Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 11:47:18 -0700
Subject: DPS Mailing #01-37: DPS Election
Greetings, DPS Members -
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|1) Election of Officers and Committee members |
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17 September 2001
To: All Members of the DPS
From: Alan Harris, DPS Secretary/Treasurer
Subject: Election of Officers and Committee members
In accordance with the by-laws of the Division for Planetary Sciences, the
membership must elect a Vice-Chair and two DPS Committee members. The
person elected as the Vice-Chair will serve in that capacity during
2001-2002 and then serve as DPS Chair during 2002-2003. The two Committee
Members elected will serve in those positions for three-year terms. For
reference, the other Officers and Committee members who will be serving are
listed below. The members retiring from the committee are Bob Nelson (Past
Chair), Alan Harris (Secretary-Treasurer) and John Spencer (Committee member).
Melissa McGrath will end her term as a Committee member, but has accepted
appointment as Secretary-Treasurer for the term 2001-2004. Biographies and
position statements for all of the candidates are given below.
Because of the need to protect against duplicate voting, we must strictly
enforce the requirement of providing member identification when voting.
Please identify yourself explicitly in your message, especially if you are
sending from other than your regular e-mail address as we have it on file.
If you are voting by mail, you must be sure to identify yourself in a
legible manner on the envelope. I will also accept ballots by fax
(818-354-0966) as long as the identity of the voter is clearly indicated.
ANONYMOUSLY SUBMITTED BALLOTS WILL NOT BE COUNTED. The positive side of
this requirement is that you may feel free to vote again if you change your
mind, forget if you have already voted, or whatever. Only the
last-received ballot will be counted.
To be eligible to vote, you must be a current member of the DPS (regular,
affiliate or student).
Please indicate your selections on the ballot provided below, which you may
send by e-mail, fax or regular mail. A hard copy letter with ballot and
return envelope will be mailed to every member, but you do not need to wait
for that in order to vote. The deadline for receipt of the ballots by me
is OCTOBER 17, 2001.
Following this message are position statements from each candidate, the list
of the other members of the committee who will be serving for the term
2001-2002, and finally the ballot. DO NOT return it by "reply", but instead
address it to awharris@lithos.jpl.nasa.gov. I will also appreciate it if
you edit off all the unnecessary text so I don't get 1000 copies of the
candidate statements in my e-mail box.
Alan Harris, Secretary/Treasurer
__________________________________________________________________________
CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES AND POSITION STATEMENTS
RICHARD P. BINZEL, candidate for Vice Chair
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Educational Background:
BA Physics, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
MA Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin
Current Position: Professor of Planetary Science, MIT (1988-
present)
Fellowships and Awards:
American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow
Massachusetts Institute of Technology MacVicar Faculty
Fellowship
American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences
Urey Prize
National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator
NASA Graduate Student Researcher Fellowship
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship
American Physical Society Apker Award
Research and Education Grants:
NASA Planetary Astronomy
NSF Solar System Astronomy
NSF Course Curriculum Development
NSF Instrumentation for Laboratory Improvement
DPS Service and Experience:
DPS / AAS Member for 20 years
Chair, Local Organizing Committee, 29th Annual Meeting,
Cambridge 1997
Press Officer, 1989-1993
Regular DPS attendee (19 out of 20 meetings since 1981)
Other Community Service Positions:
General Editor, Space Science Series, University of Arizona
Press, 1999-
Solar System Exploration Subcommittee 1992-1995 and 1999-
National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Planetary
Exploration (COMPLEX) 1997-1999
Icarus, Associate Editor, 1997 -
Meteoritics and Planetary Science, Associate Editor, 1996-2000
NASA, Outer Planets Science Working Group 1992-1995
Icarus, Editorial Board, 1991-1993
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
"This has got to change" is probably the most frequent expression I
have heard in talking with fellow DPS members in my effort to
understand the current concerns of our membership. This sentiment
expresses the difficulty of securing funding for research and for
supporting students and postdocs. Additionally this sentiment
arises from the proposal process seemingly being akin to roulette,
with unacceptable delays in notification and awards. To the credit
of our current Chair and to the credit of responsive agency
officials, great progress is being made to rectify these problems.
A goal I will have as DPS Chair is to continue this improvement with
the establishment of a "Proposers Bill of Rights": 1) Fair,
knowledgeable, and unbiased reviews of proposals. 2) Scientific
merit as the primary basis for funding decisions. 3) Prompt
notification of funding decisions. 4) Reviews of proposals provided
in writing to PIs. 5) Prompt processing of awarded funds. 6)
Responsive and available program managers. 7) Cooperation and
communication among program managers to ensure full and equal
evaluation of cross-disciplinary proposals.
