As I pass the gavel to incoming Chair Lucy McFadden at today’s Members’ Meeting, I am struck anew by the breadth of pure science that you do. It’s been easy to get caught up in the details of the meeting organizing. So it is particularly refreshing to see all of the great results and discussions taking place in Pasadena this week!
Particular thanks are due to this year’s Local and Scientific Organizing Committees, particularly LOC Chair Diana Blaney and SOC Chair Kevin Baines. One of the special pleasures of the job as DPS Chair is to see so many great volunteers from our community working toward common goals. So thank you to the DPS Committee, our subcommittees, and to our friends at the AAS for all of your service.
For the future, this year we have worked through a deliberate process to establish meeting locations beyond 2018. You heard from our EPSC colleague Manuel Grande on Monday that the 2019 DPS will be a joint meeting with EPSC in Geneva, Switzerland. In keeping with my promise to find cost-effective mid-sized cities in which to meet we have also penciled in Spokane, Washington for 2020 and Providence, Rhode Island for 2021. Together with Provo, Utah next year and Knoxville, Tennessee in 2018 these choices will lower the total cost of meeting attendance moving forward.
It’s been an exciting year, and I thank all of you for having been given the opportunity to serve. I hope to see you all at the Members’ Meeting at noon today,
DPS Chair
Jason W. Barnes