Christina Richey

Christina Rae Richey
Born East Liverpool, Ohio
Alma mater Wheeling Jesuit University
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Known for anti-harassment efforts
Awards 2014 NASA Headquarters Special Service Award,
2015 WJU James O'Brien Award from Wheeling Jesuit University,
2015 Harold Masursky Award from the Division for Planetary Sciences,
2016 UAB Trailblazing Alumni Award
Scientific career
Fields Planetary Science and Astrophysics
Institutions Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA Headquarters
Doctoral advisor Perry A. Gerakines

Dr. Christina "Chrissy" Richey is an American planetary scientist and astrophysicist working at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, California. Dr. Richey is a Project Staff Scientist for the Europa Clipper mission and is a Research Technologist in the Astrophysics and Space Sciences Section. [1] Prior to working at JPL, Dr. Richey worked as contractor for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She was a Program Officer in NASA's Planetary Science Division,[2] the Deputy Program Scientist for the OSIRIS-REx mission,[3] and the Deputy Science Advisor for Research and Analysis for the Science Mission Directorate.[4]

Richey is known for her education about the effects of harassment in the workplace and within the planetary and astronomical sciences.[5][6][7] She was the Chair of the American Astronomical Society's Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy[8] from 2015-2017, was the co-Chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences' Subcommittee on Professional Climate and Culture,[9] from 2015-2017, and is an active blogger for the Women in Astronomy blog[10]

Early life and education

Richey received her undergraduate degree in Physics at Wheeling Jesuit University in 2004.[11] She completed her Masters (2007) and PhD (2011) in Physics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she did laboratory investigations related to both the icy moons of the outer solar system and the interstellar medium. She was a NASA postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she studied the optical properties of dust grain analogs to better understand early stellar system formation.[4]

Career and research

Richey currently works at JPL as Project Staff Scientist for the Europa Clipper Mission. NASA's Europa Clipper will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter's moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life.

Richey was the Deputy Science Advisor for the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD),[4] where she compiled and distributed information about the Research and Analysis (R&A) awards from the SMD Divisions, and focused on communication with the greater communities working directly with the SMD. Additionally, she was the Deputy Program Scientist in the Planetary Science Division for the OSIRIS-REx Mission (the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security- Regolith Mission).[3] OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016 and will travel to a near-Earth Asteroid, called Bennu and bring back a returned sample to Earth for study. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.

In addition to her work, she has worked to promote inclusion within her field. She has spent much of her career speaking at conferences about harassment, efforts to overcome the problems within the field, and educating her peers about the impact harassment has on their colleagues.[12] She says women in vulnerable positions within the field—women of color, young women, and those who need to advance their careers—are more likely to face harassment in the workplace.[5][6] Richey was the Chair of the American Astronomical Society's Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy[8] from 2015-2017 and was the co-Chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences' Subcommittee on Professional Climate and Culture.[9]

Awards and honors

2014:

Recognized with an NASA Headquarters Honor Award.

2015:

Received WJU James O'Brien Award from Wheeling Jesuit University
Named the Alumni Scholar in Residence by Wheeling Jesuit University
Received Harold Masursky Award from the Division for Planetary Sciences for outstanding service to planetary science and exploration[12]

2016:

Received the Trailblazing Alumni Award in the College of Arts and Sciences by The University of Alabama at Birmingham

References

  1. ↑ "Christina Richey's JPL Page".
  2. ↑ "NASA Science Program Officers List".
  3. 1 2 "Team- OSIRIS-REx Mission".
  4. 1 2 3 "Christina Richey's Homepage".
  5. 1 2 Kramer, Miriam. "Survey paints troubling picture of harassment in space science". Mashable. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  6. 1 2 Hinckley, Story (2015-10-14). "Was UC Berkeley too easy on professor accused of sexual harassment? (+video)". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  7. ↑ Scoles, Sarah. "Astronomers Are Finally Doing Something About Sexual Harassment". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  8. 1 2 "American Astronomical Society Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy".
  9. 1 2 "DPS Subcommittees".
  10. ↑ "Women in Astronomy Blog".
  11. ↑ "Alumni Spotlight, Christina Richey".
  12. 1 2 "A Conversation With Dr. Christina Richey, Recipient of the Harold Masursky Award | News - NASA Solar System Exploration". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved 2016-06-18. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • Richey's 2015 presentation reporting results of a survey about harassment in astronomy
  • Talk on communications crises, from the 2016 International Astronomical Union's "Communicating Astronomy with the Public" Conference
  • The Women in Astronomy blog , to which she is an active contributor
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