Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 14:51:05 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: DPS Mailing #00-17: DPS Election 2000
Greetings, DPS Members-
+------------------CONTENTS:-----------------------------+
|1) Election of Officers and Committee members |
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25 August 2000
To: All Members of the DPS
From: Alan Harris, DPS Secretary/Treasurer
Subject: Election of Officers and Committee members
In accordance with the by-laws of the Division for Planetary Sciences, the
membership must elect a Vice-Chair and two DPS Committee members. The
person elected as the Vice-Chair will serve in that capacity during
2000-2001 and then serve as DPS Chair during 2001-2002. The two Committee
Members elected will serve in those positions for three-year terms. For
reference, the other Officers and Committee members who will be serving are
listed below. The members retiring from the committee are Don Yeomans (Past
Chair), Jeff Bell and John Clarke. Biographies and position statements for
all of the candidates are given below.
Because of the need to protect against duplicate voting, we must strictly
enforce the requirement of providing member identification when voting.
Please identify yourself explicitly in your message, especially if you are
sending from other than your regular e-mail address as we have it on file.
If you are voting by mail, you must be sure to identify yourself in a
legible manner on the envelope. I will also accept ballots by fax
(818-354-0966) as long as the identity of the voter is clearly indicated.
ANONYMOUSLY SUBMITTED BALLOTS WILL NOT BE COUNTED. The positive side of
this requirement is that you may feel free to vote again if you change your
mind, forget if you have already voted, or whatever. Only the
last-received ballot will be counted.
To be eligible to vote, you must be a current member of the DPS (regular,
affiliate or student).
Please indicate your selections on the ballot provided below, which you may
send by e-mail, fax or regular mail. A hard copy letter with ballot and
return envelope will be mailed to every member, but you do not need to wait
for that in order to vote. The deadline for receipt of the ballots by me
is SEPTEMBER 13, 2000.
Following this message are position statements from each candidate, the list
of the other members of the committee who will be serving for the term
2000-2001, and finally the ballot. DO NOT return it by "reply", but instead
address it to [email protected]. I will also appreciate it if
you edit off all the unnecessary text so I don't get 1000 copies of the
candidate statements in my e-mail box.
Alan Harris, Secretary/Treasurer
__________________________________________________________________________
CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES AND POSITION STATEMENTS
WESLEY T. HUNTRESS, JR., candidate for Vice Chair
Director, Geophysical Laboratory
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Science Background
BS in Chemistry, Brown University, 1964
Ph.D. in Chemical Physics, Stanford University, 1968
Post-doc, National Research Council Resident Research Associate at JPL,
1968-9
Research Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1969-1988
Visiting Professor of Cosmochemistry, Caltech, 1987-1988
Over 100 papers on ion chemistry in planetary atmospheres, comets and
interstellar clouds
National Service
Deputy Director, Earth Science and Applications Division, NASA HQ, 1988-1990
Director, Solar System Exploration Division, NASA HQ, 1990-1992
Associate Administrator, Office of Space Science, NASA HQ, 1992-1998
Commission on Physical Science, Mathematics and Applications,
National Research Council, 1999-present
Recent Awards
1994 - NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal
1995 - U.S. Presidential Distinguished Executive Award
1996 - NASA Distinguished Service Medal
1997 - NASA Distinguished Service Medal
1998 - Robert H. Goddard Award (Goddard Space Flight Center)
1999 - Minor Planet 7225 Huntress
1999 - Carl Sagan Award, American Astronautical Society
1999 - Harold Masursky Award, American Astronomical Society
Space Flight Activity
JPL Study Scientist, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
Co-Investigator, HIS/HERS Ion Mass Spectrometers, Giotto
Coma Interdisciplinary Scientist, Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby
JPL Study Scientist, Cassini-Huygens
Society Memberships
Member DPS/American Astronomical Society
President, American Astronautical Society (term ends 11/00)
Academician, International Academy of Astronautics
Board of Directors, The Planetary Society
Short Statement
The DPS is an essential organization in the promotion of planetary science
and exploration. Its historical function has been to serve the community by
encouraging international communication between planetary scientists and
conducting the annual Division for Planetary Sciences meeting. However, it
now needs to broaden its service to include public advocacy and political
action for planetary science and exploration to the same effective extent as
its parent organization, the AAS, has become for astronomical science. The
current Federal funding climate requires constant vigilance and proactive
advocacy for survival of domestic discretionary programs such as NASA�s
planetary exploration program. The voice of the planetary science community
must be heard and respected in our Nation�s Administration and Congress.
