Subject: [DPS Members] DPS Mailing #10-09: Survey, abstract submission, election...

Issue 10-09, June 28th 2010

+-----------------------------CONTENTS--------------------------------+
1) Notes from the Chair: Poster Poll, DPS Survey
2) DPS Meeting 2010: Abstract Submission Open, Deadline July 19th
3) Hartmann Travel Grants for the 2010 Pasadena DPS Meeting
4) DPS Election, 2010
5) Childcare at the 2010 DPS meeting
6) Job Announcements
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NOTES FROM THE CHAIR: POSTER POLL, DPS SURVEY

1. Doodle poll poster session results

We had 151 participants in the DPS straw poll concerning whether to
continue to keep posters up all week or to go to just 2 days to give
us more of a choice of less expensive smaller venues. The result was
118 voted for the shorter poster session / less expensive option,
vs. 36 for having posters up a full week. We used this unambiguous
result to save money on the 2011 PSG in Nantes, and we are considering
a wider range of locations for 2012. Thank you also to the members
that additionally took the time to write in comments.

2. DPS Survey

We are conducting a new full DPS survey, which will be open until July
31. You should receieve an e-mail very shortly from dpsweb@aas.org
inviting you to participate. If you don't see it, please check your
spam filter.

Many of the questions are the same as in 1995 and 2005– our goal is to
repeat these questions every 5 years to track the continuing evolution
of our division, and to be able to respond to the priorities of our
members. We will repeat the poster session question to test whether
doodle polls give us an accurate picture of the position of our
members, and whether this is a viable means for getting quick
responses to questions that arise with short timescales. It should
take just 10-15 minutes to respond. Your answers will guide future
decisions that we make in terms of allocation of DPS resources
(e.g. support for education and outreach, budget allocated to the
Federal Relations Subcommittee, etc.). Responses to the last survey
influenced NASA R&A decisions.

Results will be reported at the October business meeting.

Candy Hansen, DPS Chair


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DPS MEETING 2010: ABSTRACT SUBMISSION OPEN, DEADLINE JULY 19TH

Abstract submissions are now invited for the 2010 DPS meeting, which
will be held on October 3-8 in Pasadena. Please submit abstracts at

http://members.aas.org/abstracts/DPS/

The regular abstract deadline is July 19th, with late abstracts due
by September 1st.

Early registration for the meeting will be opening soon, and will be
available June 30th - July 22nd.

For full details about the 2010 meeting, see
http://dps.aas.org/meetings/2010/


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HARTMANN TRAVEL GRANTS FOR THE 2010 PASADENA DPS MEETING

Starting with a generous contribution from William K. Hartmann,
followed by member contributions and matching funds from the DPS
Committee, a limited number of student travel grants are made
available each year to encourage student participation in the annual
DPS meeting.

The deadline for this year's applications is July 9th, 2010 (this
supercedes the deadline given on the page below, which will soon be
updated).

See http://dps.aas.org/meetings/travel_grant_application for details


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DPS ELECTION, 2010

Polls are now open for the annual election of DPS officers, who will
take up their duties at the 2010 DPS meeting. Go to:

http://aas.org/vote

You will need your membership number and password in order to cast
your vote.

We need to elect ONE person for the position of Vice-Chair, who will
become DPS chair at the 2011 DPS meeting. The current Vice-Chair, and
2010-2011 Chair, is Melissa McGrath.

The candidates are:
* Daniel Britt, University of Central Florida
* Torrence Johnson, JPL

We also need to elect TWO people to the DPS committee, where they will
serve for three years. They will join the four 2010-2011 continuing
members, Anne Verbiscer, Joshua Colwell, Jason Barnes, and Leslie
Young.

