Issue 15-48, November 1, 2015
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- IN MEMORIAM: LLOYD V. WALLACE (1927-2015)
- DPS WORKSHOP: CHARACTERIZING NEW HORIZONS KBO TARGETS FROM EARTH
- NSF DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER REGARDING ARECIBO OBSERVATORY
- COMMUNICATING WITH CONGRESS WORKSHOP AT DPS NATIONAL HARBOR
- AIDA WORKSHOP AT DPS NATIONAL HARBOR
- JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
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IN MEMORIAM: LLOYD V. WALLACE (1927-2015)
Lloyd V. Wallace, Ph.D, Emeritus Astronomer at the Kitt Peak National
Observatory, passed away on October 26, 2015 in Tucson. Born in 1927
in Detroit, Michigan, in humble circumstances, Lloyd developed an early
interest in solar and planetary astronomy and was a protégé of Ralph Nichols,
a physics professor at the University of Western Ontario. Later he moved
back to the United States and obtained his Ph.D in Astronomy at the
University of Michigan in 1957 under Leo Goldberg. It was while he was
at the University of Michigan that he met and married his wife, Ruth. At
various times in his early career, and as the result of a complex series of
events, he held Canadian, British, and United States citizenships and even
found time to become an expert professional electrician. On acquiring his
degree he obtained a position with Joe Chamberlain at the Yerkes Observatory
and began a lifetime association with Chamberlain and Don Hunten (then a
visitor to Yerkes) in atmospheric and spectroscopic research. In 1962 they
moved to Tucson where Chamberlain became the head of the Space Division
at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, a unit set up by the first director, Aden
Meinel, to apply advances in technology to astronomical research. Lloyd was
hired as the principal experimenter in the observatory’s sounding rocket program,
which was set up by the National Science Foundation to provide staff and
visitor access to the upper atmosphere for research purposes. With this
program he supervised a series of 39 Aerobee rocket flights from the White
Sands Missile range to investigate upper atmosphere emissions, aeronomic
processes, and make astronomical observations over a period of about 10 years.
He was also involved in the first attempts to establish a remotely controlled 50”
telescope on Kitt Peak and efforts within the Division to create an Earth orbiting
astronomical telescope. In parallel with these activities Lloyd conducted research
which was largely focused on spectroscopic investigations. In the early days
these included measurement of upper atmospheric emissions, particularly visual
dayglow, the discovery of Raman lines in Uranus, Lightning spectrum, and
auroral emissions. During this time he also pursued theoretical studies of
resonant line transfer and some of the first modelling of the thermal structure
of outer planet atmospheres. With the conclusion of the rocket program he
turned his attention to high-resolution studies of the sun and cool stars and to
long-term study of the variability of atmospheric pollutants (HCl, HF. CO2)
over Kitt Peak. His solar and cool star studies led to the production of several
high-resolution digital atlases extending from the UV to the thermal IR, and
in addition, studies of line variability and the molecular content of sunspots.
Lloyd was a very private and genuine person, but with a very sharp wit.
He was highly productive with 135 published papers bearing his name.
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DPS WORKSHOP: CHARACTERIZING NEW HORIZONS KBO TARGETS
FROM EARTH
Tuesday November 10th, 12:20pm – 1:30pm, Annapolis 3
This lunchtime workshop will discuss needs and opportunities for Earth-based
KBO observations to support the potential New Horizons extended mission to
the Kuiper Belt. At New Year 2019, subject to NASA approval of an extended
mission, New Horizons will encounter the cold classical KBO 2014 MU69,
providing the first ever close-up view of a small KBO. The spacecraft also has
the opportunity to make unique long-range observations of about a dozen
additional KBOs during its transit through the Kuiper Belt. Earth-based
observations can help to maximize the science return from the Kuiper Belt
mission by providing (for instance) astrometric, color, lightcurve, and
photometric data on target KBOs, and by providing a broader context for the
New Horizons targets. This workshop will outline the planned New Horizons
KBO mission, and provide an opportunity for discussion of potential Earth-
based support observations. All are welcome- if possible please contact
John Spencer ([email protected]) if you expect to attend.
