Newsletter 18-38

Issue 18-38, September 13, 2018

 

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  1. NASA HQ STATEMENT ON WORKPLACE HARASSMENT
  2. CHANGE IN NSF PLANETARY ASTRONOMY GRANTS PROGRAM
  3. REMINDER: DPS DEPENDENT CARE GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING
  4. OPENINGS ON THE DPS PROFESSIONAL CULTURE AND CLIMATE SUBCOMMITTEE
  5. THE SSHADE SOLID SPECTROSCOPY DATABASE FOR ASTROPHYSICS AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
  6. ILOA 1st WOMAN ON THE MOON ESSAY CONTEST
  7. NASA HUBBLE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (NHFP)
  8. JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

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NASA HQ STATEMENT ON WORKPLACE HARASSMENT

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

I am writing concerning an issue that I am relentlessly passionate about: 

building effective and innovative teams that achieve amazing results for

NASA Science. To achieve excellence, we need focus and commitment

from the best and brightest of all backgrounds. This goes hand-in-hand

with my strong belief in the value and imperative of diversity and inclusion.

As the Associate Administrator for Science and as an educator, husband,

father and friend, I have personally experienced the value of diversity in

my life. On the flip side, I have supported many individuals who have been

hurt by harassment, and I have seen the devastating consequences it has

had on them and on our community.

 

We are all responsible for addressing harassment in the workplace. All too

often bystanders have failed to intervene, allowing predators to continue

harassment for years or even decades.

 

On September 11, 2018, Administrator Bridenstine signed the “NASA

Policy Statement on Antidiscrimination in NASA Conducted or Funded

Program, Activities, and Institutions”. Let me reinforce the Administrator’s

policy that discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin,

sex (including sexual harassment), disability and age is not acceptable.

 

Harassment is a serious violation of professional ethics, and should be

regarded and treated as such within NASA, as well as our contractor and

associated academic communities. I would like to encourage everyone

related to NASA science to report harassment claims directly utilizing

the information provided in the NASA policy statement signed by

Administrator Bridenstine. The Administrator’s policy can be found at

https://missionstem.nasa.gov/docs/Bridenstine_Title_IX_Policy_Statement_TAGGED.pdf 

and guidance for filing a harassment complaint can be found at

https://missionstem.nasa.gov/filing-a-complaint.html.

 

As we go forward, I want to be clear that everyone is welcome within

NASA Science. However, harassing behavior has no place here. Every

scientist, engineer and mission support contributor has a right to be treated

with respect. NASA strives to create a workplace environment that is free

of harassment and discrimination, and we expect every university and

contractor with which we do business to strive for the same.

 

I call on everyone in our community to join me and our team at NASA

Science to continually reassert through our words and actions that we are

committed to these values.

 

Sincerely,

 

Thomas H Zurbuchen, Ph.D. 
Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate 

 

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CHANGE IN NSF PLANETARY ASTRONOMY GRANTS PROGRAM

 

After the end of the current government fiscal year FY 2018 (30 September 2018), 

the National Science Foundation’s Division of Astronomical Sciences will no longer 

accept proposals submitted to the Solar and Planetary Research Grants (SPG; NSF 16-602) 

pilot ‘no-deadline’ program.  Beginning in FY 2019 (1 October 2018), proposals that 

address topics related to solar and planetary systems – including exoplanets, our own 

solar system, and physics of the Sun – should once again be submitted in response to 

the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG) program (new solicitation 

NSF 18-575). Proposals to AAG are due by 15 November 2018.  Questions may be 

directed to NSF Program Officers Faith Vilas ([email protected]), 

David Boboltz ([email protected]), Linda French ([email protected]), or 

James Neff ([email protected]).

 

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REMINDER: DPS DEPENDENT CARE GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING

 

The DPS’s Susan Niebur Professional Development Fund provides financial

assistance to qualifying members in order to facilitate their meeting attendance

by offsetting costs for child care, elder care, spousal care, etc. at the meeting

location or at home during the DPS conference. 

 

The deadline for applications is September 15, 2018! 

