Issue 12-19, July 31, 2012
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1) HARTMANN DPS AWARDS
2) YOUR LAST CHANCE TO VOTE AT THE 2012 DPS ELECTIONS
3) MARS CURIOSITY ROVER LANDING : MESSAGE FROM JIM GREEN
4) JOB/POSITION OPPORTUNITIES
5) UPCOMING MEETINGS
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HARTMANN DPS AWARDS
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Hartmann student travel awards for the DPS 2012 Reno meeting. We acknowledge the generous sponsorship of NASA’s Lunar Science Institute that enabled us to increase the number of awards. The student winners are:
Jasmina Blecic, Univ. of Central Florida
Joshua Brakensiek, Home school
Patricio Cubillos, Univ. Central Florida
Johanna Laina Fischer, Florida Institute of Technology
Erin George, Univ. Colorado, Boulder
Gwendolyn Hicks, Univ. of Columbia (research at U of Michigan)
Erik Larson, Univ. Colorado, Boulder
Olivier Poch, LISA, Univ. Paris, France
Pryscilla Pires dos Santos, Univ. Estadual Paulista, Brazil
Anezina Solomonidou, LESIA, Paris, France and Univ. Athens, Greece
We look forward to seeing them in Reno.
Rosaly Lopes
DPS Vice-Chair
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YOUR LAST CHANCE TO VOTE AT THE 2012 DPS ELECTIONS
Following pleas from some of our colleagues, we have decided to extend by a week the elections deadline, which will now close on August 3d 2012, just a few days from now.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO VOTE !!!
To vote, go to http://aas.org/vote/ .
You will need your AAS member login ID (which defaults to your membership number), and your password. If you haven’t registered or renewed your DPS membership recently, please take a moment to do so now. This will allow you to vote and benefit from all membership advantages.
You should vote for one of the two candidates for Vice-Chair:
– Heidi Hammel, AURA
– Jeff Moore, NASA Ames
You should vote for two of the four candidates for DPS Committee:
– Ross Beyer, SETI Institute
– Sebastien Charnoz, AIM, Univ. Paris Diderot, France
– Amanda Sickafoose Gulbis, Southern African Large Telescope
– Paul Withers, Boston University
The detailed vitae and position statements for each of the can be found on the main election page,
http://aas.org/vote/
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MARS CURIOSITY ROVER LANDING : MESSAGE FROM JIM GREEN
[from the PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER SPECIAL EDITION
Volume 6, Number 33 (July 29, 2012)]
By : James L. Green, Director Planetary Science, NASA
One week from today, our community will be forever changed, one way or
the other, no matter what. The landing of the Mars Curiosity Rover at
Gale Crater occurs at 1:30 AM (Eastern Time) and it will be a history
event. Curiosity is our latest flagship mission and it demands all of
our attention. This feat represents the most difficult entry, descent,
and landing (what is known as EDL) of a planetary science rover ever
attempted, anywhere. As you may already know, the historical success
rate at the planet Mars is only 40%. Although our landing percentage
odds are higher (100%), successful landing with an unproven, next
generation, landing system…well, that will be a white-knuckle-
experience to say the least.
One short week away is the crescendo of the “Martian – Year of the
Solar System.” In addition to planetary’s two years of success; for
the MSL team, it’s the culmination of over 8 long years of effort.
Frankly, the future of the Mars program and perhaps planetary science
is at stake. It goes without saying that we are in trying budgetary
times.
Each one of us in the planetary science community should appreciate,
understand, and take ownership of this event. We should discuss
Curiosity’s Landing to our friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
Whether you are part of the Mars program or not, I encourage you
to become aware of what will happen in one week and talk to your own
“network” of family and friends. At the very least, watch the
“7 Minutes of Terror” video on Youtube, and hear firsthand what will
occur. Beginning tomorrow, an animation will be available showcasing
EDL on our Eyes On Solar System website:
http:/solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes
An entire “toolkit” has been created to assist you in raising
awareness and communicating all aspects of this incredible mission
and the EDL event at:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/msl_landing.cfm
If you are hosting a landing event or are looking to participate
in an event near you, please go to www.nasa.gov/mars to find a
location before the landing. Or, during the landing, watch it, live,
online at that same site. For Curiosity and planetary science on
August 6th, one way or another, our world will not be the same.
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JOB/POSITION OPPORTUNITIES
A) FACULTY OPENING – PHYSICS DEPARTMENT OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
The Department of Physics at Washington University announces a faculty
opening in experimental physics at the level of Associate Professor
with tenure in space sciences, particularly cosmochemistry or
extraterrestrial materials. Candidates at the Assistant Professor
level who are exceptionally well qualified and who have a demonstrated
aptitude for teaching and original research will also be considered.
Duties include teaching and advising students, conducting original
research, and participating in departmental and university service.
