Issue 18-24, June 24, 2018
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- 50TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AAS DIVISION FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES OCTOBER 21-26, 2018 IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
- OPAG UPDATES
- AGU SESSION P028: OBSERVATIONS OF PLANETS NEAR AND FAR WITH NEXT-GENERATION TELESCOPES
- AGU SESSION P053: THE URANUS AND NEPTUNE SYSTEMS, AND THEIR RELATION TO OTHER PLANETS
- SOFTWARE SYSTEMS FOR ASTRONOMY 5 – UPDATE
- JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
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50TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AAS DIVISION FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES OCTOBER 21-26, 2018 IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
Abstract submission for our annual meeting is now open!
Regular abstracts are due Thursday, July 26, 2018.
Registration will open in early July. Both local and scientific organizing committees
are working with AAS meeting planners to make this meeting a place to share our
recent scientific results and to continue our collaborations with colleagues.
More information, as it becomes available, can be found at the meeting website:
https://aas.org/meetings/dps50
Here are some key dates to be aware of:
30 June 2018 Workshop Proposal Submission Deadline
26 July 2018 Regular Abstract Deadline
31 July 2018 Early Registration Deadline (lowest cost!)
Note that there will be limited and expensive hotel rooms close to the Knoxville
Convention Center in downtown Knoxville on the Saturday night before the meeting
(Oct 20) due to the home football game between Tennessee and Alabama. The LOC
and AAS staff are working to find meeting space so that workshops can be held on
Saturday October 27. There will be meeting space for workshops at the Knoxville
Convention Center on Sunday October 21 (before the meeting), but it will be
extremely difficult for some people to get into Knoxville early that day (particularly
those coming from the west coast). Another option for workshop attendees would
be to stay at a hotel outside of the downtown area on Saturday night. Workshop
conveners should consider these constraints and communicate with expected
attendees when deciding on workshop dates and times.
We are planning multiple field trips for the weekend after the meeting. Expected
offerings include a visit to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, nearby caves, and
hiking in the Smoky Mountains.
We plan to continue offering electronic posters this year. We will also be having a
banquet at the Knoxville Museum of Art and an ice-cream social on Friday afternoon.
We look forward to seeing you in Knoxville in October.
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OPAG UPDATES
NEW OPAG CHAIR AND STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
We are pleased to announce that Jeffrey Moore (NASA Ames) will be the new
OPAG Chair beginning with the September 11-12 OPAG meeting in Pasadena.
Linda Spilker will continue as Deputy Chair and Alfred McEwen will remain on
the steering committee as past chair.
We are pleased to announce 5 new steering committee members:
Morgan Cable (JPL)
Kathleen Mandt (APL)
Lynnae Quick (CEPS, Smithsonian Institution)
Abigail Rymer (APL)
Thomas Spilker (consultant)
We thank past members who will be rotating off the committee:
Jason Barnes (U. Idaho)
Patricia Beauchamp (JPL)
Julie Rathbun (PSI)
Elizabeth Turtle (APL)
REMINDER: COMMENTS ON 2018 OPAG GOALS DOCUMENT DUE JULY 2, 2018
An extensively revised draft goals document for the Outer Planets Assessment
Group has been posted at https://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/. We invite the OPAG
science community to provide feedback by using the OPAG Discussion Board:
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/forums/viewforum.php?f=2. To use this, you must
have filled out a notification of interest form at https://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/opag.cfm
and register for the discussion board. We plan to provide a 2018 version of this
document to the Discovery program library, so we need comments by July 2.
The goals document will continue to be updated for input to the next Decadal Survey.
-OPAG Steering Committee
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AGU SESSION P028: OBSERVATIONS OF PLANETS NEAR AND FAR WITH NEXT-GENERATION TELESCOPES
We invite abstracts focused on understanding how future large observatories
can drive new discoveries and enable powerful comparative planetology on planets,
moons, and small bodies within the solar system and beyond in this AGU session.