The candidates are:
* Dale Cruikshank, NASA Ames Research Center
* Andy Rivkin, Applied Physics Laboratory
* Andrew Steffl, Southwest Research Institute
* Elizabeth (Zibi) Turtle, Applied Physics Laboratory

Biographical information and candidate statements for the six
candidates follow. These are also available on the ballot page, at
http://aas.org/vote

For Vice-Chair (vote for 1 candidate):

1) DANIEL BRITT: VICE-CHAIR

1A) BRITT: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Education:
Ph.D. Geological Sciences (1991, Brown University)
M.S. Geological Sciences (1987, Brown University)
B.S. Geological Sciences (1985, University of Washington)
M.A. Economics (1976, University of Washington)
B.A. Economics (1972, University of Washington)

Position:
Professor of Physics and Planetary Science, Department of Physics,
University of Central Florida

Areas of Expertise:

Dan Britt’s research interests are in the surface processes,
mineralogy, and physical properties of small bodies and Mars. His
research includes diverse topics such as the surface morphology of
comets, the density and porosity of small bodies, and the mineralogy
of asteroids and Mars. On Mars Pathfinder he was Deputy Imaging Team
Leader and served as the Project Manager for the development of the
imaging experiment, the Imager for Mars Pathfinder. Other space flight
hardware work includes development of radiometric calibration targets
for Mars Pathfinder, Mars Polar Lander, the Mars Exploration Rovers,
Mars Phoenix, and the Mars Science Laboratory. He has been a
Co-Investigator on the Mars Pathfinder and Deep Space 1 missions.

Career and Selected Service:

Professor of Physics and Planetary Science: University of Central
Florida, Department of Physics, 2003-Present.
Research Associate Professor: The University of Tennessee, Department
of Geological Sciences, 1999-2003.
Co-Investigator: NAS/JPL Deep Space One Mission: 1997-2004.
Co-Investigator: Imager for Mars Pathfinder: 1993-1998. Deputy
Imaging Science Team Leader for the Mars Pathfinder lander. Chairman
of the Mineralogy and Petrology Science Operations Group.
Project Manager: Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) Instrument:
University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory 1993-1998.
NASA Planetary Astronomy Postdoctoral Fellow: University of Arizona,
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory 1991-1993.
NASA Headquarters Graduate Research Fellow: 1989-1991.
Smithsonian Institution Graduate Fellow: Washington D.C., 1986.
The Boeing Company: Economist and Software Manager: 1977-1980.
University of Washington: Research Associate in Economics: 1974-1976.
United States Air Force: Minuteman ICBM Missile Launch Officer
1972-1974.
DPS Committee, 2001-2004.
DPS Federal Relations Committee, 2005-2007
NASA Planetary System Science Management Operations Working Group
2010-Present
Editor, Decadal Survey Community White Paper “Main Belt Asteroids and
Trojans”
Chair, Program Committee, Division for Planetary Sciences Meetings,
2007 and 2004
Co-Organizer, Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting, 2007 in
Orlando.
Chair, Program Committee, 64th Meteoritical Society Meeting, 2001
Co-Organizer, 64th Meteoritical Society Meeting, 2001 in Rome
Chair of Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of
America, 1998-1999
Organizing Committee, DPS 2001 Meeting
Program Committee, 63rd Meteoritical Society Meeting, 2000
Orlando Science Center President’s Science Advisory Council
2004-present
Telescope Allocation Committees: Arecibo National Radio Observatory,
IRTF, MMT.
Review Panels: NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA Stand-Alone Mission
of Opportunity, NASA Mars Scout, NSF Astronomy, NASA Planetary Geology
and Geophysics, NASA PDS, NASA Discovery, NASA Discovery Data
Analysis, NASA Outer Planets Research, NASA LASER, Several NASA
Mission Instrument Selection Panels, Several Participating Scientist
Selection Panels.

Honors:

Asteroid 4395 Danbritt
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2002 Space Systems
Award: Deep Space 1 Mission.
NASA Group Achievement Award: Deep Space 1 Comet Borrelly Encounter 2002
NASA Group Achievement Award: Deep Space 1 Project Science Team 1999
NASA Group Achievement Award: Imager for Mars Pathfinder Scientific
Operations 1998.
NASA Group Achievement Award: Mars Pathfinder Mission Operations 1998.
NASA Group Achievement Award: Mars Pathfinder Development 1997.

