Issue 19-10, March 17, 2019
+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+
- CALL FOR DPS 2019 PRIZE NOMINATIONS
- EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR THE A’HEARN SYMPOSIUM
- OPAG STEERING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING TERMINATION OF CASSINI FINAL-YEAR FUNDING AND EUROPA CLIPPER ICEMAG
- SPICE TRAINING CLASS
- BUILDING THE NASA CITIZEN SCIENCE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
- SBAG 20 MEETING FINDINGS AND PUBLIC MEETING AT LPSC
- 2019 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SEMINAR APPLICATIONS OPEN
- SUMMER SCHOOL ON “NATURAL SPACE RISKS”
- JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
+——————————————————————————————–+
1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1
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 prizes for rules and procedures.
Questions: [email protected]
2———2———2———2———2———2———2———2———2———2
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR THE A’HEARN SYMPOSIUM
We are working to gauge the interest in the A’Hearn Symposium. The meeting,
entitled “New Cometary Insights from the Close Approach of 46P/Wirtanen:
A Symposium in Celebration of Mike A’Hearn” will be held on August 6-8, 2019
at the University of Maryland. (Website at
http://wirtanen.astro.umd.edu/46P/symposium.shtml)
In Mike’s honor, this symposium will focus on results from observations of
comet 46P/Wirtanen (and other recent bright comets) to allow the compilation
of individual studies into a comprehensive understanding of the comet. We
encourage cometary scientists of all types as well as anyone who knew and
worked with Mike in any capacity to come and participate in this event and
to reflect on his legacy.
A website has been set up to determine how many people are interested in
participating. It is located at
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBS0If4YC6GYwSOLY3AwoHLu6w3rLMn2JtQP1JxmvG6-8ORw/viewform
If you plan on attending, or even think you might, please let us know, so we
can finalize arrangements and set up a block of hotel rooms. There will be a
registration fee (TBD), but we hope to keep it as small as possible.
The official registration site will follow shortly.
3———3———3———3———3———3———3———3———3———3
OPAG STEERING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING TERMINATION OF CASSINI FINAL-YEAR FUNDING AND EUROPA CLIPPER ICEMAG
Recent decisions by NASA to terminate the Cassini final-year funding
and the PI-led ICEMAG investigation on the Europa Clipper mission
(replaced by a facility magnetometer investigation) raise concerns
within the OPAG science community. The OPAG Steering Community issued
three findings with a request for NASA’s response:
1. OPAG encourages NASA to invite the Committee on Astrobiology and
Planetary Science (CAPS) of the National Academies to investigate the
ICEMAG termination process and rationale and to potentially make
recommendations to NASA SMD about how to define a clear and transparent
process for potential termination of PI-led flight experiments.
2. OPAG encourages NASA to provide sufficient transition funding to
support an adequate closeout of the Cassini project that will minimize
the impact on young scientists and other investigators who would be
disproportionately impacted by this large, abrupt funding cut.
3. OPAG applauds the spectacular success of the Cassini mission at
Saturn and asks NASA to adequately support CDAP to ensure optimum
science output from this mission.
The full Findings on Cassini and ICEMAG can be found at:
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/meetings/archive/
Both matters will be discussed at the OPAG meeting on April 23-24 at NASA HQ.
4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4———4
SPICE TRAINING CLASS
A beginner’s SPICE training class will be held in a hotel near Pasadena,
California on June 4 – 6, 2019.
NASA’s SPICE system is used for computing observation geometry for
robotic science missions. It has been in use since the Magellan mission to
Venus, and is now used on most worldwide planetary missions as well as
on some heliophysics and earth science missions. This three-day class is
free of charge and is open to everyone involved with space science, including
foreign nationals and commercial enterprises. Attendance will be limited
to the first 60 registrants. Details about the class and the required registration
form are found here:
https://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/WS2019_announcement.html
5———5———5———5———5———5———5———5———5———5
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 [email protected] or at 520-820-8662 with questions.
Register for the workshop at: https://meeting.psi.edu.
6———6———6———6———6———6———6———6———6———6
SBAG 20 MEETING FINDINGS AND PUBLIC MEETING AT LPSC
To the Small Bodies Community:
Two items:
1) The Findings from SBAG 20 are now final and will be posted on the
SBAG website. A copy is attached. There were only minor edits from the
preliminary version.
2) SBAG will be having a public meeting at the Lunar and Planetary Science
Conference from noon until 1:15 on Wednesday, March 20, in Waterway 6-8.
