Newsletter 20-06

Issue 20-06, February 9, 2020

 

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  1. REMINDER: CALL FOR DPS 2020 PRIZE NOMINATIONS
  2. REMINDER: RENEW YOUR AAS/DPS MEMBERSHIP
  3. COSPAR SESSION B5.2: GAS GIANT PLANET SYSTEMS
  4. COSPAR 2020: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS FOR THE PLANETARY PROTECTION SESSIONS
  5. JWST PROPOSAL PREPARATION WORKSHOPS 
  6. IAU SYMPOSIUM 364, 6-10 JULY 2020 IASI, ROMANIA
  7. NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC) NOMINATIONS
  8. TITAN THROUGH TIME V WORKSHOP REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
  9. JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

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REMINDER: CALL FOR DPS 2020 PRIZE NOMINATIONS

 

Deadline: April 1, 2020

 

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 recognizes and honors outstanding contributors 

to the field of planetary science.

 

The Harold C. Urey Prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievements 

in planetary research by an early-career scientist.

 

The Harold Masursky Award recognizes and honors individuals who have rendered 

outstanding service to planetary science and exploration through – but not limited to – 

engineering, managerial, programmatic, editorial, or public service activities.

 

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 [email protected]

 

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REMINDER: RENEW YOUR AAS/DPS MEMBERSHIP

 

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

 

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

purges the DPS membership list early in the year, in February or March (in other

words now!) and we lose 200-300 members.

 

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

will continue to receive the DPS Newsletter! Go to https://my.aas.org/services

  

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 x106 or x109. Thank you!

 

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COSPAR SESSION B5.2: GAS GIANT PLANET SYSTEMS

 

We invite abstract submissions for the COSPAR 2020 Event, B5.2: Gas Giant

Planet Systems to be held in Sydney, Australia, August 15 – 22, 2020.  This event

welcomes papers on the Gas Giant Planet systems that address observations,

modeling, and theoretical interpretation of Gas Giant planets, their rings, moons

and magnetospheres. Papers are also welcome on supporting laboratory investigations,

plans for future spacecraft missions and experiments, and enabling technologies.

 

Abstract deadline: February 14, 2020

https://www.cospar-assembly.org/

 

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COSPAR 2020: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS FOR THE PLANETARY PROTECTION SESSIONS

 

Please consider attending and presenting in the following sessions of the 43d COSPAR

Scientific Assembly which will take place at the International Convention Centre, in

Sydney, Australia from 15-22 August 2020.

 

See: www.cospar2020.org

 

Abstract submission deadline is 14 February 2020.

There will also be a COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection Business meeting to which

you are welcome. More information on time, place and date will follow in the spring.

See our web site: https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/

 

Best regards,

The organisers

 

COSPAR-20-PPP.1: Planetary Protection Policy

 

This session will include reports on recent planetary protection studies, colloquia,

workshops and agency activities with relevance to the COSPAR Planetary Protection

Policy and implementation guidelines. Recent adaptations and updates of the Policy

proposed by the COSPAR Panel on Planetary protection and validated by the COSPAR

Bureau following the Panel’s recent meetings and based on documented studies will be
presented. Further revisions proposed by the current international space exploration

context or new scientific discoveries will be discussed.

 

Organisers: Athena Coustenis and Akihiko Yamagishi

 

COSPAR-20-PPP.2: Planetary Protection Mission Implementation and Status

 

 

This session covers reports on the planetary protection implementation and status of

launched, ongoing and planned missions. The session will focus on techniques, measures

and procedures applied to spacecrafts, payloads and ground facilities to meet and verify

the respective planetary protection requirements.

Organisers: Gerhard Kminek and Lisa Pratt

 

COSPAR-20-PPP.3: Planetary Protection Research and Development

 

 

This session will report on planetary protection research and development activities,

including in preparation for new mission concepts and, taking into account more

challenging scientific endeavors, including on life detection.

Organisers: Niklas Hedman and Petra Rettberg

 

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JWST PROPOSAL PREPARATION WORKSHOPS

 

A team formed by members from the Florida Space Institute, the Planetary

Group at the University of Central Florida, Arecibo Observatory, and the Inter

American University of Puerto Rico, was selected to attend the JWST Master

Class Workshop, hosted by STScI. The purpose of the Master Class Workshop

was for the team to learn the fundamentals in JWST proposal planning and to

be a local resource for the scientific community.

