Issue 13-4, February 13, 2013
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1) MESSAGE FROM DPS LEADERSHIP
2) REMINDER : 2013 ONLINE MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
3) CALL FOR CHAPTERS FOR THE BOOK ASTEROIDS IV: A NEW VOLUME IN THE SPACE SCIENCE SERIES
4) NEW PLANETARY SCIENCES EDITOR AT GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
5) NOAO SURVEY PROGRAM LETTERS OF INTENT DUE 15 FEBRUARY 2013
6) OSTP STUDENT VOLUNTEER PROGRAM–SUMMER 2013
7) JOB/POSITION OPPORTUNITIES
8) UPCOMING MEETINGS
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MESSAGE FROM DPS LEADERSHIP
Dear DPS Members,
We have been paying close attention to the activity in Washington regarding the sequestration and its potential impacts on science in general and NASA in particular. The AAS has joined with NDD-United in a statement on the negative impact of sequestration. See http://publichealthfunding.org/uploads/NDD3200Letter.Final.Feb2013.pdf
NDD-United has designated 14 February as a “Day of Action” and is encouraging people to make contact with their representatives in Washington. Please stay tuned for an announcement from the AAS on this activity, and please take a moment to participate.
Rosaly Lopes, DPS Chair
Heidi Hammel, DPS Vice-Chair
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REMINDER : 2013 ONLINE MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
If you have not paid your 2013 membership dues online at https://members.aas.org/ by 31 December 2012, there is still time to renew by logging in to your membership record (today !) and in any case before the membership lists are updated end of February 2013. By renewing online and not receiving a paper renewal, you will help your Society save enormous costs.
Also, please take a moment to update your personal DPS member file.
Thank you for your attention.
Send general replies to [email protected].
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CALL FOR CHAPTERS FOR THE BOOK ASTEROIDS IV: A NEW VOLUME IN THE SPACE SCIENCE SERIES
The Editors and the SOC invite you to volunteer to participate in the Asteroids IV project. More specifically, they solicit ideas for chapter topics and a solicitation for volunteers for chapter authors. If you would like to recommend chapters for the book, or would like to volunteer to write a particular chapter as a first author, contact the editors no later than March 31st, 2013. To be most helpful, and to be seriously considered for selection as a chapter author, you need to send detailed information as outlined at the bottom of the call for chapters that can be seen and downloaded on the Asteroids IV web site:
http://www.oca.eu/michel/ASTEROIDSIV/
The SOC will then make the final choice of chapters, based on the received ideas and its own conclusions. Your participation would be an extremely valuable service to the asteroid and planetary science community. Detailed information for Asteroids IV chapters/authors as well as the participation form are indicated on the Asteroids IV website.
The editors wish to render Asteroids IV as useful as Asteroids (1979), Asteroids II (1989), and Asteroids III (2002) leading to the science community’s primary reference manual for at least the next decade, and they hope you will volunteer to participate to this challenge.
On behalf of the co-Editors and SOC,
Patrick Michel
Editor, Asteroids IV
[email protected]
web: http://www.oca.eu/michel/
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NEW PLANETARY SCIENCES EDITOR AT GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Geophysical Research Letters seeks to expand its role as a top journal in the Planetary Sciences. To that end, GRL has hired an additional editor to handle papers submitted in that field. GRL publishes short letters of broad interest that have an immediate impact on the research of others. GRL is the fastest publishing, high impact journal in earth and space sciences.
Consider submitting your best work to GRL (http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/, IF = 3.792, mean time from submission to publication = 12 weeks).
E. Calais, GRL Editor in Chief
A. Dombard, GRL Editor for Planetary Sciences
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NOAO SURVEY PROGRAM LETTERS OF INTENT DUE 15 FEBRUARY 2013
The NOAO Survey Program will be accepting proposals for new surveys to
start in the 2013B and 2014A semesters. This program supports large
observational projects using the Gemini, KPNO, and CTIO telescopes
that allow the identification of complete, well-defined samples that
can yield both conclusions based on statistical analysis of the survey
data itself and also provide important subsets for more detailed
observations with larger telescopes. In addition, surveys are expected
to provide coherent datasets that will be useful for other
researchers.
Investigators must submit letters of intent to propose for the NOAO
Survey Program to [email protected] by 15 February 2013 to be eligible
to propose for an NOAO Survey Program commencing in the 2013B/2014A
semester. The deadline for receiving completed Survey proposals is 28
March 2013 at 11:59pm.
The Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the CTIO 4m Blanco telescope is now
available for surveys under this call (especially for surveys
operating during the A semesters). For more information, go to
http://www.noao.edu/gateway/surveys/, as well as the Gemini, KPNO, and
CTIO instrument pages. Question about the Survey Program may be
addressed [email protected].
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OSTP STUDENT VOLUNTEER PROGRAM–SUMMER 2013
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is currently accepting applications for its Summer 2013 Student Volunteer Program.
The application deadline is 11:59pm Friday, 22 February. Students who are U.S. citizens and who will be actively enrolled during the Fall 2013 semester are welcome to apply.
More information and application instructions are available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/about/student/.
About OSTP. The Office of Science and Technology Policy advises the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The office serves as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans and programs of the Federal Government.
About the Student Volunteer Program. Student Volunteers are accepted for one of three annual terms (Spring, Summer, or Fall), which each last no more than 90 days. While these positions are without compensation, the assignments provide educational enrichment, practical work experience, and network opportunities with other individuals in the science and technology policy arena.
For questions, please contact Lauren Andersen, [email protected].
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JOB/POSITION OPPORTUNITIES
[Please visit the DPS web site at : jobs
for more information and also consider posting a job by filling out the jobs submission form at:
node/add/job
You can send any comments, questions, or suggestions to the DPS Jobs Czar at: [email protected]]
A) CO-EDITOR SOUGHT FOR JGR-PLANETS
AGU is looking for a dynamic, well-organized scientist with high editorial standards and strong leadership skills to serve a 4-year term as editor for the Planets section of the Journal of Geophysical Research. Applicants should be respected leaders in the community, independent-minded, and even-handed. As editor you should be committed to further strengthening JGR-Planets as the leading journal in planetary sciences and be proactive in attracting innovative contributions in traditional disciplines and in emerging areas.
Given the steady increase in submissions to JGR-Planets over the past several years, this position is for a second editor that will complement the duties of the current editor-in-chief. Applicants from all fields of planetary science are welcome, but those with specializations in Mars and planetary surface processes will be given special consideration. As editor, you will have full authority to accept or reject submitted papers, and you will be expected to guarantee a fair and timely review process.
A search committee will evaluate prospective candidates and conduct personal interviews with a small number of individuals. The AGU President makes the final selection and appointment, and the editor serves at the pleasure of the President. An honorarium will be provided that is commensurate with the expected workload of about 1 day per week.
If you would like to be considered as an editor of JGR-Planets, send your curriculum vitae with a short letter of interest via e-mail to [email protected]. If you would like to nominate a highly qualified colleague, send a letter of recommendation to the same email address. Please make sure that you specify JGR-Planets in the subject line of the email. Deadline for applications is 25 March 2013.
B) 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 $53,500 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]
C) PLANETARY SCIENCES REPRESENTATIVE NEEDED FOR THE EOS EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
What’s involved in being a member of the Eos Editorial Advisory Board? The Eos editors call on members of the Editorial Advisory Board to help with the review of feature articles and other submissions. For the feature articles, we may ask for review because the person’s expertise most closely matches the topic covered. For those manuscripts, we ask Editorial Advisory Board members to review manuscripts and comment on their merit in light of current science as well as for accuracy and balance. In doing so, we ask board members to identify points that may need to be covered better, what should be avoided, and potential biases, hidden agendas, or conflicts of interest of which we should be aware. We also turn to the Editorial Advisory Board members as “cross-disciplinary readers” for comments on features that are outside their discipline. The purpose is to get input on whether submitted features are accessible and appropriate for a broad spectrum of the Eos readership, not just for those working within the topic covered by the feature.
In addition, we ask members of the Editorial Advisory Board to send ideas for manuscripts that should be encouraged along with potential authors. We call on the board for general advice and input on ways to improve Eos. In that vein, we have periodic conference calls and usually gather for a face-to-face meeting at the AGU Fall Meeting.