Publications/Communications:

Over 60 refereed publications, and several chapters in books and
encyclopedias. 160 presentations.


1B) BRITT: CANDIDATE STATEMENT

Exploring the solar system opens up a new frontier for future
generations; it is one of the best things done for the future of all
people on this planet. I am very proud of the accomplishments of the
Planetary Science community and deeply grateful to be a part of
it. Just participating in this most fascinating of all fields is an
awesome responsibility.

The DPS has a central role in maintaining and expanding our
exploration of this and other solar systems. However, at the present
moment we are facing a number of serious challenges.

The first is to repair and expand DPS finances. Our financial state
has been ravaged by the down-turn in the economy and a series of DPS
meetings that have been deeply in deficit. The DPS needs to explore
alternatives to the current division of responsibilities between the
DPS and the AAS for meeting organization, which I believe has resulted
in substantially increased costs. My background in economics, my
experience in meeting organization, my contacts with meeting
organization professionals (Orlando is a major center for professional
meeting organizers) and my success in fundraising for past meetings
will all be assets in finding a resolution to this issue.

Second, the change in NASA's exploration directions will provide a new
collection of opportunities and challenges for Planetary Science. The
DPS needs to be a strong advocate for excellence in exploration and
science as the new plans, infrastructure, and programs are
developed. The DPS Vice-Chair needs to take a leadership role in
providing community input to NASA and Congress and representing (and
defending) DPS members' interests to Congress and the Public, who in
the final analysis are our bosses. These issues include responding
effectively to Congressional concerns about unspent R&A carryover;
advocating strongly for the robotic exploration and the research
programs that underpin what we do and are critical to the future of
the human exploration program; and being an advocate for effective
programmatic infrastructure at NASA Headquarters (where the program
offices are chronically understaffed and overworked to the point where
it stymies decisions and slows research). As a former Economist, a
past member of the DPS Board and a past member of the DPS Federal
Relations Subcommittee, I am already familiar with the people, the
politics, and the cash flow of Washington.

I would be proud to serve the DPS and welcome the opportunity to
represent our community. What we do involves some of the highest and
best aspirations of humanity and it is my goal to see that those
aspirations get translated into tangible progress and real science.


2) TORRENCE JOHNSON: VICE-CHAIR

2A) JOHNSON: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Torrence Johnson is currently the Chief Scientist for Solar System
Exploration at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena
California

He earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Washington
University in St. Louis in 1966 and went on to graduate studies in
planetary science at Caltech, receiving his PhD in 1970. His
dissertation dealt with telescopic observations of the spectral
reflectance of Jupiter’s Galilean satellites. After postdoctoral
studies at MIT, he returned to California as a NRC Research Associate
at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and became a member of the technical
staff at JPL in 1973. Since then he has worked in many areas of
modern planetary research, including ground based telescopic
observations, laboratory and theoretical studies, and planetary
spacecraft missions. His primary research interests have been in the
geochemistry and geophysics of planetary satellites, the Moon and
asteroids. On the Voyager mission, he played a major role as a member
of the Imaging Science Team, chairing the Satellite Working Group and
planning and analyzing observations of satellites at Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune. In 1977 he was named Project Scientist for the
Galileo mission and was a Co-I on the Near Infrared Mapping
Spectrometer. During the course of the Galileo mission he directed
the activities of the Galileo science teams, which spectacularly
achieved its primary goals in the Jupiter system and continued with
extended studies of Europa and Io. He is currently involved in ongoing
research into the properties of giant planet satellites as a team
member of the Cassini imaging team and a Co-Investigator on the Cosmic
Dust Analyzer experiment.

