Tag: News

Issue 16-22, June 19, 2016

+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+

1. IN MEMORIAM: S. ICHTIAQUE RASOOL (1930-2016)
2. REMINDER: DPS 48/EPSC 11 ABSTRACT DEADLINE MOVED UP ONE DAY TO JUNE 22
3. HARTMANN STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS FOR DPS 48/EPSC 11
4. ABSTRACTS ON LABORATORY RESEARCH FOR PLANETARY SCIENCE
5. SAVE THE DATE FOR THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL PLANETARY DUNES WORKSHOP

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IN MEMORIAM: S. ICHTIAQUE RASOOL (1930-2016)

S. Ichtiaque Rasool passed away peacefully on April 20, 2016. Born in 1930
in Lucknow, India, Ichtiaque moved to France where he earned his doctorate
in atmospheric sciences in 1956 at the University of Paris and met his wife
of 51 years, Francoise. He came to United States in 1961 at the invitation of Robert Jastrow of the Goddard Institute of Space Science and began what turned out to be an amazing 45 year career with NASA eventually retiring from the position of Chief Scientist for Global Change. In 1968, Ichtiaque spent a sabbatical year in Paris, during which he gave lectures that were instrumental in the formation of a planetology group at the Paris Observatory and attracted Catherine de Bergh, Thérèse Encrenaz, and Daniel Gautier to pursue careers in planetary science. While at GISS, he was appointed an editor of the Journal of The Atmospheric Sciences and actively solicited papers on planetary atmospheres. Ichtiaque became a US citizen in 1970 and in 1971

he moved to NASA Headquarters as the Deputy Director for Planetary Programs under Director Robert S. Kraemer when the Grand Tour Mission was under consideration and cancelled and resurrected as Voyager 1 (Mariner Jupiter Saturn) and 2 (Mariner Jupiter Uranus Neptune). During this period there was also

the launch and landing of Viking Spacecrafts on Mars. Later Ichtiaque served as Noel Hinner’s Deputy for Science before moving over to the Earth Science side of NASA. After joining GISS he collaborated with Arv Kliore on Mariner radio occultation measurements of the atmospheres/ionospheres of Mars and Venus. With Catherine de Bergh he wrote one of the early papers about the runaway greenhouse on Venus and with Stephen Schneider he raised the issue about the combined effects of large increases in CO2 and aerosols in a Science

publication. He was the recipient of the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement in 1974, the William T. Pecora Award in 2002, and the COSPAR

William Nordberg Medal in 1988. Throughout his career he was a strong

William Nordberg Medal in 1988. Throughout his career he was a strong advocate for international cooperation in Earth and planetary sciences, even during waning years of the cold war. Ichtiaque is survived by his wife, his son, Immanuel Rasool, his daughter, Elisa Petit, and four grandchildren. For those who would like to know more about his unique career, his book entitled “My Life: From Riches to Rags and (almost) back! A Memoire” is recommended and available from Amazon.com.

Darrell Strobel, Catherine de Bergh, Thérèse Encrenaz, Tobias Owen

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REMINDER: DPS 48/EPSC 11 ABSTRACT DEADLINE MOVED UP ONE DAY TO JUNE 22

As a result of the AAS moving to new offices this month, we have moved up the abstract deadline for this Fall’s DPS/EPSC meeting in Pasadena to Wednesday June 22 at 9:00 PM (21:00) Eastern Daylight Time. The AAS will be physically unplugging the servers to migrate them to the new offices on the old deadline date. Apologies for the change, but it’s the best solution under the circumstances. Please update your calendars with the new date:

9:00 PM EDT Wednesday June 22, 2016

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HARTMANN STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS FOR DPS 48/EPSC 11

A generous contribution from William K. Hartmann, supplemented by member contributions and matching funds from the DPS Committee, has enabled a limited number of student travel grants to assist participation by early-career scientists at the annual DPS meeting.

Application details are at meetings/travel_grant_application Travel grants are primarily intended for students, but post-doctoral scientists

without other means of support will also be considered. The due date for applications is July 8, 2016 11:59 PM.

The DPS Leadership is also soliciting additional contributions from members
for the Hartmann Fund. Your tax-deductible gift promotes the careers of our next generation of planetary scientists. Thanks so much for your generosity.

