Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 14:41:19 -0500
From: Linda French <[email protected]>
Subject: DPS Mailing #04-18: DPS Election 2004
 
It is election time; please vote!
 
 +------------------CONTENTS:------------------------------+
 1) DPS ELECTION 2004 
 +----------------------------------------------------------+
 
1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1
 
DPS ELECTION 2004
 
To:  All Members of the DPS
From:  Linda French Emmons, DPS Secretary
Subject: Election of Officers and Committee members
 
In accordance with the bylaws 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 2004-2005 and then serve as DPS Chair during 2005-2006. The 
two Committee Members elected will serve in those positions for 
three-year terms. The members retiring from the Committee are 
Rick Binzel (Past-Chair), Caitlin Griffith, and Catherine de Bergh. 
Biographies and position statements for all of the candidates are 
included in this mailing.
 
IMPORTANT REMINDER: You may vote by e-mail by simply sending an 
e-mail message with your choices to me at [email protected]. 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 regular mail, 
you must be sure to identify yourself in a legible manner on the 
envelope provided. I will also accept ballots by fax (309.556.3864) 
as long as the identity of the voter is clearly indicated. Ballots 
submitted anonymously, by any means, will not be counted.
 
A hard copy letter with ballot and return envelope is being 
mailed to every member, but you do not need to wait for that 
in order to vote.
 
Following this message are the ballot and the position statements 
for each candidate. Please indicate your selections on the ballot 
provided below, which you may send to me by e-mail, fax or regular 
mail. If you choose to vote by e-mail, DO NOT return it by "reply", 
but instead address it to [email protected]. Both I and my system 
administrator would much appreciate it if you could please edit off 
all unnecessary text so I don't get 1000 copies of the candidate 
statements in my in box.
 
Please indicate your selections by e-mail or on the ballot provided 
below, faxed or mailed in the envelope provided. The deadline for 
receipt of the ballots by me is September 20, 2004.
 
Linda French Emmons, DPS Secretary
Department of Physics
Illinois Wesleyan University
P.O. Box 2900
Bloomington, IL 61702 USA
 
....................................................................
 
 
BALLOT
 
Vice-Chair (vote for 1):
 
Michael J. Drake 
 
Richard G. French
 
DPS Committee (vote for 2):
 
William Bottke   
 
Donald R. Davis
 
Imke de Pater 
 
Christopher McKay
 
.....................................................................
 
CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES AND POSITION STATEMENTS
 
MICHAEL J. DRAKE, candidate for Vice-Chair
 
Professor and Head of the Department of Planetary Sciences and 
Director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
 
Michael J. Drake's research interests center on the composition, 
formation and primary differentiation of
the rocky planetary bodies into metallic cores, silicate mantles and 
crusts, oceans, and atmospheres. He has published more than 100 
peer-reviewed papers. Drake has chaired or been a member of numerous 
NASA, National Science Foundation, and National Research Council 
committees and has organized several international conferences. 
He is Past President of both the Geochemical Society and the 
Meteoritical Society. Drake recently chaired the Solar System 
Exploration Subcommittee and was a member of the Space Science 
Advisory Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical 
Union, of the Geochemical Society, and of the Meteoritical Society. 
He is the 2004 winner of the Leonard Medal, the senior award of the 
Meteoritical Society for lifetime achievement.
 
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
 
A lot can happen in three years. Three years ago we did not have 
a coherent solar system exploration program. Today, thanks to the 
excellent work of the Solar System Decadal Survey, we have a 
powerful vision for the future of planetary exploration. But 
Columbia was lost, the war in Iraq has severely affected budget 
priorities, and the President has articulated a vision for human 
exploration of the solar system focusing initially on the Moon with 
eventual expeditions to Mars. The President's vision appears, at 
first glance, to upset the careful work of the Decadal Survey. 
In fact I think it strengthens that work.
 
