What’s an average day like for you?
My days vary throughout the week, so I try to focus on one task
per day. I attempt to schedule meetings, talks, and internship on the same days
to allow me to exclusively work on my research or lesson plan on other days.
For example, I will prioritize developing my lesson plan for internship for the
week on Mondays. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have my education weekly meeting,
astronomy colloquium, and internship. Wednesdays and Fridays, I prioritize
research and astronomy related work. Time management was very difficult in the
beginning because I tried to do a bit of everything each day and often felt
like I did not get much accomplished. After switching to my current schedule, I
feel I get more work done.
In your opinion, what qualities make your work so unique and
compelling?
As a Helen Fellow, you get a taste of what it's like to be a
professor in that your responsibilities are primarily teaching and research.
Juggling everything can be the hardest part because it's easy to prioritize
teaching over research. I mentor six high school girls with different sets of
skills on a research project for about four hours a week. They often forget
material we cover, so developing a lesson plan that challenges everyone without
leaving anyone behind can be difficult.
On the research side, I worked closely with my mentors to develop
my project, and as a result I was able to take ownership of my work early on
rather than feeling like I was working on someone else’s project. I currently
work on a computational research project simulating the motions of stellar mass
black holes in active galactic nucleus disks using a hydrodynamic grid code,
the Pencil Code. I have been examining how active galactic nucleus disks, which
are composed of gas, can drive changes in the orbital radius of stellar mass
black holes. The project goal is to determine if binary black hole mergers can
occur in the center of active galaxies in order to explain the Laser
Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory observations of these binary
mergers. I love this project because it incorporates black holes, which I love,
and finding answers to current scientific questions.
You recently gave a talk in Spanish about gravitational waves at
Columbia’s Astronomy Outreach event. What made you want to give such a
talk? How did it go?
There are multiple reasons why I wanted to give an astronomy talk
in Spanish. My mom doesn't speak English and growing up I had friends whose
parents did not speak English either. Our parents also were unaware of STEM
fields beyond medicine and engineering. I wanted to share my passion with my
mom and give her insight into what I do, as well as inform those whose primary
language is Spanish about additional STEM fields. One of my career goals is to
increase the number of people of color in STEM through accessibility and
inclusion.
I gave a talk on black holes because I find these objects
fascinating. I wanted to share with others what we know, what we don’t yet
understand, and ongoing research. As a kid I used to think that everything was
discovered, and I know others who thought the same. I wanted to show the public
that there is much that scientists are examining because there is much we yet
don’t understand.
I was told that my talk was very good. Sadly, attendance was a bit
poor. Some of the reasons for this may have been because the talk was around
finals week, which means many of the students were not around. The talk fell
during 5 de Mayo weekend, and many Spanish speakers I knew had prior
engagements. Finally, we still have not figured out what are the best outlets
to announce this event beyond Facebook and word of mouth.
Please tell us about yourself. What’s your story?
I'm a first-generation Dominican American. I loved science and math
as a child. My parents encouraged me to become a physician, because they
believed high-income jobs were limited to lawyers, doctors, and engineers.
Consequently, my sight was set on becoming a pediatrician after graduating high
school.
As a pre-med student at City College of New York (CCNY) of the
City University of New York (CUNY), I was first exposed to research
opportunities and careers through the Earth and Atmospheric Science Department.
During this time, I obtained an REU with NASA Goddard Institute of SpaceStudies. From this experience, I learned that our contributions to science are
important even if our findings fall short of our desired outcome, that research
is nothing like school work, and that we do not always find a solution at the
end of a research project. In 2010, I decided to switch paths and began to
pursue a degree in physics at Hunter College CUNY, after both discovering my
desire to become a physician stemmed mostly from my parents, and realizing that
I was a very curious person who loved deciphering how things work.
Since becoming an AstroCom NYC fellow in the spring of 2014, my
path to a physics career has become much clearer and my resolve has
strengthened. I developed the drive to obtain a Ph.D. in Astrophysics, through
the experiences as an AstroCom NYC fellow and other diversity programs,
specifically Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), Graduate
Resource for Advancing Diversity with Maryland Astronomy and Physics
(GRAD-MAP), National Astronomy Consortium (NAC), and Helen Fellowship. Each of
these programs has introduced me to a variety of projects that have helped me
hone in on the area of astronomy that I would like to focus on and introduced
me to many members of the astronomy community, so much so that now when I
attend conferences I always see people who I have met elsewhere.
Who inspired you as you were pursuing your career, and how?
After switching paths, I was lucky to be encouraged to apply to
AstroCom NYC by Kelle Cruz. The program was vital to my success in Astronomy.
Kelle became my career mentor and encouraged me to attend conferences and apply
to programs that would further my career. My research mentor Ari Maller tried
to incorporate my interests into our project and inform me of talks and conferences
that would interest me. Working with Suvi Gezari confirmed my desire to work on
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Seeing a plenary given by Philip Hopkins at the
229th AAS conference gave me the language to explain what I wanted
to do long-term. I spoke to him afterwards and he gave me advice on how to get
started working on simulations. Working Mordecai-Mark Mac Low and Wladimir Lyra
has confirmed my desire to work on simulations and made my desire to work on
AGN even more. Though I can’t say that anyone inspired me throughout my career,
there are many people who have supported, encouraged, and given me the tools
needed to pursue my interests.
