Newsletter 16-1

Issue 16-01, January 10, 2016

 

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  1. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR: CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
  2. REMINDER: CALL FOR DPS 2016 PRIZE NOMINATIONS
  3. OPAG 2016 WINTER MEETING: INFORMATION CIRCULAR
  4. 615. WE-HERAEUS-SEMINAR: HOW PRIMITIVE ARE COMETS?
  5. 41ST SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPACE RESEARCH (COSPAR)
  6. JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR: CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

 

The DPS runs on the efforts of volunteers.  We are currently soliciting 

volunteers for the various positions described below. 

In addition to the elected positions, the DPS Committee appoints additional 

officers that serve for fixed terms.  We as a society have had the good fortune 

to have Andrew Rivkin serve us as our Treasurer since 2011, and Vishnu 

Reddy serve as our Press Officer since 2010.  Both are stepping down at the 

completion of their present terms. 

As the DPS committee considers potential new Treasurers and Press Officers, 

we want to cast a wide net as possible.  To that end if you, or someone who 

you know, would be both capable and willing to serve the DPS in one of these 

capacities, then please let us know by emailing me at [email protected] . 

The job of the Treasurer is to track the Division’s finances, participate in DPS 

Committee discussions and business, and to pay claimants from the DPS 

accounts when needed.  The Press Officer’s primary duties occur during the 

annual meeting where they must organize daily press briefings. Lately the job 

has also included considerable time during the year to coordinate with the DPS 

Committee, oversee deliberations for the Eberhart Award, and to field press

inquiries to the DPS on planetary topics.  Both of these officers participate in 

two DPS Committee telecons per month and attend an annual 2-day DPS

Committee meeting in Washington, DC.  Both the Treasurer and Press Officer

serve for 3-year terms. 

The DPS Committee is creating a Subcommittee on Harassment to keep up 

the momentum from Christina Richey’s Masursky Prize lecture at our recent 

meeting. The charge of this new subcommittee will be to investigate concrete 

actions that the DPS can take to ensure that our field’s professional climate 

allows for success based solely on scientific merit. I envision that this 

subcommittee will be populated by a diverse set of creative-thinking DPS 

Members, so I encourage both men and women as well as junior and 

well-established people to volunteer (send an email to [email protected]). 

Now’s not the time to be shy; if you would be willing to actively contribute 

to the DPS, please let us know! 

Jason W. Barnes 
DPS Chair

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REMINDER: CALL FOR DPS 2016 PRIZE NOMINATIONS
 

DEADLINE MARCH 15, 2016

 

Every year the DPS recognizes exceptional achievement in our field. 

It is time to consider nominating a respected colleague for one of the 

annual DPS prizes:

 

The Gerard P. Kuiper Prize honors outstanding contributions to the field 

of planetary science.

 

The Harold C. Urey Prize recognizes outstanding achievement in planetary 

research by a young scientist. 

 

The Harold Masursky Award acknowledges outstanding service to planetary 

science and exploration. 

 

The Carl Sagan Medal recognizes and honors outstanding communication

by an active planetary scientist to the general public.

 

The Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award recognizes

and stimulates distinguished popular writing on planetary sciences. 

 

Detailed descriptions of each of the prizes and the criteria for nominees for 

each can be found at prizes. The nomination form and 

instructions can also be retrieved from this website. The completed nomination 

form and supporting material should be emailed to [email protected]

 

Starting this year we are requiring that the nomination package with all

supporting material be submitted as a single document. If you have a 

nomination from a past year that is being carried over, you do not need to

resubmit unless you are including new material.  

 

Anyone except current DPS Committee members may submit a nomination. 

A completed nomination will be retained and considered by the Prize 

Subcommittee for three years, or as long as the nominee is eligible, whichever 

is less. Past nominees may be re-nominated after the expiration of a prior 

nomination. A posthumous nomination is allowed for a limited time after the

nominee’s death, except for the Sagan Medal. For specific details, see the

URL noted above.

 

The deadline for nominations this year is March 15. 

 

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OPAG 2016 WINTER MEETING: INFORMATION CIRCULAR

 

We cordially invite you to attend the 2016 face-to-face meeting of the 

Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), scheduled for 2 days, February 1-2, 2016, 
at Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) Building 263 located at 1223 

Martin Goland Avenue, San Antonio, TX 85721 near the East Gate.  

 

Meetings will begin at 8:30 AM each day, and end by 5 PM on Feb 2.

