Issue 19-09, March 9, 2019
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- IN MEMORIAM: JAY T. BERGSTRALH (1943-2019)
- CALL FOR DPS 2019 PRIZE NOMINATIONS
- 2019B NASA IRTF CALL FOR PROPOSALS
- NOAO 2019B OBSERVING PROPOSALS
- BUILDING THE NASA CITIZEN SCIENCE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
- TITAN AFTER CASSINI-HUYGENS WORKSHOP
- 2019 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SEMINAR APPLICATIONS OPEN
- ASTEROID SCIENCE IN THE AGE OF HAYABUSA 2 AND OSIRIS-REX
- JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
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IN MEMORAIM: JAY T. BERGSTRALH (1943-2019)
It is with great sadness that we report the death of our colleague, Dr. Jay T.
Bergstralh on February 16, 2019, at age 75 after a long battle with progressive
aphasia and dementia. Jay graduated from Carleton College in 1965 with a
degree in Astronomy and the University of Texas in 1972 with Masters and
Doctoral degrees in Astronomy. He also gained experience at the US Naval
Observatory and Aeronutronic Systems, Inc. during this period. Jay subsequently
accepted a National Research Council postdoctoral position at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, where he remained as an employee until 1988, when he was detailed
to NASA Headquarters. He became a career Civil Servant in 1992, working
at NASA Headquarters until 2004 when he moved to NASA’s Langley Research
Center, where he served as Chief Scientist until his retirement in 2012. At the
University of Texas, he was the first graduate of the Astronomy Department
to do thesis work in the field of planetary sciences. At JPL he conducted
original research on the atmospheres of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus
and on Jupiter’s satellite, Io, primarily from ground-based astronomy; he also
worked on the Voyager mission Photopolarimeter System team. He took on
the role of Science Organizing Chair for the first American Astronomical
Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Pasadena, California, in
1978. While at JPL he also became the first Chair of the DPS from a NASA
field center in 1986-1987. Following the Voyager flyby, he organized a
conference on the Uranus system and was the lead editor of the comprehensive
book Uranus, published in 1991 by the University of Arizona Press. During
his tenure at NASA Headquarters, Jay managed the Planetary Atmospheres
research grants program, became the Associate Director for Solar System
Exploration and Program Scientist for the Galileo, Cassini, Europa Orbiter
and Messenger missions, and for the Discovery Program. At Langley, his
work included the development of spacecraft instrumentation concepts.
Besides his scientific curiosity and public service at NASA, he was a
quintessential gentleman and a man of diverse interests, including history
and traditional woodworking. We will miss his quiet sense of humor, including
memorable renditions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Modern Major General”.
He is survived by Jane, his wife of 52 years, their three children Carol,
Daniel, and David, and by five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Further insight into Jay’s life is accessible from an AIP oral history he provided
in 1983, available at:
https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/2819.
He also provided some public insight into the Voyager mission in a PBS interview
with Gwen Ifil on the 20th anniversary of Voyager’s launch:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/fantastic-voyage.
Glenn Orton and Kevin Baines
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CALL FOR DPS 2019 PRIZE NOMINATIONS
Deadline: April 1, 2019
Every year the DPS recognizes exceptional achievement in our field.
Please consider nominating a respected colleague for one of the annual
DPS prizes. The DPS sponsors five prizes:
The Gerard P. Kuiper Prize honors outstanding contributions to the field
of planetary science.
The Harold C. Urey Prize recognizes outstanding achievement in planetary
research by a young scientist.
The Harold Masursky Award acknowledges outstanding service to planetary
science and exploration.
The Carl Sagan Medal recognizes and honors outstanding communication
by an active planetary scientist to the general public.
The Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award recognizes and
stimulates distinguished popular writing on planetary sciences.
DPS members and the planetary science community-at-large are encouraged to
submit nominations for DPS prizes.
A complete nomination submitted by the deadline will be considered by the
DPS Prize subcommittee for 3 years (i.e. for this year's award, next year's award,
and the year after that), or for the duration of a candidate's eligibility, whichever
is less. Please fill out the nomination form, and it will be submitted to the prize
subcommittee. The Eberhart Award has different rules and procedures than the
other DPS Prizes, please see its page for more information.
Scroll to the bottom of https://dps.aas.org/prizes for rules and procedures.