Session Description: Future observatories can enable groundbreaking planetary
science in the solar system and beyond. For instance, large-aperture telescopes
could obtain flyby or orbiter-quality imaging and spectroscopic data from many
solar system objects. This would allow for monitoring of, e.g. possible geyser
activity on icy moons or storms on the giant planets. Beyond the solar system,
these same future large observatories could discover and characterize many nearby
exoplanets, some of which may be habitable and could be examined for signs of life.
Improving our understanding of nearby planets, moons, and small bodies with future
large telescopes will help us to better understand exoplanets — and vice versa –
through powerful comparative planetology applied across multiple planetary systems.
The worlds of our solar system guide our understanding of other planets elsewhere
as nearby data-rich targets, while exoplanets help place Earth and our solar system
into a broader context.
Abstracts may be submitted at this link: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/prelim.cgi/Session/48713
Abstracts are due August 1, 2018, 11:59 PM EDT
Session conveners:
Giada Arney (NASA GSFC)
Heidi Hammel (Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy)
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AGU SESSION P053: THE URANUS AND NEPTUNE SYSTEMS, AND THEIR RELATION TO OTHER PLANETS
We solicit abstracts to a session at AGU 2018 Fall Meeting for the session titled:
P053. The Uranus and Neptune Systems, and their Relation to Other Planets
https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/prelim.cgi/Session/50273
This session encompasses all aspects of ice-giant systems: the magnetospheres,
satellites, rings, atmospheres, and interiors of Uranus and Neptune; their formation
and evolution; and their relation to other planets in and beyond our solar system.
Exploring Uranus and Neptune will reveal how they form, how their magnetic
fields are generated, how their magnetospheres interact with the solar wind, the
energy balance of their atmospheres, and the nature of their rings and satellites,
particularly those seen to be active (Triton) or with young surfaces (Miranda,
Ariel). Radial migration of the ice giants may have shaped the solar system as
we know today. Looking beyond, the Kepler mission has shown that ice giants
are common in our galaxy: most planets known today are thought to be ice giants.
Observations, modeling, and theory related to the ice giants will inform the design
of missions to Uranus and Neptune which are currently under consideration.
Conveners: Kunio M Sayanagi, Elizabeth P Turtle, Xin Cao, and Krista M Soderlund
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SOFTWARE SYSTEMS FOR ASTRONOMY 5 – UPDATE
SSfA at UH Hawaii – 4 seats available – This year we so far have 18 students and
therefore plan two sessions for Software Systems for Astronomy 5 on the Big Island
of Hawaii. This leaves 4 seats still available.
SSfA covers software design and implementation of telescope and instrument
control systems, observation planning tools, and software for analyzing and
archiving astronomical data. SSfA-5 will be offered as a two week intensive
course, 23-Jul to 03-Aug, 2018.
Please find special instructions for off-island participants here:
http://astro.uhh.hawaii.edu/Summer/Summer-2018/ssfa18.php#Special_Summer_Note
More information about Software Systems for Astronomy 5 is here:
http://astro.uhh.hawaii.edu/Summer/Summer-2018/ssfa18.php
More detail about the course is given in the UHH catalog (the course number is 385):
https://hilo.hawaii.edu/catalog/astr-courses
If you have questions, send email to [email protected]
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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
A) OBSERVATORY SCIENTISTS AT ARECIBO OBSERVATORY
Arecibo Observatory, now managed by a group led by the University of
Central Florida (UCF), is hiring observatory scientists for the planetary
radar and radio astronomy groups. We would like to direct your attention
to the job advertisements on the “Jobs With UCF” website, where you can
see preferred qualifications, duties, expectations, and information on how to apply:
https://www.jobswithucf.com/postings/53707
https://www.jobswithucf.com/postings/53706
https://www.jobswithucf.com/postings/53704
In general we are seeking scientists who can support the observational
programs at the observatory as well as maintain an independent research program.