 

Please register to attend in person at: http://icpi.nasaprs.com/opag2016

 

Key information and discussion topics will include:

* Developments in Outer Planets exploration since the summer 2015 OPAG 

meeting, including status of a new “ocean worlds” program, potential Europa 
mission augmentations, and New Frontiers Announcement of Opportunity.

* Overview of latest mission science planning and results:

Cassini

New Horizons

Juno

Europa Mission

* Report from “Ocean Worlds” workshop

* Formulation of a Science Analysis Group study to explore ocean worlds

* Next Decadal Survey

* Ice Giants mission study progress report

* Department of Energy Pu238 production status

* Potential High Definition Space Telescope

* Poster presentations on CubeSats and technology
  developments

 

The meeting is open to all members of the planetary science community, 

including our international colleagues. If you want to present a CubeSat 

or Technology poster, please send title and authors to Pat Beauchamp, 
[email protected].  We will also broadcast the meeting 

via Adobe Connect for those who cannot attend in person.

 

We look forward to seeing you in San Antonio!

 

Candice Hansen and Alfred McEwen, Current and incoming OPAG Chair

 

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615. WE-HERAEUS-SEMINAR: HOW PRIMITIVE ARE COMETS ?

Bad Honnef, Germany, 24th – 29th April 2016

Sponsored by the WE-Heraeus-Stiftung

 

Website of the meeting:

http://www.igep.tu-bs.de/WE-Heraeus/index_en.html

 

Scientific Organizers:

Murthy Gudipati (JPL, USA), contact: [email protected]

Jürgen Blum (IGeP, TU Braunschweig, Germany) contact: [email protected]

 

Motivation:

In the light of recent advances in our understanding of comets, in particular 

through the space missions Rosetta, Deep-Impact, and Epoxi, this Wilhelm 

und Else Heraeus-Stiftung-supported “615. WE-Heraeus-Seminar: How 

Primitive are Comets?” will focus on the interior composition of cometary 

nuclei. All of the talks, posters, and discussion will focus on how recent 

scientific advancements and future comet missions could enable a better 

understanding of the cometary nucleus, its structure, and composition, 

from the deep interior to the surface, as well as of the formation of the 

first solid bodies in the young solar system.

 

Contributions:

Besides about 25-30 invited talks, a few (~5-10) contributed oral presentations 

and a significant number (~30) of contributed poster presentations are available.

Please send your title, abstract, and preference (oral or poster) to the organizers 

before the end of February 2016. MS Word, pdf or plain text abstracts are 

welcome.

 

Logistics:

There will be no conference fee and the WE-Heraeus-Stiftung takes over all 

costs for the accommodation and meals of all participants.

 

The scientific program is scheduled to start on Monday, April 25th, 2016, 

09:00 h and will end on Friday, April 29th, 2016, 17:30 h. Arrival is planned 

for Sunday afternoon/evening. The registration desk will be open on Sunday

from 17:00 h through 21:00 h and on Monday morning. Departure will be on 

Friday, around 17:30 h.

 

An informal welcome and get together plus a buffet supper will take place 

on Sunday evening from 18:30 h onwards.

 

One evening the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation invites all participants 

to a “Heraeus Dinner” (conference dinner) and free beverages.

 

An excursion is planned for Thursday afternoon, a leisurely hike in the 

vicinity (destination is the Drachenfels “Dragon’s Rock”. It is a hill – 321 

meters – in the Siebengebirge uplands between Königswinter and Bad Honnef).

 

In order to stimulate as much exchange and discussion as possible, we hope 

that your schedule permits you to be present for the full duration of the seminar.

 

Venue, accommodation, and meals: Lectures and meals are all arranged in

the main building of the Physikzentrum Bad Honnef.

 

Physikzentrum Bad Honnef

Hauptstraße 5

53604 Bad Honnef

GERMANY

 

Accommodation will be booked for you automatically according to the 

arrival and departure information you provided to us – either in the main 

building of the Physikzentrum or in the guesthouse in the park area of the 

Physikzentrum. Information of your accommodation will follow in due 

time (about one week before the seminar).

 

More information about the Physikzentrum and travel hints are available at 
http://www.pbh.de/en/index.shtml

 

All meals will be served at the Physikzentrum, starting with dinner on 

Sunday, ending with lunch on Friday. Vegetarian food is available on request.