Questions: dpsprize@aas.org
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2019B NASA IRTF Call for Proposals
The due date for the 2019B semester (August 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020)
is Monday, April 1, 2019. See our online submission form
http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/observing/applicationForms.php, which is
available for proposal submission from 12:00AM on March 01, 2019
until 5:00PM on April 01, 2019 HST. Available instruments include:
(1) SpeX, a 0.7 – 5.3 micron cross-dispersed medium-resolution spectrograph
(up to R=2,500) and imager;
(2) MORIS, a 512x512 pixel Andor CCD camera (60"x60" field-of-view)
mounted at the side-facing window of the SpeX cryostat that can be used
simultaneously with SpeX;
(3) iSHELL, a 1.06 – 5.3 micron cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph
(up to R=80,000) and imager;
(4) MIRSI/MOC, a 5 – 20 micron camera and grism spectrograph (available
as shared risk).
Information on available facility and visitor instruments and performance can
be found at: http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/instruments. Exposure time calculators
for SpeX and iSHELL are available on the respective instrument webpages.
Please see http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/observing/callForProposals.php for the full text.
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NOAO 2019B OBSERVING PROPOSALS DUE 1 APRIL 2019
Dear Colleague:
This is a reminder that NOAO has issued a Call for Proposals (CfP) for
Semester 2019B, with proposals due by 1 April 2019 at 11:59pm
Mountain Standard Time (MST). The 2019B CfP can be found at
http://ast.noao.edu/observing/call-for-proposals-2019b
Proposal forms and information for observing time requests for the
2019B semester (1 August 2019 - 31 January 2020) are available on the
NOAO web page:
http://ast.noao.edu/observing/proposal-info
Time requests for 2019B may be made for Gemini North and South, Cerro
Tololo Inter-American Observatory (including SOAR and SMARTS), and
Kitt Peak National Observatory (including WIYN). This semester will see
the last semester of public access to the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)
under the current TSIP agreement. Time continues to be available on the
automated global telescope network of Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO),
as well as the CHARA interferometer. Nights are also available on the
Subaru and AAT telescopes through time-exchange agreements.
Of particular note is the NN-EXPLORE program, which continues on both the
WIYN 3.5m and the CTIO/SMARTS 1.5m telescope with the CHIRON precision
radial-velocity spectrometer, but is now expanding to include time (5 nights) on
the AAT 3.9m with the Veloce precision radial-velocity spectrometer. The new
precision radial-velocity spectrograph, NEID, is expected to be available on the
WIYN 3.5m towards the end of semester 2019B (no earlier than November) and
shared risk proposals can be submitted for NEID. For more details see the Call
for Proposals as well as http://ast.noao.edu/observing/wiyn-exoplanets-2019b
Questions about the proposal form or the proposal process may be directed to
noaoprop-help@noao.edu. Questions specific to an observing run may be sent
to the site, either ctio@noao.edu or kpno@noao.edu. Gemini related questions
may be sent to noaoprop-help@noao.edu or through the Gemini Helpdesk at:
http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/helpdesk/submit-general-helpdesk-request
Thank you and best wishes,
Verne Smith, NOAO TAC Program Head
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BUILDING THE NASA CITIZEN SCIENCE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
Building the NASA Citizen Science Community, June 20-22, 2019,
Hacienda del Sol, Tucson, AZ.
Scientists, educators, students, and people interested in learning about, and
joining, citizen science projects are invited attend this 3-day workshop. The
focus has two primary areas of focus: 1) to bring together citizen science
practitioners from NASA and the broader global citizen science community
to discuss best practices from successful citizen science projects, to brainstorm
ideas for new citizen science projects, and to devise ways to grow NASA's
citizen science community, and 2) to gather students, educators, and citizen
scientists to explore current citizen science projects, learn about the type of
work occurring in different projects, and explore ways to get involved.
Representatives from NASA, iNaturalist, GLOBE, Zooniverse, CosmoQuest,
and other citizen science programs will be present. Registration is free but
limited; registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Breakfast and lunch
are provided all three days.
Contact Paul Hardersen at phardersen@psi.edu or at 520-820-8662 with questions.
Register for the workshop at: https://meeting.psi.edu.
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TITAN AFTER CASSINI-HUYGENS WORKSHOP
This is a reminder of the ‘Titan after Cassini-Huygens’ 3-day workshop to be
held at the European Space Agency (ESA –European Space Astronomy Centre)
in Madrid on 23-25 September 2019.