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ABSTRACTS ON LABORATORY RESEARCH FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES

Dear Experimental Planetary Science Colleagues,

The Abstracts deadline is June 22, 2016 for the 48th Division for Planetary

Science (DPS) Meeting jointly with European Planetary Sciences Congress (EPSC) to be held from 16-21 October 2016 at the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, California, USA. You are strongly encouraged to submit abstracts that focus on the main sessions of DPS/EPSC.

This year we are also bringing the Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD) of AAS closer to DPS.

We are pleased to inform you that some of the laboratory related abstracts that are selected for oral presentations at the DPS/EPSC will be designated as “jointly with LAD”. If you are not a member of LAD yet, we strongly encourage you to become a member at https://lad.aas.org/

As laboratory research is an important aspect of planetary science, strong participation by the LAD community is needed for a successful meeting. A significant presence by the LAD community would greatly enrich the quality
of the scientific discussions that are held at the DPS meeting. In an effort to increase the impact of laboratory research presentations to the community at
this meeting, the DPS Science Organizing Committee is committed to integrating these talks and posters within the appropriate planetary science topics, and not relegating laboratory talks and posters to an isolated laboratory session. This is the approach that has been used very successfully for the past several DPS meetings, and we aim to continue this integrated approach. The degree to which
we can achieve this will depend on strong participation from the LAD community, so please consider submitting an abstract (abstract submissions is open now through 9:00 pm ET, 22 June 2016) for this year’s DPS/EPSC meeting. Please do not hesitate to contact me or Murthy if you have any questions.

If the DPS receives a large number of high-quality abstracts from LAD members, we will be in a better position to highlight some of the accepted talks as “Joint DPS/EPSC and LAD Talks”.

Best regards,

Nancy Chanover
Member-at-Large, LAD Committee 2013-2016
[email protected]

Murthy Gudipati
SOC Member, 2016 DPS/EPSC [email protected]

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SAVE THE DATE FOR THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL PLANETARY DUNES WORKSHOP

The Fifth International Planetary Dunes Workshop will be conducted

May 16–19, 2017, at Dixie State University, St. George, Utah. The workshop format will consist of 21⁄2 days of topical discussions, a poster session/social,
and one-day field trip to Zion National Park and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The workshop will focus on the following science questions: (1) Under what conditions are terrestrial subaqueous dunes a suitable analog for planetary dunes? (2) Can sediment composition be used to better understand sediment source, transport, sorting, and in situ weather processes? (3) Can bedform scale be used to characterize a planetary body’s surface-atmosphere interface (e.g., boundary layer, fluid/air properties)? (4) Under what conditions will the principle of equifinality apply and how does this affect our interpretations? More details can be found at http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/dunes2017/

LTC(Ret) Timothy N. Titus Ph.D. Supervisory Research Space Scientist Mission Operations Group Chief Astrogeology Science Center

United States Geological Survey

———————————+
Send submissions to:
Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected])

To unsubscribe visit http://aas.org/unsubscribe or email [email protected]. To change your address email [email protected]. 

At the Members’ Meeting in National Harbor I was pleased to see the general interest and engagement on publication matters.  Last December, in a message from the chair, I informed you about the details of the agreement that we made with Elsevier regarding Icarus and the formation of a Publications Subcommittee. That Subcommittee has assembled a survey that we would like you to take.

Shortly, you will be sent a link from the AAS SurveyMonkey account inviting you to take the survey. I encourage you to take some of your time to respond so that the DPS Committee can get a strong sense of your ideas and desires regarding our strategy for planetary publication matters and how it might evolve in the future.

The Publications Subcommittee has written up a brief overview and background for the survey that you can find below. Look for the survey coming in the next couple of days.

Jason W. Barnes
DPS Chair

History
Academic Press first published Icarus in 1962.  The DPS was formed in 1970, and became affiliated with Icarus in 1975.  Since Icarus was published for more than a decade before DPS involvement, the intellectual property that is Icarus originated under Academic Press.  Harcourt acquired Academic Press in 1969, which was in turn purchased by Reed Elsevier in 2000; Elsevier now publishes Icarus.

The fact that the DPS does not own the primary journal in which its members publish, review, and edit the content is very different from the DPS’s parent organization, the American Astronomical Society, which owns the Astrophysical Journal, the Astronomical Journal, etc.  Some similar scholarly societies own and operate journals (e.g. the American Geophysical Union publishes JGR and GRL).