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NSF: DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER REGARDING ARECIBO OBSERVATORY
A notice for the planetary science community:
The continued operation of the Arecibo Observatory (AO) is now officially open
to question. In the below ‘Dear Colleague Letter’, released this week, the National
Science Foundation (NSF) clearly states its desire to defund AO further (we have
already been operating under severe budget cuts for the past few years) and
ultimately transfer ownership of and responsibility for the observatory to some
other organization:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/nsf16005/nsf16005.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click
It is important to note that this decision is much more driven by NSF funding
squeezes and its commitment to new projects than it is a measure of the scientific
performance of Arecibo Observatory — which continues to be excellent. The
William E. Gordon 305-m diameter radio telescope remains as the world’s largest
and most sensitive single-dish antenna, and as such retains the potential for many
more years of exceptional science (especially if upgraded further). For example,
the Planetary Radar Science (PRS) group, of which I am part, conducts post-
discovery characterization observations of more than one hundred near-Earth and
Main Belt asteroids each year, refining orbital solutions and frequently resolving
shape, spin, and other physical characteristics of these bodies that can only be
exceeded by much more expensive spacecraft visits. The work that we do here
is incredibly important, and we now need the help and support of the scientific
community in order to continue it.
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COMMUNICATING WITH CONGRESS WORKSHOP
AT DPS NATIONAL HARBOR
Sunday, November 8, 9am-noon.
Interested in learning more about communicating science to decision
makers? Want to participate in Congressional visits during DPS? This
workshop is a great opportunity to learn about effective ways of
communicating your science to members of Congress and other
stakeholders. If you are interested in participating, please please go to
public-policy/how-to-get-involved/
and sign up. The workshop is free, but space is limited. If the workshop
fills up, participants will be chosen to maximize career level, demographic,
and geographic representation. Please note that given the nature of the
meeting schedule and the schedule of Congressional staff, we can’t
guarantee that we’ll be successful in getting Hill meetings for everyone.
This is an experiment, so we will see how it goes! No matter what, the
workshop will be valuable and prepare you for future Hill visits and other
communication. Hosted by the DPS FRS and the American Geophysical Union.
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AIDA WORKSHOP AT THE DPS 2015 MEETING
National Harbor
Lunch time on Monday, Nov. 9 (Room Annapolis 1)
The AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment) mission will be
the first demonstration of asteroid deflection by a spacecraft kinetic
impact, currently in Phase A study. The target will be the binary
asteroid Didymos in 2022 whose mutual orbit will be changed by the
impact. An integral part of AIDA will be coordinated ground-based
observing campaigns to detect and measure impact effects. The AIDA
Workshop at DPS will be an open meeting. Please come if interested
to join discussions of the parallel AIDA Phase A studies for ESA
and NASA and to hear about opportunities to participate in AIDA
Working Groups for observations, modeling and simulations.
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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
A) PLANETARY SCIENCES EXPLORATION FACULTY
content/planetary-sciences-exploration-faculty
University of Central Florida
Application Deadline: November 15, 2015
B) FACULTY POSITION IN EARTH AND PLANETARY
MATERIALS, UC DAVIS
The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of
California Davis seeks an outstanding scholar whose study of the
origin, transformation, or deformation of Earth and planetary
materials addresses major processes in the solid Earth. This
tenure-track faculty position is the first of multiple anticipated
faculty searches directed at understanding the formation and
evolution of Earth and other rocky planets, and we seek applicants
whose work expands and amplifies our current research strengths.
Appointment at the Assistant Professor level is anticipated. The
department’s research programs and experimental, analytical and
computational facilities are described at:
http://geology.ucdavis.edu/facilities
Candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, publication list,
statements of research plans and teaching interests, and names and
addresses of four references by December 20, 2015, Applications
should be submitted online via the job listing JPF00738 at:
https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/apply/JPF00738
Inquiries may be addressed to the Search Committee Chair at
[email protected]
C) FACULTY POSITION IN ASTROPHYSICS, UC DAVIS
The Department of Physics at the University of California, Davis
invites applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position
in astrophysics. Fields of interest span a wide spectrum of
astrophysical topics (from planetary sciences to cosmology) and
approaches (theory, observation, simulations). This position
represents the launch of a major initiative in astrophysics at UC
Davis with the intent to broaden the focus of the current cosmology
group, and offers an opportunity to become part of an exciting
program in astrophysics and cosmology, with connections to
planetary science. Multiple positions are anticipated over the next
few years. The faculty at UC Davis has access to the telescopes
at the Keck and Lick Observatories, and the University of California
is a founding partner in the Thirty Meter Telescope.
Applications should be submitted online via the job listing
JPF00700 at:
https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/apply/JPF00700
by November 15, 2015. Inquiries may be addressed to
[email protected]. For further information
about the department, please visit:
http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu
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Send submissions to:
Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected])
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—
Anne J. Verbiscer
Research Associate Professor
Department of Astronomy
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4325