Planetary science made a remarkable recovery from the Mars Observer disaster
and the Galileo high-gain antenna failure in the early 90�s. Now no longer
limited to the occasional planetary encounter as in the 1980�s, the planetary
science community has a healthy set of operating missions, NEAR at Eros,
Global Surveyor at Mars, Galileo at Jupiter, Cassini-Huygens on the way to
Saturn and Titan, Stardust in transit, and four other Discovery missions
under development. Planetary exploration has three long-term mission line
items, Mars Surveyor, the Outer Planets line, and the Discovery program.
All of these assets require vigilance and protection from a generally
apathetic Administration, an often unsympathetic Congress, and now from the
mission implementers, such as JPL, and from NASA itself. Each of the latter
has reacted in a highly defensive and conservative manner to the Mars98
failures. Costs for planetary missions are being increased dramatically by
JPL due to piling on of excessive manpower and cost margins so that project
managers can gain a huge margin of comfort. There have been (Mars in 2001)
and will be (perhaps Pluto/Kuiper Express in 2004) cancellations as NASA�s
distrust of JPL, and JPL�s fear of failure, both combine to drive planetary
mission costs up significantly with no compensating increase in available
budget. The poor relationship that has developed between NASA and JPL is
highly detrimental to the planetary program and could very well translate
into loss of budget share to other space science disciplines.
NASA�s research and data analysis programs have not kept up as well with the
progress in mission flight rate. The Administration and Congress do not
understand the requirement for a healthy research program to compliment the
flight program because they do not understand science; a poor prospect for
the Nation�s future as a whole. The Wall Street takeover of Congress brings
with it a short-term view and an attitude toward investment in today�s needs
with no mind for tomorrow�s (�the market will take care of that�). The
success of America�s science enterprise now requires an education of the
Congress on the value and need for science, not just convincing government
program managers. To make gains in the budget share for research and data
analysis programs, and to make gains on both number and size of planetary
science grants, will require a great deal of effort more so with the
Administration and Congress than with NASA. The DPS should focus outward now
to convince the check-writers to invest more in the Nation�s future in space.
I would like to bring to the DPS my experience in dealing with the
Administration and Congress to help the planetary exploration enterprise
through what remains a critical time for the sustenance of what has become a
promising future for the planetary science and exploration enterprise. Based
in Washington, I would do my utmost to provide advocacy for planetary science
in the name of DPS at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue and to provide a
presence for the DPS in this most important ten square miles in Solar
System.
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EUGENE H. LEVY, candidate for Vice Chair
Provost, Howard R. Hughes Chair
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Rice University, Houston, Texas
EDUCATION
AB Physics, Rutgers University
PhD Physics, University of Chicago
MOST RECENT PREVIOUS POSITION
University of Arizona, 1975-2000
Dean of the College of Science, 1993�2000.
Head of the Planetary Science Department, 1983-1994.
Director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 1983-1994.
Assistant & Associate Professor, 1975-1983; Professor, 1983-.
Professor, Department of Physics, 1995�2000.
Director/Founder, Arizona/NASA Space Grant College Consortium, 1989�2000.
Theoretical Astrophysics Program, 1985�2000.
Applied Mathematics Program, 1981�2000.
SELECTED PAST STUFF
Member, Space Science Board (SSB); Chair, SSB Committee on Planetary and
Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX); Member, NASA Mars Exploration Strategy Advisory
Group; Member, NASA Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee; Chair, NASA
Origins of Solar Systems Management Operations Working Group; Co-Founder &
Steering Committee Member, AAU Space Science Working Group; Co-Founder and
Long-Time Member of the "Tucson Planetary Science Mafia and Planetary-
Community Mobilization Group"; Member, NASA Delegation to US-USSR Space-
Cooperation Treaty Joint Working Group on Near-Earth Space, the Moon, and
Planets; Chair, SSB Advisory Committee on International Cooperation for Mars
Sample Return; Head of U.S. Delegation and Co-Chair, SSB Joint Working Group
on [US-European] Cooperation in Planetary Exploration; Panelist, Astronomy
and Astrophysics Survey Committee (Science Opportunities Panel, 1989;
Benefits Panel 1999); Member, NASA-Keck Telescope Allocation Committee;
Distinguished Public Service Medal; Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung Senior
Scientist Award.