If you are interested, please contact Nathan Bridges.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
See also: PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS
Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html
A) CHARACTERISING EXOPLANETS: DETECTION, FORMATION, INTERIORS, ATMOSPHERES AND HABITABILITY
Scientific discussion meeting Monday 11 March – Tuesday 12 March 2013
at The Royal Society, London
organised by A. Coustenis, S. Miller, P. Read and J. Tennyson
See : http://royalsociety.org/events/2013/exoplanets/
This meeting aims to set the agenda for the next decade in this rapidly expanding field of extra-solar planet science. Some 800 planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system have now been detected, with varying masses and orbital parameters. The challenge now is to move from detection to understanding these planets as bodies in their own right.
If you’re interested, there is still room for attendance, you can register at:
https://secure.royalsociety.org/eventregistration/account/login.aspx
B) LPSC WORKSHOP FOR PLANNING YOUR SOLAR SYSTEM OBSERVATIONS WITH JWST
The Science Working Group of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has a dedicated effort to establish the full capabilities of this facility for Solar System Science. JWST is an infrared-optimized telescope to be placed at the Earth-Sun Lagrange 2 point. It is scheduled for launch in 2018, and will have a robust suite of astronomical instrumentation available for General Observer proposals.
In order to fully realize the maximum potential of JWST for Solar System observations, we are seeking experienced observers of solar system targets to participate and provide input in an upcoming workshop held at the annual LPSC meeting in Houston, Texas on Sunday March 17, 2013 (1pm-5pm). This workshop will provide you an opportunity to learn about the current instrument specifications and observing modes, as well as the observatory capabilities (brightness limits, moving target tracking, and others). Our goal is to fully engage the Solar System community to provide the tools needed to plan observations with JWST.
This workshop is complimentary to the previous one held at the fall DPS meeting.
A key output of the workshop will be capability objectives for the JWST team to consider for further pre-launch studies. More information can be found at:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2013/events/highlighted/
If you are interested in participating, please contact Stefanie Milam at [email protected].
Organized by S. Milam, H. Hammel, and J. Lunine
C) DIVISION ON DYNAMICAL ASTRONOMY – AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
44th Annual Meeting
Paraty (Brasil) 5-9 May 2013
DEADLINES:
ABSTRACTS and EARLY REGISTRATION: 15 FEBRUARY 2013 9:00 pm ET
The annual DDA Meeting brings together top researchers in astronomy, astrophysics, planetary science, and astrodynamics for in-depth and stimulating discussions and talks on all aspects of dynamics in the space sciences.
For more information see:
http://dda.harvard.edu/meetings/2013/
The 44th Annual Meeting of the AAS/DDA is organized by Observatório Nacional
(Rio de Janeiro)
D) HABITABLE WORLDS ACROSS SPACE AND TIME
The 2013 STScI Spring Symposium
April 29 – May 2, 2013
Abstract submission deadline: March 15, 2013
On-line registration deadline: March 29, 2013
Within a matter of years, humanity will know for the first time the frequency of terrestrial planets in orbit around other stars. In this four-day symposium, scientists from diverse fields will discuss the formation and long-term evolution of terrestrial bodies throughout the various phases of stellar and Galactic evolution. A particular focus will be in how the specific conditions and challenges for habitability on Earth extend to other bodies in the Solar System and beyond. The existence of these overlooked environments may provide motivation for novel astronomical observations with existing and next generation ground and space-based observatories.
Registration for this Symposium is now open and there are a limited number of spots. Please go to:
http://www.stsci.edu/institute/conference/habitable-worlds
and click on the “Register” link. We also invite contributions in the form of talks and posters, which can be submitted during the registration process or after one has registered. Only a small number of contributed talks are available.
E) MEETING OF THE LABORATORY ASTROPHYSICS DIVISION (LAD) – AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
June 2-6, 2013, Indianapolis, IN. USA
Organized by : R. Paul Drake, Steve Federman, Wick Haxton, Farid Salama and Daniel Wolf Savin
The first LAD meeting will be held jointly with the AAS 222nd summer meeting from June 2-6, 2013, in Indianapolis, IN. USA
The meeting will feature an AAS/LAD plenary talk by Prof. Robert Rosner from the University of Chicago; LAD sessions devoted to atoms, molecules, dust and ices, plasmas, planetary science, nuclear, and particles; and an LAD poster session to run the duration of the meeting. Each session will feature two invited 30 minute talks and two contributed 15 minute talks.
