Newsletter 17-49

Issue 17-49, December 10, 2017

 

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  1. REMINDER: RENEW YOUR AAS/DPS MEMBERSHIP TODAY
  2. NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE DIVISION TOWN HALL AT THE AGU
  3. AAS ACTION ALERT: STOP THE GRADUATE STUDENT TUITION TAX
  4. NASA HQ VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT – SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE
  5. EGU 2018 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: PS3.1 OUTER PLANET SYSTEMS
  6. JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

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REMINDER: RENEW YOUR AAS/DPS MEMBERSHIP TODAY

 

AAS emailed members in early September announcing the start of membership

renewal season, and many took notice. Online renewals are arriving at a steady

pace. If you have already paid your dues, thanks for your continued support.

 

As many of you saw during the Members meeting in Provo, the AAS regularly

purges the DPS membership list early in the year and we lose 200-300 members.

Please renew your membership today so this does not happen to you!

 

To help reduce costs and the Society’s carbon footprint, we encourage you to

renew online today for fast, easy self-service. Simply log in to pay your dues,

to confirm or update your journal subscriptions and Division memberships,

and to lock in savings for 2018 by renewing for two years at the current rate.

(Note: That last option isn’t available to junior members, who instead get two

years for the price of one — currently $84 —when first joining the Society,

then renew annually thereafter.)

 

Renew before 31 December to maintain your benefits and receive additional

savings: the AAS will extend a one-time 15% discount off your portion of the

author charges for one paper published in the Astronomical Journal, the

Astrophysical Journal, ApJ Letters, or ApJ Supplement. Eligible members

can double their savings: if you renew by 31 December for two years, you will

receive the 15% author discount on one paper each in 2018 and 2019.

The Society has much planned for 2018 — including the 231st meeting of the

AAS in National Harbor in January — so you won’t want to miss out on the latest

science, member communications, and career and networking opportunities.

Supporting the AAS is supporting your discipline. Renew today!

 

If you have any questions about your dues or benefits, or need assistance

when logging in, please contact the membership team by email at

[email protected] or by phone at 202-328-2010. Thank you!

 

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NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE DIVISION TOWN HALL AT THE AGU

Thursday, 14 December 2017 at 12:30 – 13:30
New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center – 203-205

Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) will
present introductory remarks.

Dr. Jim Green, Director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division (PSD)
will present an update of activities within the division and take
questions from the community, with significant time for discussion.

 

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AAS ACTION ALERT: STOP THE GRADUATE STUDENT TUITION TAX

 

The House of Representatives and the Senate have now passed separate versions

of H.R. 1: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Under the House version, graduate student

tuition waived by universities would be taxed as income, whereas under the Senate

version such tuition would remain an eligible income deduction (i.e., it would be

excluded as income and thus not subject to income tax). Now, Congress has to

resolve the differences between the two bills in a conference committee.

 

This week, ask your Senators and Representative to strongly oppose the repeal

of the income exclusion for graduate tuition waivers in the final version of the

tax reform bill. Read the full Policy Alert on the AAS website to learn more.

 

Until the final bill is announced and approved by both chambers of Congress, 

taxes on waived graduate tuition and the many other provisions affecting

higher education are not finalized, but the conference committee has already

begun its work and is expected to move quickly. The AAS thus recommends

that you contact your legislators within the next 48 hours.

 

If you have any questions about this action alert, please get in touch with the 

AAS Public Policy staff at [email protected].

 

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NASA HQ VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT – SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE

 

NASA will be posting a position in the Science Mission Directorate for

Program Scientists in the Astrophysics, Planetary Science, and Earth Science

Divisions. The posting will be Open January 2, 2018, to January 31, 2018.

These positions are being filled at the GS/14-15 level (salary range $112,021

– $161,900). Within your resume, please state which science division you

have an interest in.

 

The program scientist is expected to perform a range of scientific program

planning duties in Mission and Research and Analysis (R&A) Programs.

Duties may include: Developing, reviewing, and providing recommendations

for proposed program requirements, expected results, and budgetary estimates;

Initiating and monitoring research contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements;

Providing expert advice to management on strategic planning and program

development. A program scientist represents scientific disciplines to NASA

senior management and serves as an advocate for the communities’ scientific

interest.

 

In addition to the basic education requirements, applicant must also have one

year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade, which has

equipped the applicant with the particular competencies needed to successfully

perform the duties of the position described above. Appropriate details will be l

isted in the announcement.

 

The announcement and applications will be through USAJOBS.gov.

To apply, see USAJobs.gov when the job opens on January 2, 2018.

Announcement Number: HQ18C0015.

 

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EGU 2018 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: PS 3.1 OUTER PLANETS SYSTEMS

 

Please consider submitting an abstract to the session PS3.1 on Outer Planets

Systems of the EGU General Assembly, to be held 8-13 April 2018, in Vienna,

Austria, see:

https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2018/abstractsubmission/28491

The abstract submission deadline is 10 Jan 2018, 13:00 CET. Please note that

this year late abstracts can only be accepted after approval by the Programme

Committee; it also will entail a late abstract fee.
 

The PS3.1 EGU  session welcomes abstracts on the outer planets and Pluto

systems, including their internal structures, atmospheres, magnetospheres,

satellites and rings and coupling processes within those systems. A significant

part of the session will be devoted to the Cassini-Huygens mission, including

the Cassini Grand Finale Mission. Abstracts on observations from space and

from the ground are also solicited. Supporting laboratory investigations and

concepts for future space missions and Earth-based observations are also

relevant to this session.

 

The Conveners: A. Coustenis, S. K. Atreya , O. Witasse , N. Altobelli ,

D. H. Atkinson , J-P. Lebreton , L. Spilker, C. Plainaki

 

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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

 

A) CLYDE AND PATRICIA TOMBAUGH SCHOLAR POSTDOCTORAL APPOINTMENT

     NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY

     LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

 

The Department of Astronomy at New Mexico State University seeks

applications for a postdoctoral appointment, the Clyde and Patricia

Tombaugh Scholar. This position, established in honor of the contributions

of Dr. Clyde Tombaugh to Astronomy, is a research fellowship targeted

to recent recipients of a PhD. This position will be for a two year period,

with a possibility of extension to a third year depending on performance

and funding. A research fund will be available for travel and/or publications.

 

We are particularly interested in individuals whose research areas align with

or complement those of our current faculty, namely in the areas of solar

physics, planetary science, stellar populations, interstellar medium, galaxy

formation and evolution, or cosmology (see http://astronomy.nmsu.edu for

more details). The department is a member of the Astrophysical Research

Consortium, with access to the ARC 3.5m telescope and NMSU 1m telescope

at Apache Point Observatory. We are a participant in the Sloan Digital Sky

Survey IV project.

 

The position is targeted to start in August 2018. A requirement for individuals

who fill this position is to present a public lecture to the local community.

Candidates must have obtained their PhD prior to starting this position. Please 

submit a curriculum vitae with a publication list, description of research goals

through the NMSU Jobs site at https://jobs.nmsu.edu/postings/30143 by 

January 15, 2018. Three reference letters are also required to be emailed to

[email protected]. Inquiries may be sent to

[email protected]. Women, minorities, veterans, and disabled

persons are encouraged to apply. Offer of employment is contingent upon

verification of individual’s eligibility for employment in the United States.

NMSU IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER.

 

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Send submissions to:

Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected]

 

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