SCIENTIFIC WORK
My research interests and activities have encompassed several areas of
theoretical planetary geophysics, astrophysics, solar and space physics,
magnetohydrodynamics and electrodynamics. Specific areas in which I have
worked include, among others, the generation and behavior of magnetic fields,
the theory of cosmic rays, physical processes associated with the formation
of stars and planetary systems. In addition, I have worked on the development
of observational techniques for the discovery and study of other planetary
systems.
STATEMENT
In my view, the Division for Planetary Sciences has three appropriate roles
to play. The first is a professional and scholarly role, inwardly directed to
the discipline, promoting scientific communication and interchange through
publications and meetings; in this role, the DPS fulfills important
international as well as national needs. The second is an educational role,
directed to increase public understanding and appreciation of the nature, the
contributions, and the importance of planetary science, both for the science
narrowly construed and for the larger humanistic and historic dimensions of
our enterprise. In this role, also, the DPS should aim to help fulfill -- or
at least to help provoke the fulfilling of -- international as well as
national needs. The third is an advocacy role. In this third and very
important role, the DPS needs to be an articulate and heard voice in support
of a vigorous national program of planetary exploration, along with the
supporting ground-based, laboratory, data-analysis and theoretical research
that are needed to give value to the exploration missions. In this advocacy
role, the nature of the DPS as a nationally constituted organization comes
into principal focus, inasmuch as the principal venue of activity must be
Washington DC. Nonetheless, even here, the DPS can play a valuable role by
promoting appropriately structured international cooperation in missions and
programs, and by providing a forum to help build the international scientific
consensus needed to foster cooperative programs.
As has frequently been the case for at least the past twenty years -- ever
since it became clear that there was a large incommensurability between the
then-rapidly-expanding, post-Viking aspirations of the planetary community
and the shrinking programmatic potential of the NASA planetary program --
there is a sense of uncertainty and crisis (as well as a sense of
opportunity) in planetary science. The recent mission failures at Mars,
resulting from over-exuberant application of "faster, better, cheaper",
combined with imminent changes in leadership, make this an especially
sensitive time for planetary science as a program-dependent discipline. It
will be especially important to open a dialog with the new Administration,
and with the Congress that accompanies it, to try to rebuild a consensus for
vigorous planetary exploration and for the essential supporting research and
technology development (including the vigorous instrument development that is
required if we are to address the deepest questions that the planets pose). I
believe that the DPS has an important role to play in this endeavor...and
that the time calls for this role to be played.
In any advocacy role, I believe that the DPS should advocate for the quality
and vigor the program, but should not insert itself as an advocate for
certain missions over others. In that arena, the DPS should respect and
support the programmatic advice and recommendations of formal advisory
committees -- within NASA and as part of the National Academy's advisory
structure -- which are constituted to be able to give these questions the
time and objectivity that such advice requires. However, there are issues
relevant to the quality and vigor of planetary science that I believe need to
be brought to NASA's attention. In that respect, I believe that NASA is not
sufficiently balanced in capitalizing on the potential contributions of
scientists outside of the Agency, particularly in the area of instrument
development and related technical activities; and I believe that the program
and the discipline suffer from that. While I do not think it would be
appropriate for an officer of the DPS to use the position to advocate a
personal view, I do think that this is an issue the DPS might consider taking
up as part of its advocacy for the best possible planetary program.
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DANIEL BRITT, candidate for DPS Committee
Research Associate Professor
University of Tennessee
Background:
PhD Geological Sciences, Brown University
MS Geological Sciences, Brown University
BS Geological Sciences, University of Washington
MA Economics, University of Washington
BA Economics, University of Washington
Professional Activities:
PI, NASA Planetary Astronomy Program
PI, NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program
Chair, Program Committee, 2001 Meteoritical Society Meeting
Research Associate Professor, University of Tennessee
Chair, Planetary Division, Geological Society of America
Co-Investigator, New Millennium Deep Space One
Co-investigator, Mars Pathfinder
Project Manager, Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Research Associate, University of Arizona
NASA Planetary Astronomy Post-Doctoral Fellow
Guest Observer IRTF, MMT.
Member: DPS/AAS, AGU, GSA, Meteoritical Society
Other Career Activities:
Boeing Company, Economist
US Air Force, Missile Launch Officer
Planetary exploration is one of the few governmental enterprises held in high
regard by the general public. What we do generates excitement, interest, and
pride around the world. We at the DPS, have become the de facto
representatives of an international scientific community keenly interested in
promoting the rigorous scientific exploration of space. Our product is
knowledge and our continual task is the education of the general public,
governmental decision-makers, and, of course, each other.
