Issue 14-13, May 27, 2014
+—————————–CONTENTS——————————–+
1) CALL TO ACTION !!!
2) REMINDER : PLEASE VOTE FOR THE 2014 DPS ELECTIONS
3) AGU PLANETARY SCIENCES SECTION CANDIDATES FOR 2015-16
4) DAWN RELATED ROSES SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT
5) JOBS/POSITIONS OPPORTUNITIES
6) UPCOMING MEETINGS
+———————————————————————+
1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1
CALL TO ACTION !!!
The AAS has issued an action alert to its members this week, and we have an opportunity to piggy back on their efforts. The planetary sections of other scientific societies are also calling members to action this week. Details of the action alert are at http://aas.org/posts/news/2014/05/aas-action-alert
The House of Representatives’ Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee is responsible for funding NASA and NSF. The full Appropriations Committee in the House recently passed this bill out of committee, and it now heads to the floor (likely on May 29) for the full House’s consideration, subject to potential amendments. The bill, as currently written, would increase the NASA top-line budget to $17.9 billion. In that context, SMD would increase to $5.19 billion, and planetary science did very well in garnering an increase to $1.45 billion.
Under current budget rules, any increases for programs in the bill must be offset by decreases to other programs within this same bill. When the Appropriations Committee considered this bill, the chairman of the CJS subcommittee, Rep. Frank Wolf (R, VA-10), indicated that he expects some members of the House will look to augment other programs (e.g., the Community Oriented Policing Services program) by taking money from science. These types of amendments have been introduced and passed in the past. The attempts to shift funding away from science would come in the form of amendments on the House floor when the chamber considers the bill on or about Thursday, May 29th.
Please contact your member of the House of Representatives as soon as possible – the schedule is highly subject to change. If you do contact your Representative, we encourage you to convey a nuanced two-part message: (1) support for NASA and NSF funding levels in the bill as introduced, and (2) oppose amendments that would reduce these levels. You can use the resource set up by the AAS at http://aas.org/posts/news/2014/05/aas-action-alert.
If you have questions, please contact Makenzie Lystrup a
–Makenzie Lystrup, FRS Chair (dps.frschair.aas.org)
2———2———2———2———2———2———2———2———2———2
REMINDER : PLEASE VOTE FOR THE 2014 DPS ELECTIONS
The 2014 election for DPS Vice-Chair and Committee is now open, and will close on July 31st 2014.
Please remember to vote !
Go to http://aas.org/vote/
You will need your AAS member login ID (which defaults to your membership number), and your password. If you haven’t registered or renewed your DPS membership recently, you are getting this e-mail because we are using large recent DPS lists, but you may actually not be an active member anymore… So, please take a moment to check your status now and renew if you haven’t done so already. This will allow you to vote and benefit from all membership advantages.
If you have trouble voting on line, the AAS can do a proxy vote and vote on your behalf (send an e-mail to [email protected]). You will still get an automated email confirmation and a separate manual email, both with who you voted for and a confirmation number.
You should vote for one of the two candidates for Vice-Chair:
o Jason W. Barnes, University of Idaho
o Stephen J. Mackwell, LPI, Universities Space Research Association
The elected Vice-Chair will take his/her functions in October 2014 and will become the DPS Chair in October 2015.
You should also vote for two of the four candidates for DPS Committee:
o Maria Antonietta Barucci, LESIA, Paris Observatory
o Joshua Emery, Dept of Earth & Planet. Sci., University of Tennessee
o Amy Lovell, Dept of Physics & Astronomy, Agnes Scott College
o Gerald Wesley Patterson, APL, Johns Hopkins University
The successful candidates will serve on the committee for three years after October 2014.
The detailed vitae and position statements for each of the candidates follow. This information is also linked from the main election page,
http://aas.org/vote/
3———3———3———3———3———3———3———3———3———3
AGU PLANETARY SCIENCES SECTION CANDIDATES FOR 2015-16
We are pleased to announce the following candidates for President-Elect and Secretary who are volunteering to serve AGU in the 2015-16 term:
President- Elect: Nathan Bridges
and Sarah Stewart
Secretary: Barbara Cohen
and Jorn Helbert
The ballots will be published in June or July, with voting open from 18 August to 17 September. The winners will start their positions on 1 January 2015, joining new Section President Lindy-Elkins Tanton (Bill McKinnon will become President Emeritus). These highly qualified candidates should be commended for offering their time and service to AGU in the coming years.
