Issue 20-06, February 9, 2020
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- REMINDER: CALL FOR DPS 2020 PRIZE NOMINATIONS
- REMINDER: RENEW YOUR AAS/DPS MEMBERSHIP
- COSPAR SESSION B5.2: GAS GIANT PLANET SYSTEMS
- COSPAR 2020: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS FOR THE PLANETARY PROTECTION SESSIONS
- JWST PROPOSAL PREPARATION WORKSHOPS
- IAU SYMPOSIUM 364, 6-10 JULY 2020 IASI, ROMANIA
- NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC) NOMINATIONS
- TITAN THROUGH TIME V WORKSHOP REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
- 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 https://dps.aas.org/prizes for rules and procedures.
Questions: Email dpsprize@aas.org
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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
membership@aas.org 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
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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 pac-execsec@hq.nasa.gov. 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
(jmlc@iac.es / juliadeleon23@gmail.com)
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