Honors and Awards: In the course of his career he has received
numerous awards, including two medals for scientific achievement from
NASA and one for outstanding leadership. His is a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an elected Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American
Geophysical Union, the International Academy of Astronautics, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Explorers
Club. He is a member of the IAU. He has an asteroid (2614 Torrence)
named for him in recognition of contributions to asteroid science. In
1997 he received an honorary degree in astronomy from the University
of Padua, where Galileo made his original observations of the
satellites of Jupiter in 1610.

Publications: He has published over 180 research articles as well as
numerous popular articles and book chapters. He is also an editor of
the reference work (with Lucy McFadden and Paul Weissman),
Encyclopedia of the Solar System (Academic Press).

Community Service: He has been a member of numerous NASA advisory and
science working groups, including the Jupiter Orbiter Probe (later
Galileo) Science Working Group, the NASA/ESA joint Cassini Science
Working Group, NASA Space Science Advisory Committee and currently the
steering group of the Outer Planet Analysis Group. He served as the
third DPS Secretary Treasurer (1977-1980), is a past President of the
AGU’s Planetology Section, and has been a Vice-Chair of COSPAR
Scientific Commission B (Solar System) and is the current Commission B
Chair.

2B) JOHNSON: CANDIDATE STATEMENT

Since its inception, the DPS has played a unique and important role in
providing a focus for planetary researchers of all types from around
the world. It is emblematic of the breadth of the DPS that the
initial organizing committee and early Chairs included luminaries in
such diverse fields as atmospheric science (Chamberlain), meteoritics
and geochemistry (Anders), planetary photometry (Irvine) and exo (now
astro-) biology (Sagan). During the first decade of the new
millennium, the DPS is now playing a leading role in expanding the
study of the origin and nature of planets in our solar system to
planetary systems around other stars. With the advent of increasingly
powerful ground-based and space-based observing facilities and with
spacecraft active at, on the way to, or planned for, virtually every
class of planetary target, never has our science created more
excitement, both professionally and publically. But what of the
future?

A professional organization such as the DPS rests on three pillars:
1. Meetings, to provide the community with a forum for reporting
results and exchanging ideas, 2. Publications, to provide a high
quality vehicle for documenting and reviewing research results, and
3. Communications with the public and government agencies supporting
our science. All three require constant attention and development as
conditions change, and all three face significant challenges in the
coming years. If elected Vice-Chair, I would purpose to work with the
Chair and the Committee to assess the current state of each of these
pillars and develop plans to strengthen them for the future.

In the area of meetings, I am sure the membership is well aware of the
stresses that economic conditions have put on the overall finances of
the DPS, including meetings. The challenge is to conduct vibrant
useful meetings, maintaining opportunities for students, in the
current environment where major scientific meetings have thousands of
attendees, require large, modern conference facilities and can sport
registration fees of $500-1000. Holding the type of meeting that the
membership has come to expect will undoubtedly require more resources
in the future, and probably larger registration fees. The Committee
and the organizers will need to find ways to provide more student
support (along the lines of the Hartmann Student Travel Grants).
Continuing recent innovative efforts to exploit web-based broadcasts
and social networking will also be an important part of enabling the
meetings to serve the needs of the membership. In addition, in a
community such as ours, individual donations of time and resources can
make a big difference. The AGU, for instance, maintains a standing
Development Board to find ways to finance the activities of the Union
that the membership want. While not operating at the scale of the
AGU, I would propose a small committee of DPS members to investigate
ways of promoting more contributions and support from members and
outside sources.

In the publications arena, we have seen many societies and journals
struggle with the rapid transition to electronic publication. Icarus
has its own set of specific problems but is not alone in these.
Indeed electronic publication and new forms of media are changing the
face of nearly every aspect of society as a whole. The DPS will need
to stay current with the changing conditions and business models
affecting electronic publishing generally.

Finally, it is the taxpayers and our governments that support the
science that we do. The DPS has been proactive in supporting outreach
to the public and legislative sectors to explain and promote our
science, but we can do more.

