Newsletter 14-9

Issue 14-9, April 24, 2014

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1) REMINDER : 2014 ONLINE MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
2) JPL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO MODEL EUROPA PLUMES
3) JOBS/POSITIONS OPPORTUNITIES
4) UPCOMING MEETINGS
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REMINDER : 2014 ONLINE MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

You are receiving this e-mail because you have subscribed to DPS during the past 2 years.
If you are one of those who haven’t had the time yet to renew, please take it now by logging in to your membership record (today !) and paying your dues so that you can remain part of the DPS community.  
To ensure your listing is correct, please take a moment and log in to the Member Pages (http://members.aas.org) and click the Member Profile link to review your information.
By renewing online and not receiving a paper renewal, you will help your Society save enormous costs.

Also, please take a moment to update your personal DPS member file.

Thank you for your urgent attention.
Athena Coustenis, DPS Secretary

Send general replies to [email protected].

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JPL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO MODEL EUROPA PLUMES

(URL:  https://acquisition.jpl.nasa.gov/bizops/ )

Recent Hubble Space Telescope (HST) detection of anomalous concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen at Europa could potentially be due to plumes, analogous to the well-characterized plume at Enceladus as observed by the Cassini mission. Plumes on Europa would be extremely interesting science and mission targets, particularly due to the unique opportunity to obtain direct information on the subsurface composition, thereby addressing Europa’s potential habitability. In this context, a better understanding of the density and compositional structure of potential Europa plumes would help in planning of science observations for the Europa Clipper mission concept. Moreover, understanding the density structure of plumes is important to understanding potential engineering concerns due to dust as well as the potential effects of drag on the spacecraft. JPL seeks proposals that would model Europa plumes, including their possible physical properties and three-dimensional dynamics. We anticipate up to $450 K total funding will be available for 5 – 8 successful proposals. This is anticipated as a 9 to 12 month task, beginning around July 2014. Deadline: Thursday, May 27, 2014, 3:00 p.m. (PST).

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JOBS/POSITIONS OPPORTUNITIES

For all Job opportunities, please visit jobs
and also consider posting a job by filling out the jobs submission form at:
node/add/job

You can send any comments, questions, or suggestions to the DPS Jobs Czar at:  [email protected]

A) REMINDER : UWINGU PHD STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS
PhD students needing funds to report their research results at conferences may apply to Uwingu for travel grants via the form at http://tinyurl.com/Uwingu-TravelAwards; applications are due no later than 11:59 PM PST on 30 April 2014. A total of 10-15 awards are expected to be announced the week of 2 June. Any graduate student completing their PhD in 2014 in planetary science and/or exoplanet studies is eligible. For questions, contact [email protected]. Uwingu is a space company led by planetary scientists to increase public engagement in space exploration and generate grant funds for space research and education. See www.uwingu.com and http://www.uwingu.com/about-us/who-we-are/ to learn more.

B) NEO POSTDOC POSITION AT LOWELL OBSERVATORY
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position at Lowell
Observatory to work on the physical characterization of near-Earth
objects. This position will be co-supervised by Drs. Nicholas
Moskovitz and Will Grundy.

The initial appointment is for one year with automatic extension
to two years in the case of satisfactory progress. Extension to
three years may be possible depending on availability of funding.
The position is expected to be split with 80% of the time dedicated
to the main program and 20% for research of the postdoc’s choice.
The start date is negotiable, but preference is for late summer 2014.
This position is funded by a NASA NEOO grant and comes with a
competitive salary and full benefits. A PhD in physics, astronomy,
planetary science, or a related field is required by the start date.

Application available at:
http://www.lowell.edu/documents/LowellEmploymentApplication-v07-13.pdf

Send to [email protected] along with a single PDF document
incorporating the following:
* A cover letter
* A Curriculum Vitae
* A Statement of past research accomplishments and future research
 goals (3 pages or less)
* Phone numbers and e-mail addresses of three references

Applications will be reviewed beginning June 15, 2014.

View full ad:
http://www2.lowell.edu/users/nmosko/PostdocAd.pdf

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UPCOMING MEETINGS 

A) FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT – LUNGRADCON 2014
NASA Ames Research Center (ARC)
July 19-20, 2014

Registration is now open for the 5th Annual Lunar and Small Bodies Graduate Conference (LunGradCon 2014) to be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 19-20, 2014 at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), preceding the NASA Exploration Science Forum. LunGradCon provides an opportunity for grad students and early-career postdocs to present their research on lunar and small body science in a low-stress, friendly environment, being critiqued only by their peers. In addition to oral presentations, the conference presents opportunities for professional development and networking with fellow grad students and postdocs, as well as senior members of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. A limited amount of funding will be provided for travel and lodging costs.

For more details, please visit:
http://impact.colorado.edu/lungradcon/2014/

or email any questions to: [email protected].

B) WORKSHOP ON THE STUDY OF THE ICE GIANT PLANETS
July 28-30 at APL in Laurel, MD

Abstract submission and registration are now open for the Workshop on the Study of the Ice Giant Planets July 28-30 at APL in Laurel, MD.  The abstracts deadline is May 15 and early registration runs through June 27.  For more information, please see: 

http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/icegiants2014/icegiants20141st.shtml

C) EUROPEAN PLANETARY SCIENCE CONGRESS 2014 – EPSC2014
07 – 12 September 2014
Cascais, Portugal

http://epsc2014.eu

Abstract deadline: 6 May 2014.

The international community of planetary scientists is invited to submit an abstract for presentation of their recent work at the EPSC 2014 Meeting, which will take place at the Centro de Congressos do Estoril, Cascais, Portugal, 07-12 September 2014.