For the first time since Kennedy, a sensible vision of why we 
have humans in space has been articulated. Importantly, Bush has 
embraced the concept of the "frontier", so deeply embedded in our 
culture. The President's Initiative is affordable, sprinkled with 
well-defined short-term goals such as phasing out the Shuttle, 
while being admirably vague about longer-term goals that present 
significant challenges to achieve such as sending humans to Mars. 
Some you may have a negative response to the President's Initiative 
and interpret it as Moon/Mars only, at the expense of all other 
science, especially because the Hubble Servicing Mission was 
threatened. I think that is the wrong way to view the Initiative. 
Rumors of Hubble's demise appear premature. To support astronauts 
at an Antarctic-type lunar base, nuclear fission power will almost 
certainly be necessary. That will also provide power for outer 
planet missions. It will facilitate grand tours. Until the 
President's Initiative came along, I worried about how we would 
sustain Prometheus and the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter. Now I 
think they are secure. Other outer solar system objectives will 
be similarly reachable. Robotic missions will undoubtedly 
continue through Discovery and New Frontiers.
 
I think this Initiative will be good for planetary science. 
Just as Apollo jump-started planetary exploration, so I think 
this will be a shot in the arm. Missions to Mercury, Venus, Moon, 
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all got started under the shadow of 
Apollo. I don't think this will be very different. Having NASA 
on the Presidential radar screen in a positive light is good.
 
However, the President's Initiative is foundering in Congress, 
particularly in the House of Representatives. The Division of 
Planetary Sciences needs to step up and articulate planetary 
exploration priorities in the context of the President's 
Initiative. If Congress does not support the President's 
Initiative, the Division of Planetary Sciences will need to 
work hard to preserve the gains of the Decadal Survey. 
If elected, I will be an activist Chair.
 
..................................................................
 
RICHARD G. FRENCH, candidate for Vice-Chair
 
Chair, Astronomy Dept., Wellesley College
Louise S. McDowell and Sarah F. Whiting Professor of Astrophysics
 
Education:
 B.A. Physics 1971, Cornell University
 M.A. Astronomy 1975, Cornell University
 Ph.D. Astronomy 1977, Cornell University
 
Research Grants:
 NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics
 NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics
 NASA Planetary Data System
 STSCI Hubble Space Telescope
 
DPS Service and Experience
 DPS member since 1977
 Executive Committee and Press Officer 1987-1989
 Regular DPS Attendee
 
Other Service Positions
 Hubble Space Telescope TAC (Solar System) 1999, 2004
 AAS DDA (Div. on Dynamical Astronomy) Exec. Committee 2003-2005
 NASA Massachusetts Space Grant Committee 1997-
 NASA Planetary Astronomy Review Panel 2000
 NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Review Panel 1988-1991, 2002
 Cassini Instrument and Team Member Review Panel 1989
 Lunar and Planetary Sciences Review Panel 1988-1991
 
Missions:
 Cassini Radio Science Team (1990-
 Hubble Space Telescope PI (1996-2004)
 
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
 
For many of us, membership in the DPS provides our primary 
connection with the world community of planetary scientists. 
As Vice-Chair of the DPS, I would work to build on the strengths 
and extend the reach of our society, both at our annual meeting 
and throughout the year.
 
Our success in scientific research depends critically on 
adequate funding. On a national level, there are significant 
changes underway at NASA that directly affect the strength and 
breadth of the solar system exploration program. Resources are 
being redirected to support the new human exploration program, 
and costs of a Hubble rescue mission and of returning the Shuttle 
to flight could further erode support for space science. The 
DPS must resume its leadership role as an advocate for solar 
system science and for successful NASA mission and research 
programs. We need to engage Congress and NASA leadership, and 
to act as a conduit of information between our membership and 
our political representatives about research funding, the 
status of planetary missions, and science policy. We can do 
this more effectively by coordinating our efforts with other 
AAS divisions and with other professional societies.
 