A major element of the Communications pillar is advocating a strong
solar system exploration and research program. This effort is
increasingly international in character, with India, China and Japan
having all begun serious planetary exploration, in addition to the
strong ESA program already in place. In the US, as the current
Decadal Survey approaches completion, the planetary community will
have the responsibility in the coming years to educate the public and
lawmakers about its recommendations and advocate implementation of its
scientific priorities. If elected, an important part of my job would
be to help the DPS and its members vigorously promote an exciting new
solar system exploration program for the coming decade and the
required investments in education, research and data analysis needed
to sustain major advances in understanding our (and other) planetary
systems.

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For DPS Committee: Vote for 2 candidates:

1) DALE CRUIKSHANK: COMMITTEE

1A) CRUIKSHANK: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Education:
B.S. Iowa State Univ., 1961
M.S. Univ. Arizona, 1965
Ph.D. Univ. Arizona, 1968

Positions:
Astronomer, Univ. of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (1970-1988)
Research Scientist, Astrophysics Branch, NASA Ames Research Center
(since 1988)

Areas of Expertise:
Dale Cruikshank's research specialties are spectroscopy, radiometry,
and photometry of planets and small bodies in the Solar System. These
small bodies include comets, asteroids, planetary satellites, dwarf
planets (e.g., Pluto), and objects in the region beyond Neptune
(Kuiper Belt objects and trans-neptunian bodies). He currently uses
spectroscopic observations made with ground-based and space-based
telescopes, as well as spacecraft, to identify and study the ices,
minerals, and organic materials that compose the surfaces of planets
and small bodies.

Recent Service (selected list):
+ IAU Commission 16 Secretary (1995-1997), Vice-President (1998-2000),
President (2001-2003)
+ DPS Committee (1974-1977), Secretary Treasurer, Vice-Chair
(1989-1990), Chair (1990-1991)
+ First Decadal Survey of Solar System: Chair of Primitive Bodies
panel
+ Second Decadal Survey of Solar System (current): Member Steering
Group
+ Many review panels for NASA programs

Honors and Awards:
1985 Muhlmann Prize of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
1988 Asteroid 3531 named Cruikshank by the IAU
1994 NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement
2006 NASA Medal for Exceptional Service
2006 Kuiper Prize of the Division for Planetary Sciences,
American Astronomical Society
Fellow, California Academy of Science
Fellow, American Geophysical Union
Group Achievement Awards, Voyager, Cassini, New Horizons, Spitzer
Space Telescope, etc.

1B) CRUIKSHANK: CANDIDATE STATEMENT

The DPS is the professional society with which I feel most closely
identified and defined as an active planetary scientist. As a newly
minted Ph.D., I joined the DPS at the time of its founding, and over
the years have served in all the elected offices, starting with the
Committee in 1974. I do not propose to repeat the entire cycle again,
but I feel that I can bring the useful perspective of a senior
scientist to the Committee again beginning in 2010, and I am again
eager to serve this venerable organization for which I have such
respect and warmth of association.

As a NASA employee for nearly 23 years, I have seen a strong and
troubling shift in the agency's view of Civil Servant scientists
employed at the various NASA centers. This is not an issue that can
be solved by the DPS or the community of planetary scientists, but it
is important for the community to be aware of the changes and make
appropriate accommodations in their career choices. At the same time,
R&A funding remains critically deficient at NASA; it would also
benefit from a increase at the NSF. As research scientists and as
educators of future generations of our own kind, we need to discuss
openly the issue of the volume of new scientists we release into the
wild every year. Cuts in university faculty positions across the
country and in Europe, as well as a paucity of post-doc positions, add
to the strain on our profession. Yet, the pace of extraordinary
discoveries in planetary science not only continues, but expands with
every passing year, and there is no end in sight. I would like to
explore ways in which the DPS can foster focused discussion of these
issues so that when opportunities might arise to influence (or at
least inform) policy decisions at the federal level, we are prepared.