Changing Circumstances
The Division was happily associated with Icarus for many decades, but the Internet has changed perspectives on academic publishing.  A part of the process that came under scrutiny was the retention of copyright by the publishing companies.  This scrutiny and analysis gave rise to the Open Access movement about a decade ago.  Issues about Open Access have been raised in past DPS Members meetings, but no consensus was arrived at.

Changes for NASA-Funded Research
NASA plans to adopt a policy requiring papers and research based on NASA-funded research to be deposited in a publicly accessible NASA online archive within one year of publication.

How does that impact Icarus papers?  Well, it depends. If all authors of a paper are civil servants, then Elsevier can’t (and doesn’t now) claim copyright of the paper, and it can be easily and legally submitted by its authors to this new NASA archive. But if even one author of an Icarus paper is not a civil servant, then the copyright must be transferred to Elsevier, which then owns it and it cannot legally be deposited in NASA’s archive. Elsevier’s solution is for the author to pay an Open Access fee (currently $2,750) making the published article Open Access under an author-selected Creative Commons license so that it can now be legally placed in the NASA archive.  This is an extra publication cost, but the ROSES-2015 and 2016 documents indicate that Open Access fees, like page charges, may be included in proposals as allowable charges on a grant, so should be requested in future proposal budgets.

The Committee Contemplates
By 2011, the DPS Committee felt that its relationship with Icarus should be re-evaluated, especially regarding what more the DPS could get out of its connection with Icarus, so discussions were started with Elsevier, which sparked discussion about the more general nature of the relation of the Division to scientific publishing.  Soon, knowledge of the Open Access movement and its impact on publishing was more widespread among the Committee and DPS members in general.

Beyond Open Access issues, there are concerns about Elsevier’s actions on the global stage that seemed to prioritize Elsevier profits over scholarship.  Elsevier desired to control more of the editorial process than they had traditionally done with Icarus.  Beyond that, the DPS Committee contemplated how the Division might benefit if it had more ownership and control of our scientific journal.

2015 Agreement with Elsevier
The Committee had much information but it was unclear what course should be taken, so it decided not to make any bold moves.  The DPS would stay with Icarus for the time being and sign an agreement with Elsevier effective October 1, 2015. The agreement automatically renews every three years, if neither party objects.

The Future
During the last year, the DPS Committee was concerned about its relationship with Elsevier and seriously considered the implications and possibilities of ending the relationship.  But it did not feel that it had a sufficient sense of the membership’s concerns to make that decision or navigate between various options in the wake of such a decision.

DPS members have voiced concern about our relationship with Elsevier over the years, but in order for the Committee to chart a way forward, they must feel confident about the sense of the membership at large, and that is why you will be receiving an invitation to take a survey that covers these topics, please respond and let your voice be heard.

Issue 16-20, June 7, 2016

 

+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+

1. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR: PUBLICATION SURVEY
2. REMINDER: DPS 48/EPSC 11 ABSTRACT DEADLINE MOVED UP ONE DAY TO JUNE 22 
3. SBAG 15 MEETING REGISTRATION
4. SBAG STEERING COMMITTEE CANDIDATE SOLICITATION
5. JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

+——————————————————————————————–+

 

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR: PUBLICATION SURVEY

 

At the Members’ Meeting in National Harbor I was pleased to see the general 

interest and engagement on publication matters.  Last December, in a message 

from the chair (news/message-chair-icarus-agreement-reached),

I  informed you about the details of the agreement that we made with Elsevier 

regarding Icarus and the formation of a Publications Subcommittee.  That

Subcommittee has assembled a survey that we would like you to take. 

Shortly, you will be sent a link from the AAS SurveyMonkey account inviting 

you to take the survey.  I encourage you to take some of your time to respond 

so that the DPS Committee can get a strong sense of your ideas and desires 

regarding our strategy for planetary publication matters and how it might evolve 

in the future. 

The Publications Subcommittee has written up a brief overview and background 

for the survey that you can find here: 

 

news/message-chair-publication-survey

 

Look for the survey coming in the next couple of days. 