We do a good job of educating each other through Icarus and the DPS annual
meeting, but it is to a major challenge reach out to the public and the
politicians. The annual "crisis" in the NASA budget (which includes the
annual call for letter-writing) is really a crisis in our ability to get our
message, of what is required for a healthy planetary science community, to
the decision-makers and budget-writers in Washington. What the DPS committee
can do is represent the interests and goals of the planetary science
community in the Federal decision-making process. DPS committee members are
in an excellent position to provide support and information to congressional
staff while they are developing NASA and NSF budgets. By being proactive at
an early stage in the budget process, we can effectively argue for he merits
of basic research, the need to support a healthy Research and Analysis
Program, discourage earmarking, and encourage a balanced approach to the
scientific exploration of space.
Just as planetary science has become an integrated, international enterprise,
DPS has become a truly international organization. The DPS committee needs
to support and enhance the internationalization of our organization by
becoming more involved in representing the views of planetary scientists
worldwide. This includes supporting DPS meetings in non-US venues, assisting
our colleagues in Eastern Europe, and establishing/enhancing contacts with
international space agencies.
Our ultimate product is translating the excitement and advances of planetary
science to the worldwide general public. The DPS committee needs to support,
where possible, the outreach efforts of our members and the enhancement of
our Internet presence. The excitement of planetary exploration attracts us
to this field and engages the public and the politicians. The challenge for
the DPS committee is to see that our message gets to the political decision-
makers as well as the public.
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STEPHEN M. LARSON
Senior Research Associate
LPL, University of Arizona
BACKGROUND
Steve is a senior research associate at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
where he has worked since 1967. He currently directs the Catalina NEO Sky
Survey, and has published over 70 papers on ground- and space-based
observations of comets, asteroids, rings, and planets.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES/SERVICE
Member AAS, DPS, IAU
International Halley Watch Discipline Specialist
Guest Investigator VEGA-Halley
Local Organizing Committee Chair and Program Committee member,
28th Annual DPS Conference, Tucson, Arizona, 1996
DPS Nominating Subcommittee, 1997-1999, Chair 1999
Numerous NASA and NSF proposal review panels
NASA Planetary Astronomy Program Management Operations Working Group
IAU Working Group on NEOs
Position Statement
The DPS plays a critical role in communicating our visions, challenges, and
scientific results to colleagues, funding agencies, Congress, and the public.
However, the DPS also needs to be vigilant and proactive in protecting and
promoting our science. Even though we are in an era of budget surplus, our
field faces potentially devastating budget cuts. In the past year, the DPS
has made great progress in expanding our presence in the federal budget
process by face to face interaction with congressional staffers and co-
authored report language on the NASA budget recently passed by the House
Appropriations Committee. However, we need to strengthen our collective voice
by further cultivating personal contacts with our representatives and key
government decision makers to keep them informed of the importance and public
support of our work. As a member of the DPS Committee, I will work towards
institutionalizing this process, such as forming a permanent subcommittee to
act as liaison between the DPS and the various branches of government so that
our congressional representatives remain aware of our work. This subcommittee
would also actively solicit input about new results from DPS members and
provide more information and feedback to members on the DPS web site.
I will also work to support the health of NASA's Research and Analysis
programs which provide essential data and the foundation on which we design
costly flight projects and gain the skills to understand and maximize benefit
from these missions. The taxpayers deserve optimal use of their NASA dollars,
and the R&A programs help accomplish that. The R&A programs support a
significant fraction of our membership, including our younger members who
will conduct our missions in the future.
Expanded public outreach and education is still needed in such forms as a
traveling exhibition and more effective media interaction that would inform
the public at a deeper level than the sound bites the media (and often NASA)
get away with these days. With more effort, our work can be expressed in a
way that could inspire the desire to find out more how our planet and the
universe work.
I pledge my commitment to maintaining a healthy, robust DPS and to promoting
our science to the public and our government representatives.
