Newsletter 12-13

Issue 12-13, June 13, 2012

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1) 44TH DPS ANNUAL MEETING : CALL FOR PAPERS
2) JUPITER ICY MOONS EXPLORER PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES
3) ALMA CYCLE 1 SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JULY 12TH 2012
4) AAS 2013 PRIZE NOMINATIONS DUE DATE COMING UP SOON
5) JOB OPPORTUNITIES
6) UPCOMING MEETINGS
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44TH DPS ANNUAL MEETING : CALL FOR PAPERS
14-19 October 2012
Reno, Nevada, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino

http://www.psi.edu/dps12/

The deadline for abstract submission is Thursday, 19 July 2012, 9:00pm ET.

Other important Dates:
Early Registration: 30 June – 23 July 2012
Hartmann travel grants applications deadline: 9 July 2012
Abstract Submission Deadline: 9:00 pm ET, Thursday, 19 July 2012
Regular Registration: 24 July – 3 September 2012
Late Abstract Submission Deadline: 12:00noon ET, Monday, 3 September 2012
Public Workshop Meeting Request Deadline: 3 September 2012
Late Registration: 4 – 26 September 2012
Hotel Reservations Deadline: 20 September 2012
Onsite Registration: 14 – 19 October 2012

The 44th Meeting of the DPS in Reno, NV has a great line up of Invited
talks, Workshops, and Events, and now is your chance to be a part of
it!
Full abstract instructions and submission form is available at
http://www.psi.edu/dps12/abs.shtml

Abstract correspondence originates from abstractsonline.com. Please set your spam filters to allow email from abstractsonline.com.

300-word abstracts may be submitted by uploading word processing files, cutting and pasting or typing directly into the abstract form.

Reno Hotel Information
DPS has secured fantastic hotel room rates at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino!
Your stay at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino includes complimentary transportation to/from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Booking within the DPS room block will ensure that your daily resort fee is waived.

Grand Sierra Guestrooms: Single and Double Rooms $94
Government Rate: Single and Double Rooms $94
Luxury Summit Guestrooms: Single and Double Rooms $120

To make a reservation, call 1-800-648-5080 and reference the “DPS Annual Meeting.” You may also use the custom online DPS reservation
page at https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=3192976.
Reservations made through the Grand Sierra homepage will not guarantee you the DPS Meeting rate.

The deadline to make reservations is 20 September 2012. Booking outside of our reserved block results in significant increase in meeting costs for everyone.

Calling all Volunteers!
Participate at the DPS Reno meeting as a volunteer for 16 hours, and receive complimentary registration. This is a great opportunity for undergrads, grads, postdocs, and local amateur astronomers at our meetings: to supervise sessions, help at registration, usher at events, and various other odd (but greatly appreciated) jobs. This is a great chance to meet and mingle with your peers, get up to date on the newest science, and pick up some cool freebies in the Exhibit Hall. Sign up today at http://aas.org/meetings/dps/volunteer_form

Hartmann Travel Grant program for the DPS meeting in Reno
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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 to assist toward participating at the annual DPS meeting. Travel grants are primarily intended for students, but post-doctoral scientists without other means of support will also be considered. Travel grants for the Reno meeting will be typically no more than approximately five hundred dollars and are intended to provide a supplement that makes the difference on whether or not a student is able to attend the annual meeting. In some cases the travel grant may be requested to cover the meeting registration fee. Preference is given to students who have not received a Travel Grant in the past.

The deadline for applications will be will be 9:00 PM PDT, Friday July 9, 2012.
Late applications cannot be accepted. All notifications will be made on or before July 22, 2012.

Please see the Hartmann Travel Grant page at the DPS web site (meetings/travel_grant_application) for detailed information on submittal and format.

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JUPITER ICY MOONS EXPLORER PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES

On May 2, 2012, ESA selected the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) as the first Large-class mission in the Cosmic Vision plan. The JUICE mission will investigate Jupiter and its system, with focus on the icy moons, completing its mission by orbiting Ganymede. The mission is planned for launch in 2022. NASA has offered to contribute a combination of US instrument(s), instrument component(s) for European-led instrument(s), and/or Co-Investigators on European-led instruments, all to total not more than $100M life cycle cost.

We expect 55% of this funding will be used during the instrument development phases and the remaining 45% during operations (cruise and prime science mission). Given the duration of cruise, lean focused science teams will be a necessity.