The annual DPS meeting gives us a chance to meet with colleagues, 
learn of recent scientific results, and present our own 
discoveries. It should also serve to extend our intellectual 
horizons and to give a helping hand to young scientists. I would 
institute a series of 'great debates' about important unsolved 
problems in planetary science: Where is the water on Mars? 
What is the origin of small bodies in the outer solar system? 
How typical is our planetary system? How does climate work on 
the giant planets? Is life easy ('just add water, stir, and 
wait a billion years') or hard? Are mass extinctions convincingly 
tied to major impacts? I would also invite prize winners from 
other divisions of the AAS to present their results in a series 
of lectures. As an organization with broad international 
membership, the DPS should work more closely with our 
international counterparts, such as the EGU and the IAU, to 
insure a global perspective. Our junior members should also 
receive a much greater focus during the annual meeting. I would 
organize workshops on how to write a successful grant, and 
(equally important) how to write a good review of a paper or 
proposal. We could organize 'graduate student and post-doc' 
social activities to help develop a sense of community among 
our newest members. 
 
The DPS as a society can do much more for our members throughout 
the year. The annual DPS business meeting is one place where 
opinions and concerns of our members are voiced, but it does 
not include people who cannot attend because the meetings are 
scheduled in the first week of the academic semester, or from 
those who can't obtain funding to travel abroad, for example. 
We need a better mechanism for the DPS Committee to learn the 
needs and concerns of our community. The last survey of our 
membership was conducted in 1996. It provided important insights 
into the demographics of our community and the importance of 
NASA and NSF grants and programs to its well-being. The DPS 
should conduct these surveys on a regular basis, perhaps every 
four years. I would see that a new survey is undertaken to find 
out what you feel the DPS is doing well and what needs work, 
with the results to be reported both on-line and at the annual 
business meeting.
 
Because our research is funded almost exclusively by the general 
public, we have a responsibility to transform our scholarly results 
into a form that is exciting and accessible to everyone. We should 
help to establish links between the DPS and science museums to 
help develop current and accurate displays of planetary science. 
We should have teacher workshops at each DPS meeting. We could 
establish a program where DPS members would meet with a high 
school student for a day. We should make connections between 
news outlets and DPS members who can articulately convey the 
latest results of planetary science.
 
These are ambitious goals, and their achievement will require 
active participation by all members of the DPS Committee and 
by interested DPS members. My leadership style is not 
autocratic: I prefer to work with others to develop 
consensus, to provide the support necessary for others to do 
their jobs well, and to lead by example, not by fiat. I welcome 
input from all of you. It would be a great honor to serve the 
DPS in this capacity over the next three years.
 
.................................................................
 
WILLIAM F. BOTTKE, JR., candidate for Committee Member
Section Manager, Planetary Science Group, Southwest Research Institute
 
Educational Background
 B.S. Physics, University of Minnesota, 1988
 B.S. Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, 1988
 Ph.D. Planetary Science, University of Arizona, 1995
 
Professional Experience
 Texaco Prize Research Fellow, Caltech, 1996-1997
 Research Associate, Cornell University, 1997-2000
 Senior Research Scientist, SwRI, 2000-2002
 Section Manager, SwRI, 2003-present
 
DPS Service and Experience
 DPS member since 1989
 
Professional Affiliations
 American Astronomical Society - (DPS and DDA divisions)
 American Geophysical Union
 
Professional Activities
 Editor, Asteroids III, Univ. Arizona Press, 2000-2003
 Member of NASA's Near-Earth Object Science Definition Team, 2002-2003
 Member of Planetary Astronomy/Planetary Atmospheres/Near-Earth
 Object Observations Management Operations Working Group,
 1999-present
 Member of Planetary Geology and Geophysics Management
  Operations Working Group, 2003-present
 Served on numerous NASA proposal review panels
 
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
 
At present, a large fraction of DPS members are dependent, to one 
degree or another, on grants from NASA and the NSF. The process 
scientists go through to get grants, however, is less than it could 
be. One of my goals in running for DPS committee is to get the 
DPS to investigate several issues that could potentially benefit 
everyone in our professional organization. For example:
 