The registration (free) and the abstract submission are now open. The registration
tool and abstract submission page in addition to further information regarding t
he workshop can be found here:
https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/titan-after-cassini-huygens/home
The workshop will include past and new science focusing on the fields and
studies of magnetospheric & atmospheric science, geology, geophysics,
astrobiology, Earth-based observations, future missions and more.
*IMPORTANT*
We are now aware that the APL Cassini meeting has been canceled due to the
Cassini funds being cut. For that reason the organizing committee has decided
to welcome papers that were intended to be presented at the APL meeting for
which (pending participation) we will dedicate an afternoon session focused
on other aspects of the Saturnian system.
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2019 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SEMINAR APPLICATIONS OPEN
NASA is accepting applications – from science and engineering post-docs,
recent PhDs, doctoral students, junior faculty, and engineering students within
6-9 months of completion of their master’s degree but not planning to pursue a
PhD degree, and junior faculty – for its 31st Annual Planetary Science Summer
Seminar. PSSS is a 12-week long career development experience from
May 20 – August 9, 2019, with an onsite culminating week August 5-9, 2019
at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
During the 11 weeks of virtual webinar sessions and the onsite culminating
week at JPL, student teams will carry out the equivalent of an early mission
concept study, prepare a proposal authorization presentation, present it to a
review board, and receive feedback. By the end of the experience, students
will have a clearer understanding of the life cycle of a space mission;
relationships between mission design, cost, and schedule; and the tradeoffs
necessary to stay within cost and schedule while preserving the quality of science.
Applications are due April 1, 2019. Partial financial support is available
for a limited number of individuals. Further information is available at
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ASTEROID SCIENCE IN THE AGE OF HAYABUSA 2 AND OSIRIS-REX
We are happy to announce the Asteroid Science in the Age of Hayabusa2 and
OSIRIS-REx workshop scheduled for November 5-7, 2019 at the University
of Arizona in Tucson, AZ.
Purpose and Scope
The workshop provides an opportunity to summarize our understanding of
near-Earth asteroids, following the Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx encounters
with Ryugu and Bennu. The organizers invite contributions spanning all
relevant research on small bodies in the solar system, including comets,
asteroids, meteors, meteorites, and returned samples. Presentations discussing
observations, laboratory work, theoretical investigations, and future mission
concepts are welcome. We plan special sessions on International Collaboration
in Solar System Exploration and Sample Analysis Techniques. Participants are
invited to suggest additional special topics.
Organizers
Dante S. Lauretta
University of Arizona
Seiji Sugita
University of Tokyo
Patrick Michel
Observatoire de Cote d’Azur
https://corex.lpl.arizona.edu/international-workshop
Important Dates
- Indication of Interest deadline: July 5, 2019
- Abstract deadline: September 6, 2019
- Program and abstracts available on this website: October 4, 2019
- Early registration deadline: October 11, 2019
- Standard registration deadline: October 30, 2019
- Asteroid Science in the Age of Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx: November 5-7, 2019
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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
A) FOUR VACANCIES FOR SOLAR SYSTEM AND EXTRASOLAR PLANETARY
RESEARCH AT NASA AMES IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA.
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/526082700
Summary
This position is responsible for conducting scientific research on Solar System
planets and their satellites, origin and evolution of Solar System objects,
structure and dynamics of planetary atmospheres, potentials for habitability,
including extrasolar planets, and on theoretical modeling of such bodies.
Responsibilities
- This research position is engaged in professional planetary scientific
research which is directed toward discovering, disseminating, and
applying new or expanded knowledge in this discipline.
- Research includes, but is not limited to, modeling and theoretical
investigations. Knowledge of global, regional atmospheric processes,
such as dynamics, chemistry, radiative transfer and atmospheric/surface
interactions.
- Conducts Space Science studies relating to theoretical understanding
of planet formation, planetary dynamics and evolution relevant to the
myriad Solar System objects.
- Conducts science investigations related to planetary geological/
geomorphological processes.
- Supports Solar System planetary and extrasolar planet exploration
goals of highest priority. Supports the understanding of planetary
habitability and strategic planning for the search for life upon Solar
System objects and/or exoplanetary worlds.
B) POSTDOC POSITION
SPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
The Space Research Institute (IWF) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
(OeAW) is offering a postdoc position in planetary science (full-time/40h
per week) in the area of planetary science and space plasma physics focusing
on the BepiColombo mission for Mercury.
For further details see:
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/de/die-oeaw/karriere-jobs/offene-stellen/
The application deadline is March 31, 2019.
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