Each of these is a common goal within our community and within our
principal funding agencies. My purpose in codifying a "Proposers
Bill of Rights" is to provide a further foundation upon which to
continue our very constructive dialog and to measure changes and
improvement. My plan is to survey the community periodically to
measure the performance of funding agencies with respect to these
"rights." Public announcement of our findings of increased or
decreased performance will serve to compliment improvements or to
highlight the most problematic areas.
We must never forget that research funding is not an entitlement and
that our ultimate customers are the taxpayers. Therefore it is the
inherent responsibility of each and every DPS member to reach out to
our schools and to the public at large to convey our excitement for
planetary exploration and discovery. School visits, public
lectures, popular articles, and especially helpful, patient, and
clear communication with the media are absolutely essential for the
survival and growth of our field. As DPS chair I would like to work
to encourage increased individual involvement with some incentives
(like a waived registration fee) to those who are most active in
outreach activities, large or small.
We can little afford not to have an active and involved membership
keeping our representatives in Congress informed of our
accomplishments and our goals for the future. Most important in
our outreach to our government officials is having broad community
support for the vitality of our Research and Analysis programs and
our current missions. We must also convey united community support
behind new initiatives in the Mars program, the pending Pluto
mission, Europa Orbiter, and Discovery. The current decadal review
process is one of tremendous importance and opportunity. We must
seize the opportunity to define and communicate our highest priority
goals for the next decade. By doing so as a community, we will have
the best possible leverage for seeing that they become a reality.
Within the DPS, we must continue to welcome and foster growth and
change. Growth in our international membership and increased
international collaboration is essential to the furthering of our
discipline. Extraordinary effort to attract and train the best and
brightest young researchers is a never ending imperative for
building our future. I would like to see expanded fellowship
opportunities for graduate students in planetary science.
Intellectual growth and change are the hallmarks of our advancing
field. Continuing our advancement, now more than ever, requires
coming together and working together as a community. I would very
much like to see the dialog arising from the decadal review process
continue as a matter of routine. Understanding the goals and
concerns of the DPS community provides the best basis for its
leadership.
____________________________________________________________________
MICHAEL J. DRAKE, candidate for Vice-Chair
Professor and Head of the Department of Planetary Sciences and
Director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory,
University of Arizona
Michael J. Drake's research interests center on the formation and
primary differentiation of the rocky planetary bodies into metallic
cores, silicate mantles and crusts, oceans, and atmospheres. He has
published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers. Drake has chaired or
been a member of numerous NASA, National Science Foundation, and
National Research Council committees and has organized several
international conferences. He is Past President of the Geochemical
Society and of the Meteoritical Society. Drake currently chairs the
Solar System Exploration Subcommittee and is a member of the Space
Science Advisory Committee.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
The downside of a competitive election for office is that one has to
run against an excellent candidate. I have no intention of "running
against" Rick Binzel. If elected, Rick will make a superb Division
for Planetary Sciences chairman. I will simply state my views as
succinctly as I can.
Consider the following.
At the time of preparation of this statement (July, 2001) we do not
have a coherent solar system exploration program. We have
Discovery, a Mars program, and a Europa mission. As I write, the
Senate Appropriations Committee has language that, if it survives
Conference with modest changes in wording, and is signed by the
President, will give us a Pluto-Kuiper mission plus an Outer Planets
line for the first time. We also need an Inner Planets line. Not
as entitlements, but in support of a coherent solar system
exploration strategy.
NASA, the Congress, and the Executive Branch (OMB) respond to
community prioritization. Witness the power of the Astrophysics
Decadal Survey. Witness the power of the Solar System Exploration
Subcommittee Report on the relative priority of Pluto and Europa.
Yet there has been no recent clear articulation of why we should be
exploring the solar system. While one can blame NASA, we must also
point the finger at ourselves.
We have allowed the solar system exploration program to be carried
along by emotion. The current emphasis on biology, while an
important intellectual element of solar system exploration, has
assumed a role incommensurate with its importance. Yes, I would
like to know if we are alone in the universe, but I would also like
to know how solar systems form, how planets evolve, what their
interiors are like, and how environments conducive to life emerge.
Solar system exploration needs to be balanced and inclusive. Mars
and Europa alone do not constitute a balanced program, even when
Discovery is added to the mix.