For planetary radar, the hires will assist in the execution of the current
planetary science radar programs at AO, among other duties.
For radio astronomy, the hires will be expected to participate in enabling
Arecibo’s user community to obtain the best possible scientific results
from the telescope, among other duties.
Questions about these positions may be directed to Francisco (Cla) Cordova, Director,
Arecibo Observatory, University of Central Florida, 787-878-2612 ext. 212.
B) MULTIPLE FACULTY POSITIONS IN SOLID EARTH GEOSCIENCES AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
content/multiple-faculty-positions-solid-earth-geosciences-and-planetary-sciences
C) FACILITY MANAGER W.M. KECK RESEARCH LABORATORY IN
ASTROCHEMISTRY
University of Hawaii
The Reaction Dynamics Group, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural
Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, invites applications for a Facility
Manager for the W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry. This is a
permanent, full time state-funded position starting May 1, 2019, at a level of
$75,000 per year plus fringe benefits. To apply, please submit a cover letter
indicating how you satisfy each of the minimum and desirable qualifications,
names of 3 professional references and Ph.D. certificate to the address below
(copies accepted, but original document required upon hire). Send application
materials as single PDF file attachments to Prof. Ralf I Kaiser ([email protected]).
Please include position title in the subject line.
Title: Facility Manager W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry
Hiring Unit: College of Natural Sciences
Location: Manoa Campus
Date Posted: June 20, 2018
Closing Date: August 20, 2018
Annual Salary (11 Months): $75,000
Projected Starting Date: May 1, 2019
Full Time/Part Time: Full Time
Temporary/Permanent: Permanent
Other Conditions:
Working Title: Facility Manager W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in
Astrochemistry
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Responsible for implementing and overseeing the daily operation of the W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry and enforcement of standard operation procedures
(http://www.chem.hawaii.edu/Bil301/KLA.html).
2. To request biannually user proposals from the scientific community by disseminating open calls in electronic newsletters of, e.g., the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the American Astronomical Society (AAS).
3. To coordinates merit reviews and allocate experimental time to successful proposals.
4. To design and to conduct in collaboration with (inter)national and local faculty members, scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and students experiments in the W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry.
5. To disseminate in collaboration with (inter)national and local scientists the results from the experiments in peer-reviewed journals
6. To maintain the W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry such as lasers, cryosystems, and pumping systems.
7. To modify existing research instruments to add capabilities that extend the usefulness of the instrument and the laser systems.
8. Responsible for inventory management (chemicals, vacuum components) related to the W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry.
9. To co-organize a biannual ‘Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop’ for current and prospective users to be promoted, e.g., via the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the American Astronomical Society (AAS).
10. Other duties as assigned
Minimum Qualifications
1. Possession of a Ph.D. degree in physics, physical chemistry, or planetary sciences or related field with at least 5 year(s) of responsible professional experience with operating ultra high vacuum experimental setups and tunable laser systems (solid state, dye lasers)
2. Demonstrated ability to disseminate research results in internationally circulated, peer-reviewed publications
3. Considerable working knowledge of principles, practices, and maintenance techniques in cryosciences (cold heads, liquid nitrogen plants).
4. Considerable working knowledge and understanding of gas phase time of flight and condensed pase spectroscopy data fitting and analysis procedures.
5. Demonstrated ability to work in an (international) team.
6. Demonstrated ability to present research results at (international) conferences.
7. Demonstrated ability to operate a personal computer, work stations, apply word processing software, programming (C or C++), labview, and autocad/solidworks.
8. For supervisory work, demonstrated ability to lead subordinates and to manage work priorities and projects.
9. Ability to work outside of normal work hours, including evenings, weekends & holidays
10. Ability to plan, organize, direct, and evaluate the activities of subordinates.
11. Ability to travel for purposes of attending meetings, training and other activities.
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