--Proposal triage. Under the present system, many NASA and NSF 
R&A programs do not inform scientists of the status of their 
proposals until Congress passes a budget. This procedure creates 
numerous logistical problems for those who do not get funding. 
Under a "proposal triage" system, program managers would send 
messages to those that clearly will not get funded shortly after 
the review panel ranks its proposals. These messages would not 
be binding, but it would let people know where they stand so 
they could make future plans. Note that this procedure is 
already followed by a few program managers, but I would like to 
see it become NASA policy.
 
--Additional funding for established grant programs. At present, 
the NASA legislative system favors the establishment of new 
R&A programs rather than the augmentation of existing programs. 
While getting any new money for R&A programs is a success and 
should be applauded, the paucity of significant budget increases 
for established programs means fewer new starts, smaller grants, 
and more proposal writing for everyone. I suggest the DPS 
investigate this issue and determine the short- and long-term 
funding goals they would like to see from their R&A programs.
 
--A move to 4-year rather than 3-year grants. No one relishes 
the time-consuming effort involved with proposal writing or 
serving on review panels. Our current 3-year grant system in NASA 
and NSF, however, demands considerable time from nearly everyone 
in our field, despite the fact that turnover in established 
R&A programs is relatively small. As a first step to possibly 
changing the current system, I suggest the DPS investigate the 
pros and cons of moving to a 4-year grant system. Ideally, this 
change could reduce the workload of both scientists and program 
managers without causing significant upheaval.
 
--R&A program transparency. At present, it is 
difficult-to-impossible to find information on several basic 
NASA and NSF R&A program issues (e.g., What is the budget history 
of each R&A program over the last 5 years? How many 
investigations were funded in each program over this time frame? 
What was the success rate? What were the mean and median grant 
sizes of each program over this period? How many new starts 
are given to scientists not already in the program each year?). 
Without this information, scientists cannot easily determine 
whether a given R&A programs is under- or over-subscribed. 
I suggest the DPS (and the AAS) collect this information each 
year from all program managers and make it easily available 
at the AAS website.
 
If elected to DPS committee, I will do my best to work with 
the DPS chair, vice-chair, and existing DPS committee to 
address the needs and wide-ranging interests of our 
international planetary science community. This includes 
regular committee work as well as assisting DPS members 
already dealing with Elsevier on making on-line Icarus cheaper 
and more available to our community. Like many in the DPS, 
I find it disturbing that several major universities and 
related institutions are eliminating their Icarus library 
subscriptions in an effort to hold down costs. Though there 
are no easy solutions to this problem, the DPS should be made 
aware of their options and the pros and cons of maintaining 
the status quo.
 
.................................................................
 
DONALD R. DAVIS, Candidate for Committee Member
 
Senior Scientist and Director Emeritus, Planetary Science Institute
 
EDUCATION:
1967, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Ph.D. (Physics)
1962, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, B.S. (Physics)
 
 
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
Director, Planetary Science Institute (PSI), 1997 - 2004.
Assistant Director, PSI/San Juan Institute, 1995 - 1997. 
Division Manager, PSI/Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), 1980-1995, 
Research Scientist, PSI/SAIC, 1973-1985, 
Senior Research Scientist, 1985-present. 
Adjunct Faculty, Pima Community College 1980-1985, 1989, 
IIT Research Institute, 1971-1973, 
University of Arizona 1972-73 Lecturer, Planetary Sciences Department.
TRW Systems, 1967-1971.
 
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
American Astronomical Society DPS Member since 1975, American
 Geophysical Union, Meteoritical Society, American Institute 
of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
 
DPS SERVICE.
Organizing Chair, Federal Relations Subcommittee, 2002; 
Ad Hoc FRS Member, 2003-Present; Organized DPS Telephone 
Communication Tree, 1983-86.
 
