Life On Other Planets
A Memoir of Finding My Place In the Universe
Aomawa Shields 2023 - Bvtn Lib 520.92 SHI
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https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/shields/ \ UC Irvine professional site
variablestargirl.com older
Thesis The Effect of Star-Planet Interactions on Planetary Climate
graduated Exeter 1993 18yo hence born ~1975
- Sc.B. Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from MIT in 1997
- MFA Acting UCLA in 2001
- Ph.D. Astronomy and Astrobiology from the University of Washington in 2014
- U Cal Irvine in 2017
- Husband Steven
- 007 looked up at stars. 8yo, wanted to be a white Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader, then secretary
- 008 Mother PhD music theory prof at Amherst, estranged from envious family
- 009 Father also musician, parents invented name Aomawa Lalahie out of vowel sounds
- 010 parents divorced when Aomawa 2yo / then remarried: brother 10 years younger / remarried again: sister 21 years younger / toured Europe in 2010 and 2019
- 012 Mother professor, spent salary on expensive clothes, cosmetics, toys, not end-of-month food or trips
- 013 Grandmother Delphine 1930s math major at Tennessee State U. historically Black college
- 015 worked with numbers at Miramar Naval Air Station
016 Top Gun film, astrophysicist PhD teacher inspires young A.S.
- 018 World Book Encyclopedia at home
022 astronomy at Exeter, instructor Chris Harper
030 Exeter chamber orchestra violin, played Truvy in Exeter school play Steel Magnolias
033 parents met at Antioch, band Pyramids?? Idris Ackamoor??
- 034 A.S. disliked uncertainty ... and jazz
- 037 Challenger explosion during Exeter Junior year
040 understudy Barbara Morgan Teacher in Space, NSF women and minorities in science and engineering, leading to grants for Dr. Shields
- 042 graduation, won Perry cup
- 047 admitted early decision MIT
- 049 MIT course numbers 8 Physics, 12 EAPS Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
052 trouble with statistical mechanics partition function
052 Advisor Jim Elliot Uranus rings, Pluto atmosphere
053 Mass Ave Bridge 364.4 smoots Oliver Smoot 5 foot 7 inch
057 Jan MIT astronomy field camp to Lowell Observatory, Deidre Hunter
062 Five hour to bottom of Grand Canyon, Phantom Ranch
064 Summer internship at JPL (1994?) Observational Systems Group Mike Shao
- 064 Apollo anorthosite rocks dated Moon's age as 4.46GY (Earth 4.54GY), ejecta from Mars-sized impactor into Earth
065 Following summer (1995) w/ MIT Ron Remillard classifying hard X-ray sources
065 Following summer (1996) w/ Arecibo Mike Nolan, prep for Hurricane Bertha
068 Burchard Scholar, one of 35 students, yearlong humanities enrichment
069 Acapella group, pi to 15(?) decimal places
- 070 read plays, "air of pretension",
071 Senior thesis, paper with Bruce Elmegreen The relationship between gas, stars, and star formation in irregular galaxies: A test of simple models Accepted 1997, APJ 1998 Feb 1
072 late summer 1997 Eric Wilcots Linda Sparke U Wis Madison
- 075 two bedroom bug-infested top floor of house, $600/mo. out of $1000/mo stipend age 22
076 daydreamed of Zora Neale Hurston biopic acting, aced atomic physics, poor astrophysics grades
- 079 applied to acting graduate schools, failed audition in Denver . 082 invited to (underfunded) UCLA acting program
- 083 "reached out to Deidre for support" ... Deidre Hunter pp 57-60
- 084 "pots and pans sent by Nancy" from Madison ... Nancy who? Astronomy grad student at Madison. Why mention name? There are 2.2 MILLION Nancy's in the US.
- 086 "In graduate school for acting, I came alive" . 87 dept.chair Mel Shapiro 088 screechy violin "concerto"
088 One Song Glory
- 089 Learned accents and postures and movement .
- 090 Yearly faculty review, wore blazer instead of sweatpants, admonished, got mad, cry-yelled at instructors
- 091 showcase before agents . one person show for master's thesis project:
- chalkboard astronomy with famous lines from movies, as if Tourettes