Subject: [DPS Members] DPS Mailing #07-17: Election results, DPS workshop, Wikipedia... August 28th 2007 +----------------------------CONTENTS--------------------------------+ 1) DPS Election Results 2) Workshop at DPS: Improving NASA's Announcements of Opportunity 3) Wikipedia: A Public Service Opportunity 4) Upcoming Meetings +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ 1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1 DPS ELECTION RESULTS The results of the 2007 election of DPS officers are as follows: Vice-Chair: Jonathan Lunine (University of Arizona) Committee: Susan Lederer (California State University, San Bernardino) Rosaly Lopes (JPL) Thanks to everyone who participated in the election, both as candidates and as voters, and congratulations to the winners, who will take office at the DPS business meeting in Orlando in October. 2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2 WORKSHOP AT DPS: IMPROVING NASA'S ANNOUNCEMENTS OF OPPORTUNITY Tuesday October 9th, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m Alan Stern, Associate Administrator for Science Mission Directorate, has initiated an effort to simplify mission Announcements of Opportunity (like Explorer, Discovery, Mars Scout, etc.). Any simplification must still result in NASA being able to evaluate the feasibility of proposed missions and in mission teams being prepared for Phase A if they are selected. The first step of this effort is to gather information. NASA is seeking community input in all areas including the current AO, the current 2-step selection process, and suggestions for improving both. This discussion will start with a brief presentation by NASA of the goals and constraints on the mission AO process, followed by an opportunity for members of the proposing community to offer their input. 3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3 WIKIPEDIA: A PUBLIC SERVICE OPPORTUNITY Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, is wildly popular among students of all ages as a source of fast, free information. Some statistical studies even show that Wikipedia gets more hits than the nasa.gov web sites. However, recent experiences have made me think that perhaps more than just non-scientists use Wikipedia materials. During an August NASA workshop's coffee break, several speakers told me that Wikipedia was among the sources they checked for information in preparing for their own professional talks. The homepage for the International Society for the Origin of Life (ISSOL) requests that members check the Wikipedia pages of their specialty and edit them as necessary. A similar request was made in the March 13 issue of EOS, a publication of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Let me encourage you to take a few moments to read the Wikipedia pages for your areas of expertise and to correct any "howlers" you find. Wikipedia editing is fast, free, and anonymous. Your professional assistance will be useful to the public, your children, and perhaps even your DPS colleagues. Reggie L. Hudson, Professor of Chemistry, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida 33711 4---------4---------4---------4---------4---------4---------4---------4 UPCOMING MEETINGS 1) First International Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos, November 5-8, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/phobosdeimos2007/ This will be the first international meeting focused specifically on Phobos and Deimos, and on how their exploration relates to that of Mars and the solar system. The conference will be an open international forum that gathers scientists, engineers, space exploration professionals, and students interested in discussing the status and advancement of the exploration of Mars' satellites, and the exploration of Mars itself through them. The abstract deadline has been extended to September 5, 2007, 5:00 p.m. CDT. 2) SOFIA's 2020 Vision: Scientific and Technological Opportunities 6-8 December 2007, Caltech, Pasadena, California http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/07Dec_SOFIA_Vision/workshop.html SOFIA's recent first flights highlight its proximity to operations. Science observations will begin ramping up in the next few years with the initial set of instruments. The time is now ripe to envision the scientific and technological advances that will keep SOFIA an exciting and dynamic program over its twenty-year design lifetime. This workshop will examine science needs and relevant new and emerging detector and component technologies. These new capabilities will arrive during a period of intense and rapid change of the scientific landscape: the stream of results flowing from projects such as Spitzer, Herschel, ALMA, JWST, and other facilities will greatly expand SOFIA's discovery potential. The workshop's goals are to evince the connections between the technological possibilities and the scientific opportunities, to develop a vision for extending SOFIA's productivity beyond the next decade, and to expand the awareness of SOFIA's potential. 3) Fall AGU Meeting, San Francisco, December 10-14 2007 http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/ The AGU meeting will include 25 planetary science sessions, focusing on bodies including Europa, Iapetus, Titan, Enceladus, rings, Mars, Venus, and the Earth/Moon system. Abstract deadline is September 6th 2007. 4) Symposium C31 "Planetary Atmospheres", part of the COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Montreal, Canada 13-20 July 2008. http://www.cospar-assembly.org This symposium covers the latest results from spacecraft studies of planetary atmospheres. There will be particular emphasis on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Cassini/Huygens, Mars Express and Venus Express. We will include spacecraft results for atmospheres of all solar system bodies, except Earth. Submission of contributed talks for this symposium is encouraged. Deadline for receipt of abstracts and financial support is 17 February 2008. +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Send submissions to: John Spencer, DPS Secretary (spencer@boulder.swri.edu)