4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4
DAWN RELATED ROSES SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT
On release in February 2014 ROSES-14 included C.20, the Dawn Focused Research and Analysis Program (DFRAP), was a TBD program element with the intention to release it later this year. DFRAP will not be solicited after all. Instead, the scope of C.11, the Discovery Data Analysis Program (DDAP), has been expanded to include the Dawn mission data and Planetary Science intends to issue a Dawn Guest Investigator Program through C.20, by an Amendment to ROSES-2014. Those contemplating fundamental research associated with Ceres that would not be appropriate for DDAP should consider C.3, Solar System Workings (SSW). However, the Step-2 SSW proposals are due July 25, 2014. DDAP due dates remain unchanged. Step-1 proposals are due July 14, 2014, and Step-2 proposals are due September 12, 2014.
Of course, SSW was always open to eligible work on Ceres, but we understand that some who may have been planning to propose Ceres fundamental research to DFRAP (only) now have to redirect to SSW at short notice. We regret the inconvenience and will work with them as needed.
Please advise people that are concerned about hitting the Step-1 deadline or unsure if their work is eligible to DDAP or SSW to contact Mary Voytek and Christina Richey ASAP and we can work with them to ensure we get their Step-2 in to SSW in a timely manner. As promised by Jim Green earlier this year, anyone who submit a scientifically-meritorious proposal will be reviewed this year in PSD.
Questions concerning C.11 DDAP may be directed to:
Christina Richey
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 202-358-2206
Questions concerning C.3 SSW may be directed to:
Mary Voytek
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (202) 358-1577
Questions concerning C.20 DFRAP / Dawn Guest Investigator Program may be directed to:
Michael S. Kelley:
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (202) 358-0607
5———5———5———5———5———5———5———5———5———5
JOBS/POSITIONS OPPORTUNITIES
For all Job opportunities, please visit jobs
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) SPACE POLICY INTERNSHIPS AT THE NRC’S SPACE STUDIES BOARD
Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Internships are offered twice annually in Washington, D.C., by the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board. The summer 2014 program is restricted to undergraduates and available slots have already been filled. Vacancies still exist in the autumn 2014 program, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Applications for the autumn program will be accepted until June 20, 2014. Successful candidates will be contacted by July 17, 2012.
Additional information about the program, including application procedure, can be found at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/ssb_052239.
B) POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN MARTIAN ATMOPSHERIC/PLANETARY SCIENCE AT YORK UNIVERSITY
A postdoctoral researcher is sought at York University in Toronto,
Canada to help support the operations of the Mars Science Laboratory
Rover Curiosity, to lead investigations into the Martian Atmosphere
using spacecraft data, and to lead experimental investigations into
atmosphere-surface interactions of planetary bodies, including but not
limited to Mars. The successful candidate must be eligible to become a
member of the Science and Operations Team of MSL as well as a member
of the NSERC Integrating Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics from Earth
to Space (IACPES) CREATE program. The term of employment will be for
one year with an option to extend this work to two years pending
funding. This term will begin no earlier than July 1st, 2014 and no
later than January 1st, 2015.
How to Apply:
Please send to both [email protected] and [email protected]:
(1) a detailed C.V.,
(2) the names, phone numbers and email addresses of at least two
references who have agreed to speak on your behalf and
(3) two examples of published work that you have led.
For full consideration, please send these materials by June 15th,
2014, however, this position will remain open until filled.
C) PHD POSITION IN THE GSMA/UNIVERSITE DE REIMS:
Aerosol formation in Titan’s atmosphere constrained by Cassini observations
We are seeking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate who will participate in the investigation of the physical and chemical processes leading to the production of aerosols in Titan’s atmosphere. This investigation will be accomplished by a combination of observations acquired by the Cassini spacecraft instruments, and theoretical models of aerosol production and growth.
From one hand detailed models coupling atmospheric photochemistry with aerosol formation will be developed and applied to Titan’s atmosphere. We already have in our lab such models that were applied to Titan’s ionosphere and were able to explain for the first time the large mass positive and negative ions observed by the Cassini mass spectrometers. The PhD candidate will extend these models to the lower atmosphere and include a more detailed picture of the atmospheric chemistry that will allow us to evaluate the chemical composition of the particles as well as their physical properties (density, shape, size distribution) at different altitudes. The modeling efforts on the other hand will be validated against observational constraints derived from the analysis of photometric observations from the ISS and UVIS instruments (images and spectra, respectively). We have an arsenal of radiation transfer models to analyze these observations in GSMA, as well as a plethora of Cassini observations through direct access to the instrument teams. The PhD candidate will contribute in the analysis and interpretation of the spacecraft observations.
Interested candidates should contact the thesis supervisors: P. Rannou (pascal.rannou@univ– reims.fr) and P. Lavvas ([email protected]) for further information, before June 6th. The position opens in Fall 2014.