Over the last few years, I have felt that the DPS membership at large
is essentially unaware of the issues and discussions that occur in the
Committee, both at the annual meeting and throughout the year. The
DPS newsletter edited and issued by John Spencer is an enormous asset
to the society, but I would like to know more about the nuts and bolts
of DPS organizational issues as they arise and as actions and
decisions are taken. Accordingly, the principal plank in my candidacy
for the Committee is the issue of information and openness in the
internal operations of the DPS, insofar as is possible and practical.
Attendance at the annual business meeting suggests that not all
members are as interested in these matters as I am, but I have a
practical solution to propose. As a DPS Committee member, I would
prepare brief reports on issues under discussion to the membership as
needed, to be distributed as part of the DPS newsletter, after having
them screened by the Chair and other Committee members. As a member,
I know that I would appreciate an occasional report "from the
discussions of the Committee". Two items that I would especially like
to know more about concern the unexpected and debilitating cost of the
Ithaca meeting, and the stance of the DPS vis-a-vis Icarus and
Elsevier. There may be other issues of gravity known to the
Committee, but that might also be usefully discussed openly by the
membership at large. I would like to help encourage and facilitate
such discussion, insofar as it might affect our profession and our
premier professional society.


2) ANDY RIVKIN: COMMITTEE

2B) RIVKIN: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Andy Rivkin is currently a Senior Staff member at the Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory, a position he has held since 2005.
His work focuses on asteroids, ranging from infrared spectroscopic
observations and modeling of volatiles to leading and participating in
mission studies. His interests extend to other small bodies like comets,
TNOs, and planetary satellites.

He received his BS degree from MIT in 1991 in Earth, Atmospheric, and
Planetary Sciences, following that with his PhD in 1997 from the Planetary
Sciences department at the University of Arizona. In between his time in
Arizona and Maryland, he returned to MIT as a Research Scientist.

Andy has served numerous times (as have we all) as a reviewer for NASA and
NSF proposals as well as journal manuscripts. He led the Science Organizing
Committee for the 2008 Asteroids Comets Meteors meeting in Baltimore and
served as a guest editor for the Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences special
issue resulting from that meeting. He is a member of the Planetary System
Science MOWG, and served as a member of the Characterization Committee for
the 2006 NASA NEO study. From 2004-2007 he was a member of the DPS
Nominating Subcommittee, leading the group in 2007. In addition to being a
DPS member, he is also a member of the AAS and Meteoritical Society.

When not doing science, Andy is likely to be watching baseball or noodling
on his guitar, or both.

2B) RIVKIN: CANDIDATE STATEMENT

The DPS faces a number of challenges and new opportunities in coming years.
The continuing growth of the field of planetary science makes it difficult
to see how to maintain meetings with talks of a reasonable length and a
minimum number of parallel sessions, while minimizing reassignments from
talk requests to posters. There is understandable concern among many
members that the DPS meeting experience will change. One possible avenue is
to take fuller advantage of social media and the internet. The promise of
webcasting meetings was glimpsed at the Ithaca meeting, along with a sense
of the learning curve we face. Podcast presentations, virtual conferencing,
and on-line meetings are ideas the DPS membership, with the guidance of the
committee should continue to examine.

In tension with the meeting-related concerns, there are excellent reasons to
continue to expand the breadth of DPS membership, whether strengthening
newly formed links with the exoplanet community or (re)forging links with
the Mars and lunar communities. As the largest group of U. S. planetary
scientists, and in light of our political activities, we should strive to
include all those who identify as planetary scientists. On this point the
DPS might consider having mini-members meetings at the LPSC, AGU, or
Meteoritical Society meetings (for instance) where possible, to update
non-member planetary scientists on our activities and to demonstrate our
advocacy for the entire field.