 

We attended the Master Class this past November and it is now our turn to train

other researchers interested in using JWST. Our goal is to host a useful and practical

workshop in time for the Cycle 1 General Observer call for proposal, which opened

on January 23, 2020.

 

Please visit the following link for information on the 2-day workshops we are planning:
https://sites.google.com/view/jwst-proposal-workshop-ucf  

The workshop will be available at:

 

·       The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico on February 20-21, 2020

·       Florida Space Institute in Orlando, FL on February 27-28, 2020

 

Both workshops can be attended either in-person or online, but attendees must

register at the above link. However, we highly recommend in-person participation

for the Friday sessions, which are devoted to practical exercises. Registration will

be open until February 17th.

 

One of the goals of the Master Class is to disseminate information that we learned

in order to create a network of researchers who can effectively  propose for observing

time to JWST. We learned the necessary tools to apply for observing time, for example:

the Astronomer Proposal Tool, the Exposure Time Calculator, and the Visibility Tools.
Additionally, we learned about the tools to find the information needed for proposal

preparation. We hope to convey this useful information to our local scientific communities.  

 

Additionally, we are also preparing a 4 hours seminar within the
“Ground and Space Observatories: a joint venture to planetary science” Workshop.
The seminar will take place on Friday March 6, 2020. 

 

Estela Fernández-Valenzuela

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Florida Space Institute (UCF)

 

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IAU SYMPOSIUM 364, 6-10 JULY 2020 IASI, ROMANIA

 

We are pleased to inform you that with the support of IAU, Division A
Fundamental Astronomy and the Commission A4 Celestial Mechanics
and Dynamical Astronomy, we are organizing the Symposium “Multi-scale
(time and mass) dynamics of space objects”.

The Symposium will take place at the University Al. I. Cuza of Iasi (Romania)

during the period 6-10 July 2020.

Information are available at https://www.math.uaic.ro/IAU_S364/

Alessandra Celletti and Catalin Gales

[email protected]

 

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NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC) NOMINATIONS

 

Dear Colleagues:

 

The Planetary Science Advisory Committee (PAC) (https://science.nasa.gov/nac/science-advisory-committees/pac)
supports the advisory needs of the Planetary Science

Division (PSD), the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and other mission directorates

as required, and the NASA Administrator.  The advisory scope of the PAC includes

all aspects of NASA’s planetary science program, including scientific research;

considerations of the development of near-term enabling technologies, systems,

and computing and information management capabilities; and developments with

the potential to provide long-term improvements in future mission operational systems. 
Responsibility for biological planetary protection is outside the purview of the PAC.

 

NASA’s PSD is extending the invitation for nominations for service on the PAC. 

Interested members of the community are invited to review the charter and to submit

nominations (including self-nominations) for consideration to fill vacancies on the

Committee.  

 

The following information is required to be included as part of each self-nomination

package:  

(1) a cover email including the name, phone number, full mailing and email address of the nominee;

(2) a professional resume (one-page maximum, included as an attachment); and,

(3) a professional biography (one-page maximum; included as an attachment).  

 

To be considered by NASA, nomination packages from interested U.S. citizens must

be submitted via email to the Executive Secretary of the Planetary Science Advisory

Committee at [email protected]. Submissions must be submitted as a single

package that contains the cover email and both required attachments, and “Planetary

Science Advisory Committee” must be included in the subject line of the email.

Paper-based documents (hard-copies) will not be accepted. The deadline for NASA

receipt of all public nominations is March 31, 2020.

 

Self-nomination packages that do not include the three (3) mandatory elements listed

above will not receive further consideration by NASA.

