Starstruck : a memoir of astrophysics and finding light in the dark / Sarafina El-Badry Nance.
Material type:
TextPublisher: [New York] : Dutton, Penguin Random House, [2023]Copyright date: ©2023Description: 325 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780593186794
- 0593186796
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | Biography | NANCE, S. N176 | Available | 33111011284383 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
In a beautifully written, science-packed, and inspirational memoir, Egyptian-American astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance shares how she boldly carved out a place in the field of astrophysics, grounding herself in a lifelong love of the stars to face life's inevitable challenges and embrace the unknown.
As a child, Sarafina El-Badry Nance spent nearly every evening with her father gazing up at the flickering stars and pondering what secrets the night sky held. The daughter of an American father and Egyptian mother who both pushed her toward academic excellence, Sarafina dreamed of becoming an astronomer and untangling the mysteries of the stars overhead. But it wasn't long before she was told, both explicitly and implicitly, that girls just weren't cut out for math and science.
In Starstruck , Sarafina invites us to consider the cosmos through fascinating science lessons to open each chapter. But she also traces more earthbound obstacles-of misogyny and racism, abuse and intergenerational trauma, anxiety and self-doubt, cancer diagnoses and recovery-she faced along the way. As her career and passion for space brought her from UT Austin to UC Berkeley, and even to a Mars astronaut simulation in Hawai'i, Sarafina learned how to survive-and ultimately thrive-in a space that was seldom welcoming to women, and especially not to women of color.
Honest and empowering, Starstruck sits at the intersection of the study of our cosmos-itself constantly changing-and the transformative experience of embracing resilience to pursue one's passion.
Motions of celestial objects -- Our cosmic neighborhood -- Formation -- Exploration -- The emptiness of space -- Families of stars -- Exploding stars -- Black holes and things torn apart -- Composition of the universe -- Future of the universe -- Unbreakable things -- Birth of the universe -- Dreams.
"In a beautifully written, science-packed debut memoir, Egyptian-American astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance shares her personal story of resilience and liberation by grounding herself in her lifelong love of the stars. As a child, Sarafina El-Badry Nance spent nearly every evening with her father gazing up at the flickering stars and pondering what secrets the night sky held. She dreamt of becoming an astronomer from the age of five, but it wasn't long before she was told, both explicitly and implicitly, that girls just weren't cut out for math and science. In Starstruck, Sarafina captures the wonders of the universe and traces more earthbound obstacles-of misogyny and racism, abuse and intergenerational trauma, anxiety and self-doubt, cancer diagnoses and recovery-she faced along the way. The strategies and mindset Sarafina developed to thrive in a space that is, by design, not for women and especially not for women of color, are not only applicable to her career in astrophysics but directly carry over into other areas of life. Honest and empowering, Starstruck sits at the intersection of the study of our cosmos-itself constantly changing-and the messy and transformative experience of pursuing one's passion through life's inevitable challenges"-- Provided by publisher.