Alumnus Dr. Christina Richey Wins AAS Division for Planetary Sciences 2015 Harold Masursky Award

Harold Masursky Award for outstanding service to planetary science and exploration to Dr. Christina Richey (NASA Headquarters & Smart Data Solutions, LLC and UAB physics alumnus) has made significant contributions to fostering equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion in planetary science in the spirit of the Harold Masursky award. Christina’s willingness to go far above and beyond the call of her regular work duties on these issues helps our planetary community become more open, diverse, and accepting. Much of her focus has been on education about the effects of harassment. She addresses anti-harassment policies at conferences; pushes for post-doc harassment training; ensures that key community leaders show support for all within the planetary sciences; helps distribute materials used by institutions to develop anti-harassment policies; and personally assists community members dealing with harassment issues. In addition to her anti-harassment work, she tackles broader issues that impact the most vulnerable members within our planetary-science community. She participates in mentoring workshops for early-career scientists as well as workshops on alternative careers. Dr. Richey is active in the Women in Planetary Science Group, is chair of the AAS’s Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA), and is an influential participant in the Women in Astronomy blog. Dr. Richey is currently a cross-divisional program officer at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., as well as the Deputy Program Scientist for the OSIRIS-REx mission. She earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from Wheeling Jesuit University, West Virginia, in 2004, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2007 and 2011, respectively.