The meeting will consist of oral and poster sessions, as well as workshop-style sessions. We expect a very well attended meeting, with many high quality presentations.

The current list of sessions is organized around the following topics:
TP Terrestrial Planets
GP Giant Planet Systems
MG Magnetospheres and Space Physics
MTI Missions, Techniques and Industry
MTW MT Technology Foresight Workshops
EX Exoplanets and Origins
AB Astrobiology
SB Small Bodies
PD Planetary Dynamics
LF Laboratory and Field Investigations
OEP Outreach, Education, and Policy
AM Amateur Astronomy
CP Comparative Planetology

The scientific program and abstract submission are accessible at:
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2014/sessionprogramme

Please browse the list of sessions and identify the session that most closely matches your area of interest; your abstract can then be submitted directly to that session.  
The session conveners, together with the Scientific Organizing Committee, will finalize the science program shortly after the abstract deadline.  

Information on registration, accommodation, travel routes, visa requirements and social events will become available soon on the meeting web site.

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Note some of the following sessions :

* Special Session at the European Planetary Science Congress 2014
Session MT13: Planetary Science with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2014/session/16816
Convener: P. Ferruit

Abstract: Scheduled for launch in October 2018, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be one of the major space observatories of the next decade. JWST and its instrument suite will allow planetary scientists and astronomers to perform imaging and spectroscopy over the 0.6 to 28 micron range with unprecedented  sensitivity. JWST is designed to observe solar system objects beyond earth orbit having apparent rates of motion up to 30 milliarcseconds/second, i.e. planets, satellites, asteroids, trans-neptunian objects and comets. JWST will also allow to look beyond our solar system and to study exo-planets.
This session will be dedicated to presentations of planetary science (both in our solar system and in other stellar system) that could be conducted with JWST.

* Session: AM2/OEP5
Citizen Science: Intersection of Professional – Amateur Astronomy (co-organized)

Conveners: P. Yanamandra-Fisher, N. Howes. T. Cook

* The Giant planets Systems theme has also several sessions :
– GP1 / Outer planets systems
           Convener: A. Coustenis  | Co-Conveners: N. Andre , S. K. Atreya , C.S Arridge , L.N. Fletcher
– GP2/ Aeronomy of Giant planets
           Convener: J.N. Yates  | Co-Conveners: L. C. Ray , J. Cho , T. Koskinen
– GP3 /Celebrating 10 years of exploration with Cassini-Huygens
           Convener: N. Altobelli  | Co-Conveners: J.-P. Lebreton , A. Coustenis , C. Sotin
– GP4 /Titan’s Surface and Interior
           Convener: E. Turtle  | Co-Conveners: A. Coustenis , J. I. Lunine , R. D. Lorenz

D) 2ND INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INSTRUMENTATION FOR PLANETARY MISSIONS
Greenbelt, Maryland (near Washington DC)
November 4-7, 2014

Call for Papers
Submission Deadline: July 28, 2014

The objective of the International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Mission is to have a broad canvas of instrumentation and technology available to ‘Decadal Survey’ missions and those further out. It is also meant to be a forum of collaboration, exchange and discussions where science questions, and the technology needed to address them, are discussed.
The website for the workshop has been updated. Included on the website is the call for papers, registration information and form, plus lodging information.
To view the current information, visit the workshop website:
http://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/IPM/

E) 11TH EUROPEAN SPACE WEATHER WEEK
17-21 November 2014, Liege, Belgium

** The abstract submission deadline is 1 June 2014. **

We warmly invite abstract submissions to our session “PLANETARY SPACE WEATHER” (http://www.stce.be/esww11/program/03.php).

Please find bellow a full description of this session along with the contact details of all three conveners. The ESWW11 meeting details can be found in the conference website:http://www.stce.be/esww11/ where the necessary guide and links to submitting abstracts can also be found.

** Session Description **
The session welcomes papers on all aspects of the conditions in the Sun, solar wind and magnetospheric plasmas, at different planetary systems of our Solar System, that can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne technological systems. Focus will be given in cross-disciplinary issues, including: – the interaction of solar wind/magnetospheric plasmas with planetary/satellite ionospheres and thick (e.g. at Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Mars, Venus, Titan) or tenuous (e.g. Ganymede, Europa, Mercury, our Moon) atmospheres, including the generation of auroras – the satellite interactions with their neutral environments and dust – the variability of the magnetospheric regions under different solar wind conditions – the inter-comparisons of space weather conditions in different planetary environments Contributions addressing previous (e.g. CHANDRAYAAN-1, KAGUYA), present (e.g. CASSINI, MARS EXPRESS, VENUS EXPRESS, ROSETTA, MAVEN, MESSENGER, VAN ALLEN PROBES) and forthcoming (e.g. BEPI COLOMBO, JUICE, MMS) in situ observations are welcome. Abstracts on theoretical modeling and simulations of planetary space weather conditions, possibly destined for end-users of space weather services, are extremely welcome. Inter-comparisons and interpretation of measurements at different planetary systems and quantification of the possible effect of the environment interactions on components and systems (e.g. radiation doze studies) are strongly encouraged.

** Conveners contact details **
Christina Plainaki (INAF-IAPS, Rome, Italy; [email protected])
Iannis Dandouras (IRAP, Toulouse, France; [email protected])
Maria Andriopoulou (Space Science Institute, Austrian Academy of Science, Graz, Austria; [email protected])

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Send submissions to:
Athena Coustenis, DPS Secretary ([email protected])

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