These are just a few possible roads to take. While it is not obvious how
best to solve these problems (otherwise it’d already be done!) it is
important that the DPS committee continue to build effective lines of two
way communication with the DPS membership. I look forward to the opportunity
to try and help our society move forward either as part of the DPS
Committee, or by continuing my current role as an active DPS member.


3) ANDREW STEFFL: COMMITTEE

3A) STEFFL: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Education:
Ph.D. (Astrophysics & Planetary Science) University of Colorado, 2005
M.S. (Astrophysics & Planetary Science) University of Colorado, 2002
B.S. (Astronomy, Physics) University of Wisconsin, 1999

Professional Appointments:
Senior Research Scientist, Southwest Research Institute, 2009 - present
Research Scientist, Southwest Research Institute, 2005 - 2009
Research Assistant, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, 2000
- 2005

Research Interests:
Io plasma torus & the Jovian magnetosphere
Ultraviolet spectroscopy
Spacecraft instrumentation
Pluto system

Recent Service:
Review panel member and external reviewer for NASA
Manuscript reviewer for Advances in Space Research, Planetary & Space
Science

Professional Societies:
Division for Planetary Sciences
American Astronomical Society
American Geophysical Union

3B) STEFFL: CANDIDATE STATEMENT

Today, the DPS is the preeminent organization for planetary science in
the world. Throughout my career, I have greatly benefited from
attending its meetings and from countless interactions with its
members. It would be an honor to serve the planetary science community
by being elected to the DPS committee. If elected, I will work to
improve the scientific collaboration, education and public outreach
that are the foundations of our Division. Below are three areas I see
as priorities for DPS in the near future.

First, I believe the face-to-face meetings and personal interactions
that occur at the DPS meetings are invaluable. To keep this
opportunity available to the greatest number of our members it is
important to keep the costs of attending DPS meetings reasonable. This
may result in some difficult decisions about the format or venues of
future meetings. These decisions should be made in a transparent
manner with the full input of the community.

Second, as the DPS grows, multiple parallel sessions are likely to
become the norm at our annual meetings. To facilitate our members
seeing all the talks in which they are interested, I will work to
include webcasts of the meeting, similar to what was done for the 2008
DPS meeting in Ithaca, NY. In particular, I believe it would be a
great resource to the community if, given the speaker’s permission,
the talks could be archived and accessed by DPS members at some later
time. Who among us hasn’t missed a relevant talk because they were in
another session or learned of a particularly good talk only after the
fact?

Third, affordable journal access is vital to the exchange of ideas and
cross-pollination that an interdisciplinary field like planetary
science requires to thrive. The discounted subscription to Icarus
available to DPS members is a significant benefit in this regard.

In light of the recent financial difficulties of the Division, all of
these goals must be accomplished in a way that keeps the DPS strong
and in good financial health. If our ambitions exceed our means, we
must (hopefully only temporarily) scale back those ambitions. Thank
you for the honor of being nominated in this election.


4) ZIBI TURTLE: COMMITEEE

4A) TURTLE: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Education:
- Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences, Univ. of Arizona, 1998
- B.S. in Physics, MIT, 1989

Professional Appointments:
- Research Scientist, Applied Physics Laboratory, 2006 - present
- Assistant Research Scientist, LPL, University of Arizona, 2003- 2006
(time split with PSI)
- Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute, 2002-2006 (time
split with Univ. Arizona)
- Senior Research Associate, LPL, University of Arizona, 2003 (time
split with PSI)
- Research Associate, LPL, University of Arizona, 1998-2003 (time
split with PSI)

Scientific Research Interests:
- Titan’s lakes, seasonal changes therein, and their role in Titan’s
methane cycle
- Structural geology of icy satellites
- Ionian tectonic processes
- Impact cratering and implications for target structure