This absence of a rationale for solar system exploration is being
addressed now with the Solar System Decadal Survey and the Solar
System Exploration Subcommittee roadmap. A survey once a decade,
and a roadmap once every three years, is not enough. The Division
of Planetary Sciences community must provide this articulation as a
grass roots activity on a continuing basis.
The Division of Planetary Sciences needs to step up and articulate
priorities. If elected, I will be an activist Chairman in this
regard.
____________________________________________________________________
MARK BULLOCK, candidate for Committee Member
Southwest Research Institute
I received my Bachelor's degree in physics from Harvey Mudd College
in 1978. Succumbing to promises of the glamorous world of high
technology, I eschewed science and worked as an engineer in Silicon
Valley for 10 years (Hewlett Packard and National Semiconductor).
After climbing the corporate ladder, I discovered that it was
leaning against the wrong wall, and entered graduate school. I
received an MS in Physics from San Jose State University in 1991
while working at the NASA Ames Research Center, and then a Ph.D.
(1997) in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences from the
University of Colorado, working at the Laboratory for Atmospheric
and Space Physics. Now, I am a soft-money planetary scientist,
working as a senior research scientist at Southwest Research
Institute. My main research interests are in the climates of Venus
and Mars, and in particular, the role that surface-atmosphere
interactions play in establishing and stabilizing climate. I'm
currently engaged in projects to observe the nightside lower clouds
of Venus in the infrared, using NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility,
and the Venus Lyman alpha line using HST. I am working with
colleagues at the NASA Ames Research Center on experiments to
understand the compositions and formation rates of Mars analog-
brines and evaporites. On the education and policy side, I co-
directed an NSF-sponsored program for undergraduates this summer
whose purpose it was to investigate the relationships between
climate change science, philosophy and public policy. I had the
opportunity to participate on NASA's 2000 Planetary Geology and
Geophysics review panel, and have recently been appointed to the
Inner Solar System Panel of the Solar System Exploration Survey,
established by the Space Studies Board of the National Academy of
Sciences.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
My most deeply felt convictions about astronomy and planetary
science have to do with the fact that we as individuals and as a
community exist because of the public that funds us. In this
regard, I have been happy with the various functions of DPS as an
organization. I believe that the DPS has been effective in
apprising us all of the rapidly changing political landscape that
affects our field, helps foster communication between ourselves and
the public, and been an effective political advocate. I would like
to serve DPS to continue and enhance these activities, but I would
also like to see a few small changes in our profession. These have
largely to do with how we interact, or are encouraged to interact,
with the public. One only needs to give a few demonstrations to
avid, wide-eyed 3rd graders to experience the intrinsic advantages
we have in justifying our professional activities to society.
However, in spite of the intense public interest in astronomy, it is
still difficult for most of us to take the time out of our busy
schedules to slow down and engage the public in a way that transmits
the joy and excitement of what we do. I realize that this is to a
large extent a scientific cultural problem; we don't get much credit
for these 'voluntary' activities. I would like to see this change,
and would investigate real possibilities for helping define our
scientific productivity in terms of our role as public scientists.
____________________________________________________________________
CATHERINE DE BERGH, candidate for Committee Member
Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
After a Licence de Mathematiques Appliquees at the University of
Paris, France, and one year as a teacher in Mathematics in a
secondary school, I got a Diplome D'Etudes Approfondies in
Astrophysics at Paris University in 1968. After a little more than
two years as an ESRO (now ESA) fellow at the NASA Goddard Institute
for Space Studies in New-York (USA), I went back to France and got
my PhD at the University of Paris in 1976. I am presently Directeur
de Recherche at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and
part of the staff of Paris Observatory (Departement de Recherche
Spatiale). I have been mainly working on high-resolution
spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres using ground-based telescopes
and doing some accompanying laboratory work. More recently, I have
become interested in the study of Centaurs and Kuiper Belt Objects.
I am presently a co-I on the DISR-Cassini/Huygens experiment. I have
been part of many committees: national committees to hire people for
permanent positions or for scientific administration, observing time
allocation committees (for the CFHT, for ESO telescopes, for the HST
and the ISO satellite). In 2000, I was part of an international
committee in charge of evaluating researches in Astronomy and
Astrophysics made in Sweden. I was also a member of the DPS
Committee from 1988 to 1991. I was the President of Commission 16
(Physical Studies of Planets and Satellites) of the International
Astronomical Union from 1997 to 2000. I have organized several
international meetings. I have also written several articles in
popular science magazines.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
I would like to take advantage of my past experience to help develop
the international aspect of the Division for Planetary Sciences so
that its representation corresponds better to its membership, which
is 20% non-US. I would work to make the membership more aware of the
opportunities that exist beyond the USA for cooperative
interdisciplinary research, unique non-US experimental facilities,
etc.
