Trevor Owens

Chart of Physics doctorates earned from 1978 to 2024, with a steady increase in the number of women but overarching trends closely tracking the number of men earning PhDs

Chart showing doctorates earned in astronomy from 1978 to 2024 with women making steady gains and closing in on parity, and an overarching increase in number of PhDs earned linked to the increasing numbers of women entering the field.

The AIP stats team has released its latest data of physics & astronomy PhD trends, with breakdown by gender. What is extraordinary to me is how clearly the overall trends exhibit an important gender dimension, and that that story is quite different between physics and astronomy.

There is broad bipartisan support for increased public investment in the scientific enterprise in the U.S. New data from Research!America show 7 in 10 say Congress should invest more to advance science & tech. This is up across the political spectrum. -> www.researchamerica.org/sd_survey/20...

Great explanation on how and why @ncar-ucar.bsky.social is such a singular and critical component of U.S. science infrastructure.

Thanks for this great session!

In the vein of recent conversations about people being the ends rather than the means for doing science:

Q&A: Patchen Barss on Roger Penrose AIP History Weekly Edition: February 13, 2026

I learned so much from @patchenbarss.bsky.social’s excellent biography of Roger Penrose.

Thrilled he was up for doing this interview about his research process for this week’s @aip.bsky.social history newsletter->
www.aip.org/history/q-a-...

Help Close the Discoverability Gap: Join the Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for Women in Science

Help Close the Discoverability Gap: Join the Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for Women in Science -> www.aip.org/library/ex-l...

Online, accessible to anyone, this Wednesday February 11th at 10am Eastern!

Help Close the Discoverability Gap: Join the Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for Women in Science

Help Close the Discoverability Gap: Join the Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for Women in Science -> www.aip.org/library/ex-l...

A brief guide to science outreach Figuring out how to communicate with the public can be overwhelming. Here’s some advice for getting started.

“A brief guide to science outreach” by Don Lincoln in @physicstoday.bsky.social brings together practical guidance and compelling examples for scientists and engineers who want to engage more intentionally in outreach. physicstoday.aip.org/features/a-b...

We talk a lot about our collections, but how are they actually being used?

160 Theses and Counting: How Graduate Students Are Referencing AIP's NBLA

References in graduate student research are a powerful way to see the impact of an archive.

This initial look at some of the 160 theses & dissertations referencing @aip.bsky.social's Niels Bohr Library & Archives shows part of how our collections advance scholarship.

www.aip.org/library/ex-l...

Listened to the first episode of this season and I’m very much looking forward to the rest of them.

100 Years of Physics and Television January 2026 Photos of the Month

Fun photos of the month post from Karina Cooper on the Niels Bohr Library and Archives blog on 100 years of physics and television. www.aip.org/library/ex-l...

I’m excited to share this opportunity for an early-career social scientist on the @aip.bsky.social research team. Please share with anyone interested in putting social science research skills to work to empower positive change in the physical sciences. workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/defau...

The long road to the Parker Solar Probe AIP History Weekly Edition: January 23, 2026

It's cold out, so it's a good time to think about racing through the searing heat of the Sun's corona at 430,000 miles per hour.

In today's AIP History Weekly Edition @jowiph.bsky.social looks at the how space scientists carried the idea of a solar probe from the 1950s through to launch in 2018.

2026 AIP Research Agenda

I’m excited to share the @aip.bsky.social 2026 Research Agenda. Developed with leaders across AIP’s Federation, it outlines five initiatives on policy & funding, workforce, digital preservation, international collaboration, and identities in the physical sciences. www.aip.org/aip/2026-aip...

Honored and grateful that @aip.bsky.social is receiving @nehgov.bsky.social support for our project, Preserving 21st-Century Science: A National Fellowship for Early & Mid-Career Cultural Heritage Professionals.

Looks like the IMLS just posted NOFOs for all their major grant proposals with due dates of March 13th across the board. Great to see that they are inviting proposals for their full slate of programs content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USI...

History and the governance of the Royal Observatory AIP History Weekly Edition: January 9, 2026

In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, we look at recent articles by @rhiggitt.bsky.social and Yuto Ishibashi, which show how record-keeping, history, and institutional governance intertwined during the centuries-long evolution of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.

That is exactly how I felt too!

The Bliss Attractor Understanding digital media, technology, theory, culture and society.

This excerpt from David M. Berry’s new book, Artificial Intelligence and Critical Theory analyzing the “Bliss Atractor” in Claude is facanating. Analyzing these kinds of “glitches” will be really powerful for demystifying the logic of LLMs stunlaw.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...

We've reached out to a few folks we know over there to see if there are things we could do to help/better understand what is happening. At this point, it's not entirely clear to me.

NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts

“NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts” -> www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...

Was also thrilled to see @patchenbarss.bsky.social’s cite this 1989 oral history interview from @aip.bsky.social’s archives

The Impossible Man - Books - Patchen Barss The Impossible Man, a landmark biography of British mathematical physicist and Nobel Laureate, Roger Penrose by Patchen Barss

Just finished reading @patchenbarss.bsky.social’s “The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius.” Its a rich and engaging exploration of physics, mathematics and his timultuious personal life. Highly recommend this one. patchenbarss.com/books/the-im...

When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.

Great interview on the origins of science supercomputing centers as part of the infrastructure for research in the physical sciences. Looking forward to seeing more of Julia's research on this in the future.

How to Spot AI Hallucinations Like a Reference Librarian The verification tricks that would make fact-checkers weep with joy.

"How to Spot AI Hallucinations Like a Reference Librarian" HT @tjowens.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/cardcata...

Our latest blog post is all about floppy disks!