Pamela Gay talks with Dave Rael about citizen science, the painful journey of women in science, and finding the things that provide joy
A lifetime stargazer, Dr. Pamela L. Gay has followed her obsession to a profession. Today Pamela is an assistant research professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she runs the CosmoQuest citizen science project and teaches classes in physics and computer science. Teaching by day, she works on astronomy data by night, teaming up with amateur astronomers and citizen scientists to work to better understand our universe. In between, she finds time to mentor students working on research projects designed to help understand how to best engage people in science online. Pamela maintains a blog at starstryder.com. She is a co-host of the Astronomy Cast podcast.
Chapters:
- - Dave introduces the show and Pamela Gay
- - Citizen Science
- - Pamela's engagement in multiple realms
- - Pamela's relationship with software and coding
- - Astronomy Cast motivations, history, and methodology
- - Women in Science and the sad state of existence for individuals in ugly situations
- - Pamela's definition of value
- - The things that "light Pamela up"
- - Pamela's realization that science was the path for her - "It's not where you get all the 4 points, it's where you find the most joy"
- - Pamela's - implementing the first version of Citizen Science Builder
- - Pamela's story of failure - effort that went for naught
- - How Pamela stays current with what she needs to know
- - Rules for a constructive community
- - Pamela's book recommendation
- - The things that have Pamela most excited
- - Pamela's greatest sources of pain
- - The things about which Pamela likes to geek out apart from science and software
- - Pamela's top 3 tips for delivering more value
- - Keeping up with Pamela
Resources:
- Pamela's Blog
- CosmoQuest
- Astronomy Cast
- Women In Science - Astronomy Cast Episode 399
- Uncle Bob's Response to the Women In Science on Astronomy Cast
- Radio Telescopes and Supercomputers
- Basel Farag on Developer On Fire
- The Plantary Society
- Phil Plait
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Carolyn Porco
- Amanda Palmer - The Art of Asking
Pamela's book recommendation:
Pamela's top 3 tips for delivering more value:
- Don't let your inbox rule your life
- Find a way to focus, but don't forget to take care of yourself - for example, the Pomodoro Technique
- Find a way to create things where you can see the end - make things