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Space Station Planetary Geosciences Experiments Review Panel,1985; 
LPSC XVI Program Committee, 1985; Co-organizer of Workshop on 
"Catastrophic Disruption of Asteroids and Satellites," Pisa, 
Italy, 1985;Secretary/Treasurer, AIAA Southern Arizona Section, 
1982-85; Organizing Committe Catastrophic Disruption Workshop, 
Belgrade,Yugoslavia, 1987; Organizing Committee for Catastrophic 
Disruption Workshop, Kyoto,Japan, 1990; Organizing Committee, 
Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 93, Belgirate, Italy; Organizing 
Committee for 4th Catastrophic Disruption Workshop, Gubbio, Italy, 
Organizing Committee for International Meeting on "Hirayama 
Collisional Families," Tokyo, December 1993; Organizing 
Committee, Asteroids, Comets, Meteors '96, Paris, France; 
Co-Organizer of Catastrophic Disruption Workshop V held 
in Mount Hood, Oregon, 1998, NEOO Review Panel, 2001.
 
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE RELATED TO ASTRONOMY.
 
International Dark-Sky Association, 1990-present. IDA Board of
Directors, 1994-present, President, 1997-present.
Joint Tucson/Pima County Outdoor Lighting Code Committee, 
1986-present, Chair OLCC, 1994-1998.
 
HONORS:
Presidential Medal of Freedom Team Award for Apollo XIII 
Mission Operations Team, NASA Achievement Award, Asteroid 3638 Davis
Editor's Commendation for outstanding reviews, Icarus, 1997.
 
SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS:
My scientific interests range from understanding the origin 
and evolution of asteroids and Kuiper Belt Objects to 
experimental impact studies using the Ames Vertical Gun to 
observations on physical properties of small bodies. The 
Giant Impact model for the origin of the moon and the 
"rubble pile" model for the interior structure of small 
bodies proposed by myself and colleagues at PSI, that 
have so far stood the test of time.
 
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
 
The field of Planetary Science faces major challenges in 
he years ahead. Challenges range from enormous pressure 
on discretionary resources within the Federal budget to the 
need to maintain a balanced program of planetary exploration, 
as outlined in the recent Decadal Survey, in competition with 
the lunar-Mars initiative outlined by the President in 
January, 2004. We are the world's largest society of 
professional planetary scientists, and we must actively 
work to help shape research priorities and funding 
allocations for the exploration of the solar system. 
As a member of the DPS Committee, I will pursue community 
input to formulate and advocate our positions to other 
players in the planetary science field: NASA, the 
Administration, Congress and the American public. I would 
promote expanding DPS contacts with key Congressional 
staffers and legislators as well as establishing a dialogue 
with OMB staff regarding the value of a healthy planetary 
exploration program.
 
To be able to represent our positions most effectively, we 
first need to have a better sense of ourselves. The last 
membership survey was done in 1996. I will work with DPS 
leadership to carry out a new membership survey and to 
institutionalize this process so that it is revised on a 
regular basis. Also, there are issues that arise regarding 
grants that, when sufficiently widespread, could best be 
addressed by the DPS on behalf of the science community, 
rather than leaving it to individual scientists to seek 
solutions. I would work with the DPS Chair and Committee 
to provide a mechanism through which the DPS leadership 
could be made aware of developing problems.
 
A more activist role for the DPS will place a growing 
workload on DPS leadership, particularly the Chair. 
For soft-money scientists, which make up a significant 
fraction of the DPS membership, this activist role may 
place an unacceptably large time/money burden. To address 
this issue, I propose to undertake a discussion with the 
DPS membership about establishing an honorarium for DPS 
leadership that would compensate for the increased time 
commitment needed to meet the challenges that our field 
faces in future years.
 
