25 June 2025 · 1:30 PM · with Prof. Dr. Manami Sasaki and Prof. Dr. Stefan Funk
In this round table, Prof. Dr. Manami Sasaki and Prof. Dr. Stefan Funk joint us to explored the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in large scientific collaborations, sharing insights from their own experiences and institutional contexts.
The session began with a short dive into the history of women „computers“ in astrophysics, Manami Sasaki presented the DEI measures of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Nashville guidelines by the American Astronomical Society (AAS), as well as their application by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Stefan Funk presented a comparison between the usually large number of DEI measures in NASA, with more detail on the Fermi Large Area Telescope (FERMI-LAT), and the small number of measures when working for the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.).
This was followed by questions and conversations about different related topics.
We talked about how DEI changed in the USA since Trumps presidency.
Then we discussed how H.E.S.S. is connected to local Namibian or South African research and how to increase this in future projects.
Most of the discussion was about how to increase collaboration between groups and countries with less travel funds, especially considering that most conferences are in Europe or in the USA. Ideas included exchange programs or travel funds paid for by European or US American groups, and different suggestions to make online or hybrid conferences better.
We also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of in-person, hybrid or online meetings and noticed that the childcare offers at in-person meeting seemed to recline.
25 June 2025 · 1:30 PM · with Prof. Dr. Manami Sasaki and Prof. Dr. Stefan Funk
In this round table, Prof. Dr. Manami Sasaki and Prof. Dr. Stefan Funk joint us to explored the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in large scientific collaborations, sharing insights from their own experiences and institutional contexts.
The session began with a short dive into the history of women „computers“ in astrophysics, Manami Sasaki presented the DEI measures of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Nashville guidelines by the American Astronomical Society (AAS), as well as their application by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Stefan Funk presented a comparison between the usually large number of DEI measures in NASA, with more detail on the Fermi Large Area Telescope (FERMI-LAT), and the small number of measures when working for the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.).
This was followed by questions and conversations about different related topics.
We talked about how DEI changed in the USA since Trumps presidency.
Then we discussed how H.E.S.S. is connected to local Namibian or South African research and how to increase this in future projects.
Most of the discussion was about how to increase collaboration between groups and countries with less travel funds, especially considering that most conferences are in Europe or in the USA. Ideas included exchange programs or travel funds paid for by European or US American groups, and different suggestions to make online or hybrid conferences better.
We also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of in-person, hybrid or online meetings and noticed that the childcare offers at in-person meeting seemed to recline.