and coordinators.