Our community faces its greatest challenges since the 
threat to terminate planetary exploration in the early days 
of the Reagan administration. We need to speak clearly on 
the benefits that our fields contribute to society. 
This effort will require that the DPS, through its leadership, 
build on the tradition of activism established by recent 
DPS Chairs and Committees in advocating our views in the 
public arena in which critical funding decisions are made. 
Having recently extricated myself from the Directorship of 
the Planetary Science Institute, I anticipate having 
sufficient time available to fulfill responsibilities of a 
DPS Committeeperson. I will work to the best of my ability 
to accomplish this task.
 
..........................................................
 
IMKE DE PATER, Candidate for Committee Member
Professor, Department of Astronomy and Department of Earth and 
Planetary Sciences, Univ. California, Berkeley
 
Education: Ph. D. (cum laude) in Astronomy, Oct. 1, 1980
 Doctoral Degree (equivalent>Master's Degree), 1976
 
Professional Positions: Professor, University of California, Berkeley, July 01 1993-present.
 Associate Professor, Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1987-1993.
 Assistant Professor Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1983-1987.
 Research Associate, Lunar and Planetary Lab, Univ. of Arizona, 1980-1983.
 
Professional: Member of AAS, DPS, AGU, IAU, URSI, NAC
 Member of NRAO millimeter Array Scientific Advisory Committee 1985-1988
 Member of Executive Committee of Space Science Laboratory 1984-1987; 1991-1996 
 Member of Steering Group of International Jupiter Watch: co-founder 1986--
  Member of Editorial Board of Icarus 1990-1992
 Counselor-at-large of Space Telescope Institute Council 1990-1992
 Member Review Panel of programs at Lawrence Hall of Science 1998
 Member of Editorial Board of Astrophysics and Space Sciences, 1996-2002
 Member of Editorial board: Earth, Moon and Planets, 2001-2004
 Member of Warner/Pierce Prize Committee of AAS Council, 2001-2003
 Member of NASA's proposed Nuclear Systems Initiative, 2002-2003.
 
Honors and Awards: C. J. Kok award, Feb. 1982
 URSI John Howard Dellinger Gold Medal (Aug. 1984)
 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow (Sep. 1985)
 NASA Group Achievement Award for Voyager Science Investigation 1990
 Miller Research Professor, Univ. of California, 1993 and 2003-2004
 
Candidate Statement:
The DPS is still a relatively small community, and many of its 
members do attend the DPS meetings. This is a good thing, since 
here we can meet our colleagues, discuss projects of common 
interest, and introduce students to scientific research. I hope 
to be able to help the DPS meetings to attract its members also 
in the future, and to plan interesting special sessions and 
review talks. I like to see more education in astrobiology 
within the DPS, perhaps in form of a special session or a 
series of invited plenary talks. I support education at all 
levels, as well as public outreach in any form: public talks, 
public forums, sessions, telescope viewing, engage students 
(university and high school) in research. If there is an 
opportunity as a DPS committee member to promote education 
and public outreach, I will do so.
 
...............................................................
 
CHRISTOPHER MCKAY, candidate for Committee Member
Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
 
Education
 B.Sc. (Physics), Florida Atlantic University, 1976
  Ph.D. (Astrogeophysics), Univ. Colorado 1982
 
Experience
 1982-1984 NASA Ames - NAS-NRC postdoc with Jim Pollack
 1984-present NASA Ames - Research Scientist, Space Science Division
 
Service
 Local Organizer for DPS in Palo Alto CA, circa 1991
 
Science Interests:
 Atmospheres of Earth, Titan and Mars,
 The search for life on other planets.
 
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
 
The DPS is a unique and valuable association of scientists from 
many disciplines and many countries working together to explore 
other planets. I will work to preserve this. Our main 
professional activities are to hold annual meetings, publish a 
scholarly journal and influence NASA policy. In addition we 
bring our research to the public. I feel strongly about all 
of these. As a NASA federal employee I have certain 
restrictions regarding lobbying activity but I also bring 
certain insights to the NASA system and can inform our 
choices as a society.

 
Linda French Emmons, DPS Secretary
send submissions to [email protected]