Service And Activities (last 5 years):
- Member, Decadal Survey Satellites Panel, 2009-present
- Member, IAU Planetary Nomenclature Task Group for Outer Solar
System, 2009-present
- Co-chair of OPAG Titan Working Group, 2009-present
- Member, NASA-ESA Science Definition Team, Europa Jupiter System
Mission, 2009-present
- Member, Science Organizing Committee for Huygens Anniversary Titan
Meeting, Barcelona, Spain, 13-15 January 2010
- Member, Icarus Editorial Board, 2007-2009
- Member/Chair, DPS Nominating subcommittee, 2007-2009
- Member, NASA-ESA Titan Saturn System Mission Science Definition
Team, 2008
- Guest editor for Planetary and Space Sciences special issue on
Titan, 2008
- Member, NRC NOSSE (New Opportunities in Solar System Exploration)
Committee, 2007
- Member, NASA Jupiter System Orbiter Science Definition Team, 2007
- Member, Conference Reference Group for "Impact craters as indicators
for planetary environmental evolution and astrobiology" held in
Östersund, Sweden, 8-14 June 2006
- Member, Scientific Organizing Committee for "Workshop on Surface
Ages and Histories: Issues in Planetary Chronology" held at LPI,
Houston, TX, 21-23 May 2006
- Member/Group Chief, several NASA review panels 2001-2010
- Reviewer for Icarus, PSS, EPSL, GRL, Geology, MAPS, GSA Special Papers
- Public lectures: Smithsonian Institution’s Exploring Space Series;
New Mexico Museum of Natural History; Ann Arbor Science Fiction
Association; and several JPL CHARM (Cassini-Huygens Analysis and
Results of the Mission) presentations

4B) TURTLE: CANDIDATE STATEMENT

There are currently many challenges facing the DPS, especially in
these difficult economic times when, moreover, the gap between the
public and the scientific community in general appears to be ever
increasing. We need to address a wide variety of problems, ranging
from the logistics of the increasing size of the annual DPS meeting to
the long-term impact the paucity of Pu-238 will have on Solar System
exploration.

It is, of course, excellent that attendance at our annual meetings
continues to grow, and there is much we can do to address the
accompanying logistical complications. The challenge is to preserve
the high level of scientific interaction we all look forward to at DPS
meetings while adopting changes that will help keep costs manageable
(e.g. potentially adjusting the amount of time for posters to be
displayed). Furthermore, finding ways to incorporate new technologies
such as webcasting, as was demonstrated at the 2008 meeting at
Cornell, will help to broaden participation further by making it
possible for people who might be prevented from traveling to the
meeting to participate remotely. It is important that we make our
annual meetings and the resources we have as a community as accessible
as possible, especially to younger scientists for whom travel costs
can be particularly prohibitive. I would work to find more avenues to
encourage involvement of young scientists in DPS activities and to
keep them involved.

As our numbers have grown so has the diversity of our membership, in
large part the result of substantial efforts that have been dedicated
to providing support for underrepresented groups. There is still a
need to work to identify and remove barriers to participation by those
who all too frequently "leak" out of the pipeline. I would look for
opportunities to expand existing programs and develop new ones for
mentoring, professional development, and networking among scientists
at all levels in our community. I would also work to strengthen and
increase participation in public outreach projects to communicate the
significance and the excitement of our diverse projects to as wide an
audience as possible.

I would be honored to serve the community as a member of the DPS
Committee and to work to meet the variety of challenges we face.


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CHILDCARE AT THE 2010 DPS MEETING

We are looking into childcare options during the upcoming Division for
Planetary Science Meeting that will take place in Pasadena, CA, on
October 3-8. We would like to know the number of participants who
would be using a childcare service. Please get back to Julie Castillo
(Julie.C.Castillo@jpl.nasa.gov) with your expression of interest. We
will help you coordinate with local daycares or hotel sitters.


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JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS

1) Fellowships for PhD Students in Solar System Physics, Max Planck
Institute for Solar System Research, Germany

www.solar-system-school.de

Contact: Dieter Schmitt, Max Planck Institute for Solar System
Research, schmitt@mps.mpg.de, +49-5556-979-431


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