Meg Urry, Yale University

Candidate for Vice President

Educational History

  • Ph.D. Physics, Johns Hopkins University (1984)
  • M.S. Physics, Johns Hopkins University (1979)
  • B.S. Physics & Math, Tufts University (1977)

URL for Full Bio or CV

Top 5 Honors, Awards, or Recognition

  • Member, National Academy of Sciences (2016)
  • George Van Biesbroeck Prize, American Astronomical Society (2012)
  • Women in Space Science Award, Adler Planetarium (2010)
  • Honorary Degree of Science, Tufts University (2009)
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2008)

Most Recent APS Volunteer History

  • APS Physics Policy Committee (PPC)
  • APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics (CSWP)

Membership in Other Societies

  • American Astronomical Society
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • American Association of University Women
  • Fellow, American Women in Science

Other Relevant Experience

  • President, American Astronomical Society; AUI Board; U.S. Liaison Committee for IUPAP; NASA Science Advisory Committee; NAS/NRC Board on Physics & Astronomy, Committee on Astronomy & Astrophysics (Co-chair), Space Studies Board, Decadal Survey Committee Chair (2010); NAS Nominating Committee, Space Technology Roundtable; Executive Committee, Sloan Digital Sky Survey V; COACH for Women Scientists and Engineers Advisory Board

Candidate Statement

As a long-time APS member, I would be honored to serve in the presidential line. The APS Strategic Plan: 2019 speaks directly to important issues a professional society should address:

Ensuring a bright future for young scientists. APS helps ensure physics education is effective and plays a crucial role in engaging the full pool of talent, so that the physics enterprise can reach its full potential.

Fostering a positive professional community where careers thrive. APS publishes high-quality journals and convenes lively professional meetings that allow physicists to learn from one another and to spark new ideas. The recently expanded APS Statement 19.1 - Guidelines on Ethics, with its code of conduct for meetings, encourages an environment where our best work can happen.

Communicating the excitement and value of research. APS illuminates the value of research and connects physics to everyday life and to the health of the economy. Effective outreach is essential to garnering public support for physics.

Advocating for strong federal support of physics-related research. Federal funding remains the key driver of fundamental research, so it is critical that APS inform decision making at federal agencies and in Congress.

Physics as a global enterprise. Increasingly, physicists work in international collaborations and major physics facilities are funded across nations, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, where I worked before moving to Yale. International engagement is important for APS and for physics.

What I plan to focus on:

  1. Broaden participation in physics by making our profession more inclusive, addressing the issues that lead to differential attrition, and improving the climate. In site visit work for the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, and as President of the American Astronomical Society, I met too many young scientists who were discouraged or, in a few cases, abused. We can’t afford to lose this talent. APS can help create a culture in which everyone can thrive. We also must retain junior members as they advance in their careers, particularly those who work outside academia.
  1. Strengthen communications with APS divisions and committees. APS benefits from many talented volunteers who help shape strategic priorities and communicate ideas to and from members. We could designate APS “agents” in departments and companies with large numbers of members.
  1. Support all career paths. Physicists have broad skills and interests applicable to diverse problems, and we all benefit when our graduate students and postdocs advance to jobs in finance, industry, government, and museums, as well as academia. APS should retain and serve members in all career paths. Meetings and webinars are a great forum for career development activities.

Physics is in a golden age – it’s exciting, useful, interesting, and important. As our world faces new challenges, physics will be critical to finding solutions. Broader participation means more ideas, greater innovation, new discoveries, faster advances, better solutions, and a brighter future for physics and the world.

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Meg Urry