Within the partnership between The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American
Astronomical Society (AAS) and the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), Earth and
Planetary Systems Sciences (EPSS) section, we recognize Patrice Smith as the newest DPS-NSBP
Speaker Awardee. Patrice is a PhD student in physics at the University of Texas at San Antonio,
specializing in space physics and instrumentation. She is currently working with Dr. Kurt Retherford
on compositional analyses of the Moon using far-ultraviolet (FUV) measurements acquired by the
Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
Patrice Smith’s award-winning talk at the NSBP Fall 2024 meeting, entitled “FUV Measurements of
the Lunar Exosphere Composition with LRO-LAMP,” described work to identify the composition
and abundances of atoms and molecules in the tenuous lunar atmosphere. Such work is needed to
characterize the present lunar environment, and also to generate key constraints for potential in situ
resource utilization that would enable future sustainable exploration of the Moon by landers and
humans.
The DPS partnership with NSBP was established to jointly represent the interests of planetary
scientists and students who identify as members of communities that are critically underrepresented
in this discipline. More information on the structure of this partnership can be found here:
https://dps.aas.org/leadership/nsbp_parnership and donations supporting associated travel grants can
be submitted here: https://dps.aas.org/Inclusivity/support-underrepresented-minority-communities-
planetary-science.
Within this DPS-NSBP partnership, the top early career EPSS speaker is selected by the NSBP EPSS
chairs, based on their presentation on planetary science research at the annual NSBP meeting, as the DPS-NSBP Speaker awardee. This Speaker is invited by DPS to speak at the following year’s DPS
meeting, with expenses covered by the DPS.
DPS is thrilled to invite Patrice Smith to speak at the 2025 DPS meeting, which will be hosted jointly
with the European Planetary Science Conference (EPSC) and held in Helsinki, Finland in September.
Patrice says that “attending the AAS-DPS 2025 meeting will provide a valuable opportunity to gather
productive feedback on my work as it develops. Given that it will be a joint EPSC year, I am
particularly excited about the potential for strong overlap and fostering collaboration with other
European labs whose research aligns closely with mine.”
Contacts:
Dr. Athena Coustenis, DPS Chair [email protected]
Dr. Theodore Kareta, DPS Press Officer [email protected]
More information about DPS: https://dps.aas.org/
More information about the DPS-EPSC 2025 meeting: https://dps.aas.org/meetings/future
More information about NSBP: https://nsbp.org/
The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS), founded in 1968, is the largest special-interest Division
of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Members of the DPS study the bodies of our own
solar system, from planets and moons to comets and asteroids, and all other solar-system objects and
processes. With the discovery that planets exist around other stars, the DPS has expanded its scope to
include the study of extrasolar planetary systems as well.
The American Astronomical Society (AAS), established in 1899, is the major organization of
professional astronomers in North America. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share
humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical
community, which it achieves through publishing, meeting organization, science advocacy, education
and outreach, and training and professional development.