Meet Ann Marie Cody | Astronomer, and artist, and triplet mom

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ann Marie Cody and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ann Marie, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As a student and scientific researcher, I used to think that the harder and longer I worked, the more I would accomplish. In the academic fields, there is this myth that you need to work a certain number of hours per day to be successful. I bought into it, putting in many hours in the office, and often staying up late into the night. I declined social invitations. What I was neglecting to factor in were the benefits of efficiency and balance. I had a seemingly infinite number of hours in the day, so it seemed logical to work slowly and deliberately. Yet instead of completing numerous tasks and feeling satisfied, I only became worn out.

The turning point came in 2016 when my husband and I found out that we would be welcoming baby triplets into the world. It was immediately obvious that life would be fundamentally different after their birth, but hard to visualize how this would come about, given that I wanted to retain my career as an astronomer. But once the babies arrived, things changed quickly, and dare I say easily. As parents of multiples, we had to do everything efficiently simply for our own survival. That meant creating a schedule for feeding, napping, and everything in between. Some months in, the babies started daycare, which meant fixed hours in the office, and no working at home. I found myself completing the same tasks, but faster and more creatively than before. It seemed like a miracle that suddenly I had time to both conduct astronomical research and enjoy my growing family.

As the babies grew into toddlers, I realized that continued efficiency could enable me to expand my interests into other areas– such as athletics (distance running) and artwork. The same principles applied: do a decent job, but don’t take any more time than necessary. In addition to astronomer, I adopted multiple additional roles including triple stroller running mom and NASA cartoonist. Of course, one can only do so many things before becoming spread thin. It’s important for anyone to determine for themself where that border is between being happily occupied and overwhelmed. It’s a fine line that I negotiate everyday.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am living my childhood dream, which was to become an astronomer. We are somewhat of a rare breed, having gone through years of school for the privilege of becoming experts on the night sky. Although I used to travel to far-flung mountain tops to stay up all night using telescopes, today I mainly use data from NASA space missions to conduct my research centered on the lives of young stars and their planetary systems. I watch fluctuations in the brightness of thousands of stars to try and understand the processes affecting their early evolution, as well as the dynamics of bodies that orbit them. For one project, we are even searching for signs of extraterrestrial life!

Being in academia can be a hard road, and it doesn’t work out for everyone, given the low ratio of permanent jobs to degree recipients. But for me, it has been a fun challenge to craft a career that is both fulfilling and flexible to my needs. While my main job is to study the stars and publish papers on my findings, I also wear numerous other hats, including guiding students and staff, serving on grant review committees, and teaching at the community college level. When I was working for NASA, I also produced a series of cosmic cartoons to illustrate what our mission (Kepler) was observing in space. It was so enjoyable that I also began to produce impromptu cartoons at scientific conferences. Lately I have not found much time to do
artwork among my numerous other duties, but I hope to get back to it soon. People tell me that I should create whimsical astronomy t-shirts or even a children’s book.

Ultimately, I find that my career path has been the product of both an early drive toward science, and an openness toward trying different roles. Not everyone decides what they want want to be when they grow up at an early age, or finds that the STEM fields come easy. But in observing my diverse set of colleagues, I can now see that there are many different routes
toward establishing a rewarding career. The common thread is that everyone put in time and effort along the way to learn crucial skills, as well as overcome their own doubts about what they could achieve. It may sounds cliché, but there is something to be said for reaching for the stars.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a Boulder local who loves the outdoors, so of course my first instinct would be to go hiking in a beautiful wilderness area. Easily accessible spots include Chautauqua Park, with its view of the Flatirons, and Flagstaff mountain, where you can hit up the nature center or just sit and watch the sunset. For longer excursions, we might head up to the Indian Peaks Wilderness area. Any warm weather hike would need to be followed up by a visit to an ice cream parlor. I love Sweet Cow (Boulder, Louisville, and Denver), as well as some of the smaller outfits such as Scrumptious in Longmont. For families, we’d take an outing up to Nederland to putter around Mud Lake, ride the the Carousel of Happiness, check out the Wild Bear Nature Center and polish it off with ice cream at Sweet Sue’s. Back in Boulder, I might also show my friend some of the quirky local cafes, like the Junkyard Social Club.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to recognize the key early mentors who encouraged my love of science, and astronomy in particular. Growing up under dark skies in central Massachusetts, I was fortunate to have unique opportunities to visit a local observatory frequently. Astronomers Joe Caruso and Robert Stefanik recognized my interest in the night sky and gave me a key to one of the telescopes, with free reign to pan it across the cosmos. I thank them for their role in inspiring a young mind, and now I try to give back by serving as a mentor myself.

Website: www.annmariecody.com

Instagram: instagram.com/annmariecody_art

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-cody/

Twitter: twitter.com/astronomcody

Image Credits
Ann Marie Cody