* http://www.univ-reims.fr/GSMA
D) JOVIAN MAGNETIC FIELD AND MAGNETOSPHERE POST-DOC RESEARCHER
Applications are now being accepted for a Postdoctoral Research
Associate, funded through the University of Maryland College Park
(UMCP) and the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science
and Technology (CRESST), to work in the Planetary Magnetospheres
Laboratory of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in the area
of Jupiter’s magnetic field and magnetosphere, using data from the
Juno (New Frontier) mission. Additional details are available at:
http://www.astro.umd.edu/employment/#Juno
Candidates for this position should have a Ph.D. in a relevant
scientific discipline with prior experience conducting scientific
research. Experience with magnetometer instrumentation and data,
disciplined programming skills (primarily Fortran and IDL), and
scientific writing experience are desired.
The University of Maryland is an equal opportunity employer. All
applications received by Sept. 26, 2014 will receive full
consideration.
6———6———6———6———6———6———6———6———6———6
UPCOMING MEETINGS
A) IPPW-11
Pasadena, CA
http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/ippw2014
-IPPW Short Course: June 14–15, 2014
-International Planetary Probe Workshop: June 16–20, 2014
IMPORTANT DEADLINES APPROACHING!
– HOTEL BOOKING DEADLINE: Friday, May 30
– REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Monday, June 2
B) PLANETARY RINGS WORKSHOP
13-15 August, 2014
Boulder, CO
The Cassini Rings Working Group will host a Planetary Rings Workshop 13-15 August, 2014 in Boulder, CO at the CU’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (CU-LASP). The workshop will be open to all interested parties and any observational or theoretical research on the properties, dynamics, origin or evolution of any planetary ring system is appropriate. This meeting will highlight the latest Cassini results. We plan on predominantly oral talks, but posters will be considered. Ample time will be allowed for discussion. Previous workshops were held in Ithaca (2011), Paris (2008) and Whitefish, MT (2006). The first announcement is posted at LASP’s event website http://lasp.colorado.edu/cassini/PlanetaryRingsWorkshopAug2014.html . Registration will be by credit card through Eventbrite. Details will follow in 2nd announcement and will be posted on the above meeting site. (Please email Laura Bloom (address below) if you would like to be placed on our mailing list and receive a direct email invitation once registration opens.) Planned program includes an opening reception Tuesday evening, a workshop dinner on Wednesday, and working lunch on Friday. The meeting will end Friday evening. Estimated costs are $100 for the workshop and $30 for the dinner.
C) WORKSHOP ON VOLATILES IN THE MARTIAN INTERIOR
November 3–5, 2014,
Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), Houston TX 77058.
Since the Workshop on Water in Planetary Basalts in 2007, there has been extensive research conducted on volatiles (H2O, CO2, O2, S, Cl, F, and noble gases) in the martian interior and martian basalts. This new workshop will gather together researchers working on volatiles in the martian interior to discuss the latest developments in the field, where data are lacking, and which observations, instruments, or experiments are needed to make progress on understanding the origin, roles, and evolution of volatiles in the interior of Mars. Reports on data from meteorites, remote sensing, laboratory experimental investigations, in situ surface investigations, astrobiological implications, and geophysical/geochemical modeling are all applicable for inclusion in this workshop.
The first announcement is now available on the conference website:
http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/volatiles2014/
D) 2ND INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INSTRUMENTATION FOR PLANETARY MISSIONS
November 4-7, 2014
Greenbelt, Maryland (near Washington DC)
Call for Papers
Submission Deadline: July 28, 2014
The objective of the International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Mission is to have a broad canvas of instrumentation and technology available to ‘Decadal Survey’ missions and those further out. It is also meant to be a forum of collaboration, exchange and discussions where science questions, and the technology needed to address them, are discussed.
The website for the workshop has been updated. Included on the website is the call for papers, registration information and form, plus lodging information.
To view the current information, visit the workshop website:
http://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/IPM/
E) 11TH EUROPEAN SPACE WEATHER WEEK
17-21 November 2014
Liege, Belgium
** The abstract submission deadline is 1 June 2014. **
We warmly invite abstract submissions to our session “PLANETARY SPACE WEATHER” (http://www.stce.be/esww11/program/03.php).
Please find bellow a full description of this session along with the contact details of all three conveners. The ESWW11 meeting details can be found in the conference website:http://www.stce.be/esww11/ where the necessary guide and links to submitting abstracts can also be found.
** Conveners contact details **
Christina Plainaki (INAF-IAPS, Rome, Italy; [email protected])
Iannis Dandouras (IRAP, Toulouse, France; [email protected])
Maria Andriopoulou (Space Science Institute, Austrian Academy of Science, Graz, Austria; [email protected])
———————————+
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].