Strengthening the international aspects of the DPS will give more
weight to the organization and the actions of its chair. Non-US
astronomers can also provide different perspective, a different way
of looking at things, a different approach. My participation in the
DPS (I am one of the few current members who has attended DPS
meetings since the second meeting in 1970) has been extremely
valuable to me and I have always encouraged people to join the
Division. The DPS has been a very important part of planetary
research in France and elsewhere in Europe.
I am very sensitive to the importance of increasing public awareness
of our science and will work to encourage communication of our
research to the public.
With my past experience in the DPS Committee and my participation in
many DPS Business meetings, I feel that I am in a good position to
serve again on the DPS committee, as I have been asked to do.
____________________________________________________________________
CAITLIN ANN GRIFFITH, candidate for Committee Member
Northern Arizona University
Background:
Ph.D. Physics S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook (1991)
NRC Research Assoc. NASA Ames Research Center (1992-1994)
Asst. Professor Northern Arizona University (1994-1999)
Assoc. Professor Northern Arizona University (1999-present)
Science Teams & Professional Activities:
Member-at-Large Steering Group, AAAS Section on Astronomy (2001-2005)
Panel Member The NAS Decadal Study, Large Satellites Group (2001)
Committee Member NASA PSS/MOWG (1998-2001)
Co-Organizer Conference ``From Giant Planets to Cool Stars'' (1999)
Committee Member NASA Solar System Exploration Subcommittee (1996-2000)
Committee Member NRC Workshop on Substellar Mass Objects (1997-1998)
Committee Member NASA Roadmap Development Team (1996-1997)
Science Member IRTF Observing Team: SL9 impact into Jupiter (1994)
TAC Member Hubble Space Telescope, IRTF
Science Interests:
Titan (everything: surface, atmosphere, evolution...), Atmospheres
of giant planets, brown dwarfs and extra-solar planets (dynamics,
chemistry, thermal profile), Optical to infrared Astronomy.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
The Division of Planetary Science covers diverse scientific fields,
e.g. from geology to astronomy. It involves members of many
pursuits: e.g. space missions design, fundamental research, ground-
based astronomy, laboratory measurements and instrument technology.
It is international in scope. This variety renders the field quite
fun, intellectually, and also a challenge. Its health depends on the
balance of resources across many disciplines, scientific
communication across sundry fields and nations, educated discourse
with the public and young, and international collaboration on large
scale projects such as spacecraft missions and observatories.
The DPS committee, the only elected body that serves the planetary
community, provides a forum for communication across the various
sciences. This is well needed for tackling the many large questions
that we face. Current examples are: What missions should be flown
to the outer solar system? What is the direction of ground-based
planetary astronomy in the age of large telescopes? How do we best
communicate advances in fundamental research to the public? How do
we better incorporate scientists from evolving countries? How do we
set the stage for needed synthesis across related but outside
disciplines such as Earth sciences? How do we further spacecraft
collaboration across nations? How do we insure reasonable funding
in a field with a strong soft-money component? Addressing the
breadth of these questions requires many voices from the community.
If elected I aim to improve the interface between the larger
scientific community and the forcibly smaller advisory panels in the
field. I will facilitate and encourage individuals to bring
questions of interest for wider public attention. I will try to
foster interest in discussions that might improve the health of the
community. The DPS is headed in a good direction, I think, with the
instigation of an informative and interactive web site. I will
promote continued growth along these lines, with spirited
discussions at the DPS and long distance follow-through on key
topics, to improve discourse within the community so that we address
present and future needs with informed alacrity.
____________________________________________________________________
J. HUNTER WAITE, JR., candidate for Committee member
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences,
The University of Michigan
Hunter obtained a B.S. degree in physics from the University of
Alabama in 1976. He then attended graduate school at the University
of Michigan in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space
Sciences, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on Saturn's
ionosphere. He received his Ph.D. in 1981. After completing his
graduate studies at Michigan, he returned to Alabama, where he
worked first as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate
at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Later that
same year he was hired as a regular civil-service employee in the
Space Sciences Laboratory. At MSFC, his research focused primarily
on auroral processes at Earth and polar ion outflow, which he
studied using data from the Dynamics Explorer satellite program.
