Celestial Pioneers: Women in the History of Astronomy

In conjunction with Mapping the Infinite: Cosmologies Across Cultures, join Erica Clark along with prominent astronomers Dr. Gwen Rudie, Dr. Allison Matthews, and Dr. Natalie "Nicole" Sanchez from the Carnegie Science Observatories for an enlightening discussion on the often-overlooked contributions of women in the history of astronomy. After the talk, guests are invited to tour the exhibition and explore the fascinating ways cultures have envisioned the cosmos across time.

Erica Clark is the Strategic Initiatives Coordinator at Carnegie Science Observatories in Pasadena, California, a department of the Carnegie Institution for Science. At the Observatories she works with the President of Carnegie Science and the scientific staff on many outreach and educational activities, including the annual Carnegie Astronomy Lecture Series, as well as programs for a wide variety of community and civic organizations, students, and special events for friends of the Observatories.

Dr. Gwen Rudie is a Staff Scientist at Carnegie Observatories where she specializes in observational studies of distant galaxies and the diffuse gas which surrounds them—the circumgalactic medium. She is the Project Scientist for The Magellan Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph, an ambitious new instrument being designed and built for Carnegie Science's 6.5 meter Magellan Telescopes in Chile. Rudie is also the Founding Director of the Carnegie Astrophysics Summer Student Internship (CASSI) Program, which provides an immersive introduction to research for 15-20 undergraduates each summer focusing on supportive mentoring, cohort building, scientific communication and computing.

Dr. Allison Matthews is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Institution for Science. She combines radio observations of galaxies with optical and infrared imaging and spectroscopy to understand when and how quickly most of the stars in our universe formed.

Dr. Natalie "Nicole" Sanchez is a National Science Foundation MPS-Ascend Fellow with a joint appointment at Carnegie Science Observatories and Caltech. Nicole is a California native and second-generation Guatemalan-American. She is an alumna of Santa Monica College and the founder of the FAST Workshop, a week-long workshop that trains community college students in first-time astronomy research experience.