We’ll talk about what SBAG has been doing, we’ll hear from Lori Glaze, the
Acting Director of the Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission
Directorate, we’ll discuss some opportunities for early career researchers, and
it is an opportunity to have a community discussion about topics of interest.
I hope to see many of you there.
Tim Swindle, SBAG Steering Committee Chair
7———7———7———7———7———7———7———7———7———7
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
8———8———8———8———8———8———8———8———8———8
SUMMER SCHOOL ON “NATURAL SPACE RISKS”
August 26-31, 2019
Paris Observatory, France
This summer school aims at providing undergraduate and master students
with an intensive training on all Earth natural space risks. The
programme will address space weather, space debris, near-Earth objects,
and their societal impacts. Resilience aspects will also be tackled by
researchers and by experts from the civil society. During this one-week
school students will have a mix of academic lectures and hands-on
sessions on orbitography, solar observations, and applied data
reduction and analysis, during splinter sessions. The lectures and the
hand-on sessions will be run by experts coming from all over Europe;
experts from the industry will explain the importance of natural space
risks for their activities. This school is a unique opportunity to meet
academic and non-academic researchers at the early stage of a career.
Applications should be submitted by email to [email protected]
by April 15th, 2019 (17:00 Paris time). For more information on the
submission process please refer to:
https://nsr-2019.sciencesconf.org/
Organizing Committee: C. Briand (chair), F. Deleflie, W. Thuillot
9———9———9———9———9———9———9———9———9———9
JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
A) DEAN, JOHN A. AND KATHERINE G. JACKSON SCHOOL OF GEOSCIENCES, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
The University of Texas at Austin invites applications and nominations
for the position of Dean, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of
Geosciences, effective September 1, 2019.
The Jackson School is one of the largest and most respected geoscience
programs in the country. The school (www.jsg.utexas.edu) includes the
Bureau of Economic Geology, the Department of Geological Sciences,
and the Institute for Geophysics. It employs approximately 150 full‐time
faculty and research scientists who work together with 100 technical staff
members and postdocs to address fundamental questions in geosciences,
foster a diverse community of collaboration, and provide world-class
education for approximately 200 undergraduate majors and 200 graduate
students. With an endowment of approximately $450 million and an average
annual income of $88 million, the school provides an unprecedented
opportunity for its leader to have a major impact on the field of geoscience
well into the future.
We seek a visionary leader with proven scientific and administrative skills
who will work with the faculty and research scientists to develop the Jackson
School to its full potential and who will represent the school effectively to
the university administration, to the state and national political leadership,
and to the public. At UT Austin, all academic deans report to the Executive
Vice President and Provost of the university.
Preferred qualifications include: (1) creative leadership capable of growing
synergies within the school and interfacing with other programs within the
university; (2) distinguished scholarship with a strong research record and
experience in academia, including teaching; (3) administrative and financial
experience that demonstrates vision, managerial ability, and communication
skills; (4) commitment to balancing academic and research excellence with
the diverse missions of the three units within the school; (5) commitment to
creating and retaining a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace, and
(6) ability to engage alumni and donors and increase philanthropy.
Additional information regarding the position can be found at
http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/people/employment-opportunities/dean/.
Applications and nominations should include a curriculum vitae and a
list of administrative accomplishments. Review of applications and
nominations will begin immediately and will continue until the position
is filled. Applications, nominations, and inquiries should be sent
electronically and in confidence to: [email protected].
B) NASA HEADQUARTERS POSITIONS AVAILABLE IN SMD
The Science Mission Directorate (SMD) within NASA Headquarters will
fill multiple Program Executive positions in the Earth Science
Division, Heliophysics Division, Planetary Science Division,
Astrophysics Division, or Joint Agency Satellite Division.
This will be a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) announcement through
USAJOBS, so it will only be open for 5 days. The announcement will
open on March 25 and close on March 29. The NASA Announcement Number
will be HQ19H0003.
This is a fair and open competition that all U.S. Citizens and Status
candidates can apply to. The short period that the announcement is open
is due to the type of hiring authority. The positions are NOT “rigged”
or “fixed” for anyone. We’ve been asked to emphasize this because some
applicants may have a misconception about this opportunity due to the
very short window and we do not want anyone to be deterred from
applying.
Given the short period the announcement is open, it is a good idea to
log into USAJOBS before and update your resume, etc., to facilitate the
timely submission of an application.
———————————+
Send submissions to:
Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected])
You are receiving this email because you are a DPS member.
To unsubscribe or update your information, please send your request
to [email protected]. The more general AAS privacy policy is available
online at https://aas.org/about/policies/privacy-policy. Current and back
issues of the DPS Newsletter can be found at newsletters