What challenges or obstacles have you faced in your career, and
how have you overcome them?
I experienced hardships within my first year of undergraduate
study, which included health issues and financial strife that forced me to
procure a retail job. Consequently, working and health complications led to
some bad grades, class withdrawals, and long gaps in my years of study.
Balancing my health, schoolwork, research, and other responsibilities, like
helping my elderly mother have been exceedingly challenging. In order to stay
on course, I have implemented techniques to prevent my challenges from impeding
my academic performance; these include informing my mentors of personal factors
that could affect my academic/research work and creating a schedule that allows
room for alterations in case an emergency arises.
People of color, especially women of color, are severely
underrepresented in our field. Can you point to any factors (specific
programs, individual mentors, etc) that helped you succeed?
There are many programs with the goal to diversify astronomy that
have helped me succeed. The first is AstroCom NYC in 2014, which has been the
program that has had the biggest impact. Through the program I had a research
mentor, Ari Maller, and a professional mentor, Kelle Cruz, assigned to me until
I graduated. I could also seek help be it research, professional development,
and other from the other faculty in the program, these include Saavik Ford,
Barry McKernan, Dennis Robbins, Tim Paglione, Charles Liu, Matt O’Dowd, Quinn
Minor, Emily Rice, and Jillian Bellovary. I also received a laptop, tuition
assistance, a metrocard, and funding to attend conferences during my
fellowship. In 2015, I received the yearlong stipend from the Louis Stokes
Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) to fund my research. I became a
Graduate Resource for Advancing Diversity with Maryland Astronomy and Physics
(GRAD-MAP) scholar and attend the winter workshop in 2015 and summer research
opportunity in 2016 with Tingting Liu and Suvi Gezari. Through the National
Astronomy Consortium (NAC), I completed a research project at Space Telescope
Science Institute (STScI) in 2017 with Ivelina Momcheva. Finally, the Helen
Fellowship has allowed me to work with Mordecai-Mark Mac Low at AMNH on a
research project that I am very passionate about. I have gained teaching
experience and funding to purchase materials and attend conferences that will
further my career.
Can you share any ideas you have about making astronomy a more
equitable and inclusive community?
I think it’s important to have people from different backgrounds
in committees that serve the community, because people of various groups have
an understanding of the needs unique to their groups. Also, visibility is
important to inspire aspiring astronomers. For example, some people have told
me that I’m a role model because I’m a woman, a person of color, and I have a
nontraditional career path in STEM. As a nontraditional Latina, I can speak on
behalf of components that helped me and I that have struggled with, which a
caucasian man who had no gaps in his education cannot. Even though people
outside a group can be aware of challenges facing that group, there will be
components that they do not know or could not understand. For example, I
consider colorblindness when creating my presentations, but I cannot formulate
all the important components for someone with visual impairment to follow a
presentation as would Wanda Diaz Merced, who is a blind astronomer. I would say
that continuing programs that promote diversity, outreach to inform various
groups how they can be part of the community, ask what they need to succeed in
the community, and place those interested in visible roles will change and grow
the community so that it is more equitable and inclusive.
What advice would you give to young women of color interested in
following your path?
Be sure to pursue what you love and not what others expect, and
this includes your parents. You’ll face a number of challenges that will
require stubbornness and passion to get you through. Ask senior people in your
field of interest what skills you need to develop to succeed and what can you
expect. For example, I was interested in becoming a theoretical cosmologist, so
I would ask those in the field what were the programming languages beyond
Python that would be useful to learn. As a result, I was not surprised learning
that I needed to use Fortran in my computational project. Avoid toxic people,
whether they are family or important in the field you are interested in. Surround
yourself with supporting people who encourage you and listen to their advice. I
was given really great professional advice from a professor. He said if you can
imagine waking up on a cold Tuesday morning at 5am, happy to go work, then you
have found your career. I’m a night person, so I say I know that I am meant to
be an astronomer because I look forward to work, and I’m happy staying up late
working on my project.
Any final words?
Take advantage of opportunities, whether they are fellowships, research
projects, conferences, etc. Finally, try participating in a variety of research
projects before settling on one that will require years of investment such as a
thesis project. While one project made me interested in using observational
data, another showed me I was more interested in using processed data such as
that in surveys rather than using raw data. Other projects confirmed my
interest in black holes and simulations.
There are different mentoring styles, and it’s important to figure
out your mentoring needs. Some people require micromanaging mentors that check
on them daily, while others prefer mentors that are less hands on. Some people
require mentors which they have a personal connection with, such that they can
share with them aspects of their personal lives, while others desire strictly a
professional relationship with their mentor. Understanding your own mentoring
needs and discussing that with potential mentors can be important for achieving
success.
Be kind to yourself. The nature of research is that we don’t know
the answer, so don’t feel bad that things are not moving along as you would
like. Also do activities that feed your soul. I dance as a hobby. Dancing
revives me and makes me really happy, as a result I look forward to working and
can focus better.
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