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Associate Professor Stefanie K. Johnson Receives Prestigious Agency Honor Award From NASA

stef johnson nasa award hubble space command center

Johnson���s work on bringing diversity into the workplace disrupted hiring practices at NASA���s Hubble Telescope���virtually eliminating interviewer bias and increasing the number of diverse hires in a traditionally masculine field.


Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson, associate professor and author of this year���s Wall Street Journal bestseller Inclusify, received NASA���s prestigious 2020 Agency Honors Group Achievement Award for her work on reducing gender bias in their Hubble Space Telescope program.

Johnson was recognized, ���for outstanding effort in strengthening the review of Hubble Space Telescope observing proposals, sparking a revolution in the evaluation of proposals in space science,��� according to a NASA representative.

Her research with co-author Jessica Kirk of the University of Memphis identified that women lead scientists were being awarded access to the Hubble Space Telescope at a lower rate than men. Their study encompassed 16 application cycles and over 15,545 applications.

Eliminating gender bias from the application process led to a significant and more equitable way time was awarded by NASA. This was accomplished through the elimination of personal information and the drafting of proposals that masked the authors identities in a process known as ���dual-anonymization.���

According to NASA the Group Achievement Award is awarded each year for an outstanding group accomplishment that has contributed substantially to NASA's mission. Professor Johnson joins a select group of individuals, both government and non-government affiliated, who have distinguished themselves by making exceptional contributions to the agency���s mission.

Congratulations, Dr. Johnson.

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