Additional information can be found at: http://aas.org/meetings/aas222/lad
Important Dates :
Early Registration: 22 January – 13 February 2013
Regular Registration: 14 February – 11 April 2013
Late Registration: 12 April – 16 May 2013
Registration with On-site Fees: 17 May 2013 – 6 June 2013
Regular Abstract Submission: 1 February – 4 March 2013, 9:00pm ET
Late Abstract Submission: 6 March – 18 April 2013, 9:00pm ET
F) NEXT-GENERATION SUBORBITAL RESEARCHERS CONFERENCE (NSRC) 2013 ABSTRACT DEADLINE APPROACHING
NSRC-2013 will be the fourth in a series of three-day topical meetings held since 2010 for the next-gen suborbital research and education (REM) communities.
The meeting is designed to educate researchers and EPO professionals about the capabilities of the new generation of commercially-available reusable suborbital vehicles, funding and flight opportunities for flying experiments on these vehicles, and the kinds of experiments various research communities–including microgravity physics, astrophysics and planetary science, life sciences, and atmospheric science–are planning. The meeting includes a NASA night.
NSRC typically has over 400 attendees. Confirmed keynote speakers for 2013 include NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, Commercial Spaceflight Federation President and former NASA astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria, and FAA Associate Administrator George Nield. This year’s meeting will be held June 3-5 in Broomfield, Colorado, just outside Boulder.
The meeting website is at:
The NSRC-2013 abstract deadline is 7 March.
G) 10TH INTERNATIONAL PLANETARY PROBE WORKSHOP
17 – 21 June, 2013,
San Jose State University, San Jose, California
Short Course: Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems 15 – 16 June 2013
Join us for the 10 International Planetary Probe
Workshop (IPPW-10), hosted by San Jose State University, June 17 – 21, 2013. The 10th Probe Workshop brings together engineers, technologists, scientists, mission designers, space agency leaders, and students from around the world for a week-long collaboration focused on exploration of Solar System atmospheres and surfaces using atmospheric entry and descent probes and aerial vehicles. Preceding the workshop, a 2-day short course on Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Systems is offered on June 15-16.
H) AGU CHAPMAN CONFERENCE ON CROSSING THE BOUNDARIES IN PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES:
FROM EARTH TO EXOPLANETS
June 24–28, 2013
Annapolis, Maryland
Abstracts are now being accepted, through February 25, for this AGU Chapman Conference.
We welcome submissions of posters or contributed talks (slots limited) that address the current state of knowledge of terrestrial and planetary climate systems, including their atmospheric chemistry, composition, and dynamics, plus atmospheric modeling, observational techniques, and data analysis methods. Preference will be given to those with an emphasis on cross-disciplinary science and techniques that can be applied to objects as diverse as the Earth, planets in our solar system, and exoplanets. You do not need to be an AGU member to post an abstract. The preliminary program will be posted shortly, and we expect registration to open soon. To receive all future notices, you may also join the conference mailing list from our webpage, General Information link:
http://chapman.agu.org/planetaryatmospheres/
Co-conveners: Amy Simon-Miller and Anthony Del Genio
I) COMETS AS TRACERS OF SOLAR SYSTEM FORMATION AND EVOLUTION
July 9-11, 2013,
Toulouse, France
Abstract submission deadline: March 31, 2013
On-line registration deadline: April 30, 2013
J) THE PLUTO SYSTEM ON THE EVE OF EXPLORATION BY NEW HORIZONS:
PERSPECTIVES AND PREDICTIONS
Meeting Dates: July 22-26
Abstract Deadline: April 15
Early Bird Registration Deadline: May 31
The meeting is being held at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, USA.
Both registration and abstract submission are now open for the Pluto-2013 conference at: http://plutoscience.jhuapl.edu
Abstracts are solicited on all facets of the Pluto system—including origins, interiors, surfaces, compositions, atmospheres, satellites, plasma, and context in the Kuiper Belt.
Special issues of both Icarus and JGR-Planets are planned to publish new results and prediction papers in 2014.
Alan Stern (Program Committee Chair)
Hal Weaver (Local Organizing Committee Chair)
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Send submissions to:
Athena Coustenis, DPS Secretary ([email protected])
To unsubscribe visit http://aas.org/unsubscribe or email [email protected].
To change your address email [email protected].
Athena Coustenis
LESIA (Bat. 18)
Observatoire de Paris-Meudon
5, place Jules Janssen
92195 Meudon Cedex
France
Tel: +33145077720
[email protected]