 

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OPENINGS ON THE DPS PROFESSIONAL CULTURE AND CLIMATE SUBCOMMITTEE

 

The DPS Professional Culture and Climate Subcommittee (PCCS) is soliciting

for new members to start at the 2018 DPS meetings.  The PCCS’s mission is

“To consider and recommend actions that the DPS Committee can take to

promote a broadly inclusive professional community characterized by respect, 

honesty, and trust, so that people of diverse backgrounds are – and perceive 

themselves to be – safe, welcome and enabled” 

(content/charge-professional-culture-and-climate-subcommittee).  

The typically time commitment involves every other week telecons.  

 

If interested,  please contact Julie Rathbun (rathbun@psi) by September 14th.

 

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THE SSHADE SOLID SPECTROSCOPY DATABASE FOR ASTROPHYSICS AND PLANETARY SCIENCES 

Web site: www.sshade.eu 

The European SSHADE database infrastructure on spectroscopy of 

solids (www.sshade.eu) already offers on-line over 1500 spectroscopic

data on various types of solids. They are provided by a consortium of 21

experimental groups covering expertises in various types of samples,

spectral ranges and techniques. 

The data are intended to help astronomers and astrophysicists to interpret 

spectro-photometric observations of surfaces, aerosols, grains… obtained

from telescopes and space missions. 

The measured samples include ices, minerals, rocks, organic and carbonaceous 

materials… and also liquids. They are either synthesized in the laboratory,

natural terrestrial analogs collected or measured in the field, or extraterrestrial

samples collected on Earth or on planetary bodies: (micro-)meteorites,

IDPs, lunar soils… 

SSHADE (www.sshade.eu) has now a mature user interface allowing to

easily search, visualize and export the spectral data and the associated

detailed information on the sample, instrument, measurement parameters…. 

So don’t hesitate to search SSHADE for relevant laboratory data to 

compare with your observations or to feed your numerical model. 

And follow the evolution of SSHADE as new data are regularly ingested 

by the current and future data providers. And new user’s tools will be also added. 

The next users tutorials will be held at EPSC (Berlin, 17-21 september 2018, 

sessions SMW1.15) and DPS (Knoxville, 22-26 october 2018), don’t miss them! 

Bernard Schmitt, the SSHADE team and the SSHADE partner consortium

 

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ILOA 1ST WOMAN ON THE MOON ESSAY CONTEST

 

100-word submission due 5 October 2018

 

Grand Prize: All expense paid participation at Galaxy Forum Hainan,

China 4-7 December 2018

 

Full Details available at http://iloa.org/1stWomenontheMoon.pdf

 

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NASA HUBBLE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (NHFP)

 

On behalf of the NASA Astrophysics Division, the Space Telescope Science

Institute (STScI) announces the second annual call for applications for

postdoctoral fellowships under the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program

(NHFP) #02904, to begin in the Fall of 2019.

 

The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies

and application instructions, is available at the website: http://nhfp.stsci.edu.

The application submission page will be open today until November 1, 2018.

Please share this employment announcement with your friends, networking

groups, mailing lists, and social connections using this link.  

 

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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

 

A) MARS RESEARCH ASSISTANT

     UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

 

https://uchicago.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job/Hyde-Park-Campus/Mars-Research-Assistant_JR02785

 

The Mars Research Assistant will work in the Planetary Science

research group led by Edwin Kite in the University of Chicago’s

Department of Geophysical Sciences. The central objective of the

research group is understand the history of Martian habitability.

This is a one-year position with possible renewal beyond the first year.

Salary will be commensurate with the experience and qualifications

of the successful candidate. Applications received before 10/15/2018

will receive full consideration. A start date in the range 12/1/2018 – 3/1/2019

is preferred. Later start dates may be negotiated.

 

Responsibilities:

  • To collect, analyze and validate geologic data using ArcGIS

      (with a combination of manual, semi-automated, and machine learning tools).

  • To use an existing pipeline to generate, evaluate and analyze

      planetary digital terrain models that incorporate stereo data.

  • Depending on the preferences and background of the successful

      candidate, additional responsibilities may include supervising and 

      training students in GIS, or carrying out independent research projects.

 

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