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ROSALY LOPES-GAUTIER, candidate for Committee
Research Scientist
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
I received my Bachelor's degree in Astronomy from the University of London
(University College) in 1978. A course in planetary geology inspired me to
stay on at University College and study for a Ph.D. on the physics of
volcanic processes on Earth and Mars. I received my Ph.D. in 1986, while
working as Deputy Curator of Astronomy at the Old Royal Observatory in
Greenwich, part of the National Maritime Museum. My work at the museum gave
me valuable experience in outreach and education. I became Acting Head of the
Astronomy section in 1988, but found that I missed the thrill of research. I
left my tenured position in 1989 to do a postdoc at the Vesuvius Volcano
Observatory in Naples, Italy, followed by an NRC research fellowship here at
JPL. I joined the Galileo Flight Project in 1991, as a member of the Near-
Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) science team. I have been responsible
for the science planning of NIMS observations of Io and for the integration
of our plans and results with those from other teams. I am a PI in NASA's
Jupiter System Data Analysis Program. My research interests are now focused
on Io's volcanism, surface composition, and SO2 cycle. I feel particularly
privileged to be working on data from the recent Galileo Io fly-bys, which
have yielded really exciting results.
I have served on several review panels and have been a member of committees
of the Geological Society of America (GSA), the International Association of
Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI), the UK's
Association for Astronomy Education, and JPL. I have organized several
meetings, symposia, and special sessions, including two United Nations/ESA
workshops on Space Science for Developing Countries. During this last year I
have been co-organizer of a special session at Spring AGU, a symposium at the
International Geologic Congress in Rio and am co-chair of the Local
Organizing Committee of the DPS 2000 meeting in Pasadena. I am member of the
DPS, IAU, AGU, GSA, IAVCEI, and the UK's RAS.
Position Statement:
I would like to focus my efforts while serving on the DPS committee toward
international and interdisciplinary collaboration and public outreach.
Fostering collaboration and the exchange of ideas is a major purpose of our
organization. DPS membership has expanded to several countries, including
some that had no planetary science research only a few years ago. The
expansion of the internet has greatly facilitated long-distance
collaboration. I believe that we could do much more to help scientists from
other nations become involved in planetary science. Interdisciplinary
collaboration is often the most effective way of involving scientists from
countries where planetary science is in its infancy. I would like to find
more ways in which DPS could facilitate interdisciplinary and international
collaboration. I believe we would benefit as an organization and as
individuals.
Public outreach has been an interest of mine throughout my science career. I
believe that planetary exploration is the most exciting endeavor humans are
undertaking at present. The DPS recognizes the importance of sharing our
science with the public and of encouraging the next generation of planetary
scientists. Our sponsors are directing us to do more outreach, both to share
the excitement of planetary science discoveries and to build a support base
for funding our research. Many of our members are outstanding in their
outreach efforts and have shown that there are many valuable ways of engaging
the public. We as an organization can help our members find the outreach
programs that best suit their constraints and personal preferences, and we
can help define efforts that we think are particularly effective. Most
importantly, we can work with our sponsors toward a common view of outreach
priorities and programs that maximizes effectiveness but also encourages
scientists to approach outreach as they approach science - with creativity
and individuality.
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MICHAEL MENDILLO, candidate for Committee
Professor of Astronomy
Boston University
Ph.D. 1971, Physics and Astronomy, Boston University
Faculty Member since 1974
Associate Dean of Graduate School, 1977-1987
Research Fields: Upper atmospheric physics of the Earth, planets and moons,
Low-light-level imaging science instrumentation
Statement: I will be pleased to serve the DPS community in any way I can.
My research interests merge Space Physics and Planetary Science, and my
academic experience spans the traditional areas of undergraduate teaching,
graduate and post-doc mentoring, some administration, and endless proposal
writing. As a recent member of COMPLEX, I have seen the high and low
pressure systems that drive our discipline.
_____________________________________________________________________
CONTINUING MEMBERS OF THE DPS COMMITTEE FOR THE YEAR 2000-2001:
Past-Chair: Robert Nelson, JPL
Chair: Mark Sykes, Univ. of Arizona
Secretary/Treasurer: Alan Harris, JPL
Press Officer: Ellis Miner, JPL
Education Officer: Larry Lebofsky, Univ. of Arizona
Committee members: Melissa McGrath, STScI
John Spencer, Lowell Observatory
Nadine Barlow, Univ. of Central Florida
Guy Consolmagno, Vatican Observatory
_____________________________________________________________________
PLEASE CUT HERE AND RETURN ONLY THE BALLOT TO [email protected]
Vice-Chair:
___Wesley Huntress
___Eugene Levy
DPS Committee (vote for 2):
___Daniel Britt
___Stephen Larson
___Rosaly Lopes-Gautier
___Michael Mendillo
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