 

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41ST SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY OF THE COMMITTEE ON

SPACE RESEARCH (COSPAR)

Title: Planetary Formation session at COSPAR 2016

(Istanbul, Turkey, on 30 July – 7 August 2016) 

 

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) will hold its 41st Scientific

Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, on 30 July – 7 August 2016. The COSPAR

Scientific Assemblies supply a forum to all scientists involved in space

research for the presentation of their latest scientific results, the exchange

of knowledge and also the discussion of space research problems. Together

with the now traditional session devoted to exoplanetary studies, event E1.21

“Exoplanets”, COSPAR 2016 will also hold for the first time a session

specifically dedicated to the formation and the evolution of planets and

planetary systems, event B0.5 “Planetary Formation: From Dust to Giant

Exoplanets”. This event, currently planned to take place over two half-day

sessions, is jointly organized by Commission B “Space Studies of the

Earth-Moon System, Planets, and Small Bodies of the Solar System” and

Commission E “Research in Astrophysics from Space”. 

 

Scientific rationale of event B0.5 “Planetary Formation: From Dust to Giant Exoplanets”: 

 

Our understanding of planetary formation as derived from the Solar System,

for decades the only known example of a planetary system, has been

challenged over the last twenty years by the rich diversity of discovered

extrasolar planets. The Solar System, however, still represents a unique

source of detailed information on the processes shaping the formation and

subsequent evolution of planets, both individually and as a whole. Theoretical

works on the formation and early dynamical evolution of planetary systems has

helped to bridge the gap between the story told by the Solar System and that

coming from the extrasolar planets, but the ever growing body of data supplied

by space missions and ground-based facilities promises new challenges in the

coming years. The aim of COSPAR 2016 event B0.5 “Planetary Formation:

From Dust to Giant Exoplanets” is to offer to all involved communities a

common space for discussing new theoretical, observational and laboratory

results about the formation and evolution of planetary systems and of their

formation environments, the protoplanetary disks. 

 

Conference website: https://www.cospar-assembly.org/ 

 

Abstract submission deadline: 2016 February 12  

 

Scientific Organizing Committee:  Diego Turrini (Main Scientific Organizer,

INAF-IAPS, Italy), Sho Sasaki (Deputy Organizer, Osaka University, Japan),

Francesca Altieri (INAF-IAPS, Italy), Gennaro D’Angelo (SETI Institute, USA),

Francesco Marzari (University of Padova, Italy), Motohide Tamura (National

Astronomical Observatory, Japan), Mark Wyatt (University of Cambridge, UK),

Hajime Yano (JAXA, Japan).

 

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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

 

A) LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE POSITIONS

FLORIDA SPACE INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF

CENTRAL FLORIDA (UCF), ORLANDO, FLORIDA

 

The Florida Space Institute (http://fsi.ucf.edu/), a multi-disciplinary 

center based in Orlando, Florida is devoted to facilitating and conducting 

leading edge applied and basic research in space fields ranging from 

planetary science to space physics to Earth science. We are now seeking 

new applications for lunar, planetary and extra-solar planet research 

scientist positions.

 

UCF and FSI have a range of planetary scientists, primarily working 

in the areas of small body studies, Mars, and exoplanets (see http://planets.ucf.edu/),

and we are committed to becoming a premier institution in planetary 

science and education. Of particular interest to FSI are Principal Investigators 

of planetary science research grants, centers, and mission experiments who 

are seeking a greater career opportunity. 

 

Applicants must have a PhD in a planetary science or a relevant field. 

Preference will be given to candidates with at least six years post qualification 

experience. Successful applicants should have demonstrated research leadership 

ability and interpersonal skills, and a consistent record of both research 

publications and competitively funded space research and/or experimentation 

grants and contracts.  

 

Review of applications will start in March 2016. Applicants should apply 

online at www.jobswithucf.com and click on the ‘Search Available Positions’ 

option on the top left. Once there, type in position number 42542 in the 

“keywords” box to search for this position. The hired candidate is expected 

to start employment at UCF in the Fall 2016 semester. 

 

The University of Central Florida is an equal opportunity, equal access, 

and affirmative action employer.

 

B) SUMMER INTERNSHIPS IN RADIO ASTRONOMY, SOLAR

SYSTEM STUDIES & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES 

ARECIBO OBSERVATORY

 

content/summer-internships-radio-astronomy-solar-system-studies-atmospheric-sciences-arecibo

 

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Send submissions to:

Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected]

 

To unsubscribe visit http://aas.org/unsubscribe or email [email protected].

To change your address email [email protected].


Anne J. Verbiscer
Research Associate Professor
Department of Astronomy
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4325