During this time, however, he continued his modeling studies of the
atmospheres of the major planets, and adapted his aeronomical model
of Saturn to cover auroral processes at Jupiter. In addition, he
broadened the scope of his research to include planetary astronomy
and used the International Ultraviolet Explorer to look for signs of
heavy ion aurora at Jupiter. In 1988, Hunter moved to the Southwest
Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas to become the assistant
Director of the Space Science Department. At SwRI Hunter expanded
his modeling program of Jupiter through the development of a Jovian
thermospheric general circulation model. Recognizing the importance
of multispectral data for our understanding of Jovian auroral
processes, he also expanded his work in planetary astronomy to
include observational programs with ROSAT, Chandra, the Canada-
France-Hawaii Telescope, and the Hubble Space Telescope. In
addition, under the tutelage of Dave Young he began developing and
building mass spectrometers. In 1991 he was selected the Facility
Team Leader for the Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer. In 1998
he became the Director of the Space Science Department. He left SwRI
in the summer of 2000 and in January 2001 assumed his present
position as a Professor in the Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space
Sciences Department within the College of Engineering at the
University of Michigan, where he continues his planetary research in
Jovian auroral modeling and observations,as Facility team leader of
Cassini INMS, and as a developer of neutral and ion mass
spectrometers.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
The primary purpose of DPS is to further planetary research through
improved scientific exchange, international cooperation and
communications, and education. Of primary importance to the
membership at large is the quality of the annual meeting and the
research and educational opportunities that surround it. However, it
is clear that it takes the dedication and work of many of the
members year round to provide timely and appropriate communications
with the membership, to arrange for the meetings, and to provide the
lobbying and presence within the scientific community to ensure the
future growth of planetary science. I have contributed to this
behind-the-scenes process over the years by helping with local
AAS/DPS meeting organization. I was the local organizing chair of
the San Antonio AAS meeting in 1995. I am a member of the New
Orleans local organizing committee for the upcoming meeting, and
will be the local organizing chair for the 2002 meeting in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. However, I would like to broaden my contributions
to DPS to include other activities. I am particularly interested in
the promotion of planetary science at the international level and in
setting the stage for future appreciation and contributions to space
science through education. Thus my motivation for standing as a
candidate for the DPS Committee.
If I am elected, I will work with the chair and other DPS officers
to improve the working relationships both among NASA, NSF, industry,
and institutions of higher learning and among the international
space agencies. It is particularly important that we coordinate with
the space agencies of Europe, Japan, and Russia to find common goals
and mission interests and to restore a proper balance of large,
small, and intermediate size missions to the planetary mission
queue. We should not let the mantra "better, cheaper, faster" drive
the science; instead, science must once again drive the requirements
of the space agencies. Clearly, cost is an issue, but an issue that
can be met through international cooperation and patience in the
mission queue. Furthermore, we need to improve the balance of our
program from the point of view of mission, instrument, and
spacecraft design by going out of our way to involve institutes of
higher education in the process, as equal partners with the national
agencies and the large aerospace providers. This is essential if we
are to carry forth the best ideas and educate a new generation of
planetary scientist that can take over from the old guard. Finally,
I would work hard to improve the balance of scientific interest
within the planetary community by trying to promote active
cooperation with related disciplines, such as astrophysics and Sun-
Earth studies. It is only through a broad, interdisciplinary
approach that we will achieve true understanding of the important
solar system processes.
__________________________________________________________________
CONTINUING MEMBERS OF THE DPS COMMITTEE FOR THE YEAR 2001-2002:
Past-Chair: Mark Sykes, Univ. of Arizona
Chair: Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Carnegie Inst. of Washington
Secretary/Treasurer: Melissa McGrath, STScI
Press Officer: Ellis Miner, JPL
Education Officer: Larry Lebofsky, Univ. of Arizona
Committee members: Nadine Barlow, Univ. of Central Florida
Dan Britt, Univ. Of Tenn. at Knoxville
Guy Consolmagno, Vatican Observatory
Stephen M. Larson, Univ. of Arizona
_____________________________________________________________________
PLEASE CUT HERE AND RETURN ONLY THE BALLOT TO awharris@lithos.jpl.nasa.gov
Vice-Chair:
___Richard P. Binzel
___Michael J. Drake
DPS Committee (vote for 2):
___Mark Bullock
___Catherine de Bergh
___Caitlin Ann Griffith
___J. Hunter Waite
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Alan W. Harris, Secretary-Treasurer
Division for Planetary Sciences, American Astronomical Society
MS 183-501 phone: 818-354-6741
Jet Propulsion Laboratory fax: 818-354-0966
Pasadena, CA 91109 e-mail: Alan.W.Harris@jpl.nasa.gov
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