JUICE instruments are planned to be solicited via a competitive Announcement of Opportunity issued by ESA; a corresponding amendment to SALMON will be released by NASA. Release of these documents is planned for late June 2012.

Scientific objectives, model payload and mission profile can be found in the JUICE Assessment Study Report (Yellow Book) at:

http://sci.esa.int/juice

A Federal Business Opportunity (FBO) announcement will be available within the next two weeks.

For more information, contact Curt Niebur ([email protected]).

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ALMA CYCLE 1 SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JULY 12TH 2012

Cycle 1 Call for Proposals is now open.

Members of the astronomical community are invited to propose scientific programmes to be scheduled within the ALMA Early Science Cycle 1 period, which we expect to start on January 1, 2013. This provides an important opportunity for Early Science from this cutting edge facility. The Cycle 1 period will span 10 months and any astronomer may submit proposals.

Deadline for submission is July 12.

In addition, a new program of Science Verification aimed at testing new capabilities of ALMA for Cycle 1 and beyond will begin in June 20, and the list of suggested targets will be available shortly at this URL : http://almascience.org/alma-data/science-verification.

A new installment of Science Verification data is available. This release contains IRAS16293 band 9 data. The source, the data and the data reduction procedure are described in the accompanying CASA Guide. This is the first ALMA band 9 Science Verification data release and represents a milestone for ALMA construction.

The full Call and all the information and tools relevant for proposal preparation are available through the ALMA Science Portal :
http://almascience.org.

The ALMA Helpdesk facility may also be accessed via the Science Portal. User support, including face-to-face assistance, is provided by the European ALMA Regional Centre.

For more details see : http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/alma/arc.html

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AAS 2013 PRIZE NOMINATIONS DUE DATE COMING UP SOON

The due date for all nominations and supporting materials for the 2013
AAS Prizes–Saturday, 30 June 2012.

Email your nominations, letters of support and ancillary materials to:
G. Fritz Benedict, the AAS Secretary ([email protected]).

No need to send paper copies; electronic submissions are preferred.

All the instructions and guidelines are found here:
http://aas.org/prizes/nominations.

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES

a) NASA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers scientists and engineers
unique opportunities to conduct research at NASA Centers. Each NPP
fellowship opportunity is designed to advance NASA research in a
specific project related to space science, earth science, aeronautics,
exploration systems, lunar science, astrobiology, or astrophysics.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in hand before
beginning the fellowship, but may apply while completing the degree
requirements. U. S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and foreign
nationals eligible for J-1 status as a Research Scholar may apply.

Stipends start at $50,000 per year, with supplements for high
cost-of-living areas and for certain academic specialties. Financial
assistance is available for relocation and health insurance, and
$8,000 per year is provided for professional travel.

Applications are accepted three times each year: March 1, July 1, and
November 1.

For further information and to apply, visit:

http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc/description/index.htm

Questions may be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]

b) RESEARCH POSITION AT GSFC

The Planetary Magnetospheres Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center is seeking a researcher to provide expertise in new capabilities
for modeling the interactions between the solar wind and the Moon and
other near-airless bodies, transport and trapping of lunar volatiles,
volatile sources and losses, and plasma/surface interactions. In
addition to research, you will provide expertise in associated
planetary and exploration robotic missions and instrument development
projects. You will participate in preliminary and critical design
reviews and develop and defend instrument and mission requirements. You
will be called on to demonstrate strong teaming capability applied to
the solution of relevant problems. Missions that you could support
include the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and future lunar and
planetary projects of the SSED.

A PhD in a relevant field of Physics or Astronomy is preferred.
Candidates must have experience modeling solar wind/plasma interactions
with the surface and near surface environments of the Moon and other
solar system bodies. Salary will be commensurate with experience and
qualifications. U.S. citizenship required. To view the full vacancy
announcement go to:

http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/317833300

For information about the research program, please contact

Robert MacDowall
301-286-2608
[email protected]

NASA GSFC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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UPCOMING MEETINGS

A planetary meeting calendar is posted at
http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html

You may also want to consult the Planetary meetings and Conferences Calendar at:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/

a) EANA12 Astrobiology Workshop
Stockholm, Sweden, 15-17 October 2012
http://agenda.albanova.se/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=2996

Note that the deadline for abstract submission has been extended to June 25 2012.

b) The third Moscow Solar System Symposium
October 8-12, 2012
Moscow, Russia,
http://ms2012.cosmos.ru/

c) Exploring the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems
June 2-7, 2013
Victoria, Canada
http://www.iau.org/science/meetings/future/symposia/1064/

 

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