A PhD in a relevant field is required. Demonstrated success in
obtaining research funding is highly desirable. The appointment
will begin fall 2013. Applications should consist of the following:
cover letter, current resume including publication record, statement
of research interests and plans (up to 5 pages), statement of teaching
interests and approach (up to 3 pages), and names and complete contact
information (including email addresses) of three references.
Application materials must be submitted electronically by email as
a single file in editable PDF format to:
[email protected]
For full consideration applications should be submitted on or before
November 15, 2012. Washington University is an equal opportunity/equal
access/affirmative action institution. Women and minorities are
encouraged to apply.
B) OSIRIS-REx MISSION TEAM IMAGE PROCESSING SCIENTIST
The University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory is leading
the OSIRIS-REx mission to a primitive asteroid. Images from the
spacecraft’s cameras will be critical to many elements of the mission,
including optical navigation, global mapping to secure a shape model
to define a reference coordinate system, the search for valid and
viable sampling sites, monitoring of the sample acquisition process
and the search for any satellites and dust plumes around the asteroid.
We seek a full-time staff scientist who will help define and create
the image processing requirements and algorithms needed to achieve
this goal. During asteroid proximity operations, they will use their
knowledge of image processing and tools to manage routine pipeline
processing of returned images, and the creation of ad-hoc imaging
products. They will also support the creation of image data products
to support the selection of a sampling site.
We are searching for a PhD in an appropriate field with 3-4 years of
experience OR a bachelors or higher degree in an appropriate field
and 10 years of experience.
To read more about the job or to apply, visit the University of
Arizona’s Human Resources Website at:
https://www.uacareertrack.com/
and search for Job Number 50477.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
AGU 2012 PS SESSIONS
The meeting website is:
http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/
The registration and housing is open since July 12, 2012. The abstract
submission website is:
http://agu-fm12.abstractcentral.com/
Abstract deadline reminder: August 8, 2012, 23:59ET/3:59+1 GMT
More planetary-related sessions :
– AGU SESSION P021: Planetary Surfaces in Motion
With the advent of high spatial resolution and increasing temporal baselines, spacecraft observations have documented surface changes on planetary bodies at decadal, annual, and shorter timescales. These data provide fundamental insight into active surface changes, which vary in type, mode, and magnitude across the Solar System, and provide motivation for model, terrestrial analog, and laboratory studies that seek to better understand underlying physical mechanisms and relevant environment conditions. This session seeks abstracts focused on observations and modeling of surface processes, including fluvial, volcanic, mass wasting, aeolian and other agents that cause changes that can be monitored by spacecraft. Laboratory and field analog studies are also welcome.
http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/session-search/single/planetary-surfaces…
– AGU SESSION SH017: Sun-Grazing Comets as Solar Probes: What Goes on Behind the Occulter Disk? (conveners Dean Pesnell, Casey Lisse, Matthew Knight)
“On Dec 16, 2011, comet C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) became instantly famous when it not only survived perihelion but had its journey around Sun chronicled by a dizzying array of solar and astrophysical missions. We have now seen two comets outgassing near the surface of the Sun. However, much remains to be learned about comets and the Sun from observing the Kreutz sun-grazing family. This session solicits papers on the properties of sun-grazing comets and what their perihelion passage reveals about the Sun. Topics include the observations of sun-grazing comets, the determination of their orbital elements, models of the comet as it passes perihelion, the fate of the material in the solar corona, and the response of the corona.”
– AGU SESSION DI008: Necessary Ingredients for Next-Generation Dynamo Models”
“Self-consistent dynamo models have existed for almost twenty years. However, the models are limited by computational constraints to adopt material properties, fluid forcings, and rotation rates that are far from geophysical reality. This mismatch between models and reality raises important questions. What aspects of core physics are captured by present-day models and how can shortcomings be identified? Next-generation models will refine key model components to better reflect the state of the core. This session invites contributions that discuss our present understanding of dynamo systems and that shed light on how best to construct next-generation, massively-parallelized models.”
The invited speakers are:
Nick Featherstone (HAO),
Eric King (Berkeley),
and Peter Olson (JHU).
Please forward this advertisement to your colleagues. We are looking forward to a broad and lively discussion on next-generation dynamos.
Conveners : Jon Aurnou & Bruce Buffett
-AGU SESSION on jets and zonal flows in planetary and astrophysical settings.
“The large-scale circulations observed on planets, exoplanets and stars are often dominated by zonal flows, which tend to become organized into systems of jets. Recent research has shown that such flows may be generated by a rich array of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic processes. In this session we seek contributions from theorists and observationalists that foster a broad, open-minded, interdisciplinary discussion on zonal-flow and jet formation processes, and on the ways in which such processes may be detected and disambiguated with observations.”
Invited speakers are:
Thomas Gastine (MPI)
Junjun Liu (Caltech)
Jonathan Mitchell (UCLA)
Adam Showman (LPL)
Conveners : Jon Aurnou and Lorenzo Polvani
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