 

The following qualifications/experience are highly desirable in nominees, and should

be clearly presented in their self-nomination packages:

 

•              At least 5 years post-Ph.D. research experience including publications in the
planetary science field, or comparable experience;

•              Leadership in scientific and/or education and public outreach fields as evidenced
by award of prizes, invitation to national and international meetings as speaker, organizer of
scientific meetings/workshops, or comparable experience;

•              Participation in NASA programs either as a member of a NASA mission science team,
Research and Analysis program, membership on an advisory/working group or a review panel,
or comparable experience;

•              Good knowledge of NASA programs in planetary science, including the latest NASA
Science Plan (available as a link from http://science.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/); and,

•              Knowledge of the latest Decadal Survey conducted by the National Academies or other
relevant advisory reports for planetary science.

 

Nominees from any category of organizations or institutions within the U.S. are

welcome, including, but not limited to, educational, industrial, and not-for-profit

organizations, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs),

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory (JPL), and other Government agencies.  Nominees need not be presently

affiliated with any organization or institution.

 

This invitation for nominations is to fill upcoming vacancies on the PAC in mid-2020.

There may also be member vacancies from time to time, and NASA will consider self-
nominations to fill such unexpected vacancies as well.  Nominees will only be contacted

should a vacancy be available, and it is judged that their area(s) of expertise is appropriate

for that specific vacancy.  NASA is committed to selecting members to serve on the

committee based on their individual expertise, knowledge, experience, current/past

contributions to the relevant subject area and overall diversity of the committee. 

These appointments are non-compensated. These are not full-time positions. 

Successful nominees will be required to attend meetings of the committee approximately

two or three times a year, either in person (NASA covers travel-related expenses for this

non-compensated appointment) or via telecon and/or virtual meeting medium.  All

successful nominees will be required to submit confidential financial disclosure forms

and undergo conflict of interest reviews by the NASA Office of the General Counsel,

before their appointment can be finalized. Once appointed, successful nominees will

be required to complete FACA training and annual ethics briefings. Successful nominees

who are not U.S. Government employees will be formally appointed as Special

Government Employees (SGEs). 

 

Lori S. Glaze

Director, Planetary Science Division

 

Stephen Rinehart

Acting Director, Planetary Science Research and Analysis

 

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TITAN THROUGH TIME V WORKSHOP REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

 

The Titan Through Time Workshop V, to be held at CU-LASP, Boulder, CO

14-16 April is now open for registration and abstract submission.

Abstract submission will close on February 28, and registration closes

on March 20. Registration is free, but participation will be limited to

the first 70 registrants. Student travel support may be requested

during the abstract submission process. A welcome reception will be

held the evening of April 13. A public night event will be held on the

evening of April 14, and the workshop banquet will be held on the 15.

For more information see:

 

https://titanthroughtime.org/abstract.html 

 

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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

 

A) OPEN POSITION AT NASA HEADQUARTERS: MARS SAMPLE RETURN PROGRAM  

     DIRECTOR, SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE

 

From: Lori S. Glaze, NASA Planetary Science Division Director

NASA is pleased to announce that the application deadline for the Science

Mission Directorate’s Mars Sample Return Program Director will be extended

until March 4, 2020. To find a detailed description of this Senior Executive

position and additional information on qualifications and application procedures,

please visit USAJobs (https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/556552400).

 

The vitality of NASA science programs is dependent upon the best people working

for and with the Science Mission Directorate, and I encourage those interested in

strategic leadership of this important program to apply to this opportunity.

 

B) POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN PLANETARY SCIENCE

 

A 2-years post-doctoral position is available at the Instituto de Astrofísica de

Canarias (in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) to work within its Solar System

Group, led by Dr. Julia de Leon. The project is focused in the characterization

of near-Earth asteroids from ground-based observations, including radar observations,

in the frame of the European H2020-funded Project “The NEO Rapid Observation, 

Characterization and Key Simulations – NEOROCKS”, and in close collaboration

with the Arecibo Observatory (Puerto Rico), managed by the University of Central

Florida (Orlando, USA). 

 

The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. degree in Physics/Astrophysics/

Planetary Science. Observational experience (photometry and spectroscopy),

and in particular radar observations/data analysis experience will be valuable.

Interested candidates can find more information at:

https://www.iac.es/en/employment/un-contrato-postdoctoral-neorocks-2020one-postdoctoral-contract-neorocks-ps-2020-005

 

For questions please contact Dr. Julia de Leon

([email protected] / [email protected])

 

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Send submissions to: 

Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected]

 

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