Jason W. Barnes 
DPS Chair 

 

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REMINDER: DPS 48/EPSC 11 ABSTRACT DEADLINE MOVED UP ONE 

DAY TO JUNE 22 

 

As a result of the AAS moving to new offices this month, we have moved up 

the abstract deadline for this Fall’s DPS/EPSC meeting in Pasadena to 

Wednesday June 22 at 9:00 PM (21:00) Eastern Daylight Time.  The AAS 

will be physically unplugging the servers to migrate them to the new offices 

on the old deadline date.  Apologies for the change, but it’s the best solution 

under the circumstances. Please update your calendars with the new date:

 

9:00 PM EDT Wednesday June 22, 2016

 

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SBAG 15 MEETING REGISTRATION

 

Registration for the SBAG 15 meeting in now available from the SBAG 

website:

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/

 

SBAG 15 Meeting

June 28 – June 30, 2016

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Laurel, MD

 

Additional logistical details and the agenda are also available on the SBAG 

website as well. 

 

If you plan to attend the SBAG 15 meeting, please register. Registration is 

free but is used for planning purposes and to document community interest in 

SBAG meetings, to ensure continued support. 

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, and I’m looking forward 

to a productive meeting at the end of the month. 

 

Best wishes,

Nancy Chabot

SBAG Chair

 

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SBAG STEERING COMMITTEE CANDIDATE SOLICITATION

Dear SBAG community, 

The SBAG (Small Bodies Assessment Group) Steering Committee is composed 

of members who represent the diverse nature of the small bodies community. 

The Steering Committee organizes SBAG meetings, drafts and edits findings 

relating to topics of interest to the small bodies community, and provides input 

to NASA on topics relating to the science of small bodies, the use of small bodies 

in support of human space activities, technology relating to the exploration and 

utilization of small bodies, and planetary defense. Each member serves a multi-year 

term. There are three positions open on the SBAG Steering Committee starting in 

August 2016. We are looking for candidates in the following areas:

 

* SBAG  Planetary Defense Lead – Serve as a Steering Committee member and 

lead SBAG activities relating to topics of planetary defense at SBAG meetings and 

Steering Committee discussions. Three-year term.

 

* Outer Solar System Small Bodies Expert – Serve as a SBAG Steering Committee 

member and provide specific expertise on topics and issues related to the science of 

small bodies in the outer Solar System, to complement the expertise of the continuing

 Steering Committee members. The Steering Committee already has specific expertise 

relating to comets, so this position is intended to be for an expert in KBOs, Jupiter 

Trojans, small moons of the outer planets, and/or Centaurs. Three-year term.

 

* Member with any expertise relevant to SBAG – The Steering Committee tries to 

maintain expertise in several specific areas, including those mentioned above, but 

also wants to represent a broad cross-section of the small bodies community, and 

seeks potential members who are interested in small bodies topics, regardless of 

specific expertise. The intent of describing this position this way is to encourage 

potential candidates from across the community (candidates for the first two 

positions will automatically be considered as well). Three-year term.

 

To indicate your willingness to serve in any of these positions, please email 

Tim Swindle ([email protected]) by June 23, 2016, and include a two- to 

four-page CV. 

The current Steering Committee will select new members at the 15th Meeting of 

SBAG, June 28-30, 2016.

Tim Swindle
Incoming SBAG Chair
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/

 

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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

 

A) POSTDOC – IONOSPHERIC RADIO OCCULTATIONS AT SATURN, 

     TITAN, AND MARS

     Boston University 

 

The Center for Space Physics at Boston University invites applications 

for a postdoctoral researcher position supervised by Professor Paul Withers. 

The research will involve the analysis of radio occultation observations of 

the ionospheres of Saturn, Titan, and Mars. Candidates should possess 

a PhD degree in a relevant field. Experience conducting research on planetary 

ionospheres is desirable. The salary offered will be competitive and 

commensurate with experience. Funding is available for two years with 

the possibility of extension. The appointment is expected to begin as soon 

as possible after 1 September 2016. Please contact Paul Withers 

([email protected]) for further information.

 

Applications should be sent by email to Paul Withers ([email protected]).

 

The application should be submitted in PDF format and contain a curriculum 

vitae, statement of research interests, and contact information for three 

referees. Review of applications will begin on 1 July 2016. Women and 

underrepresented minorities are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Boston University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

 

———————————+

Send submissions to:

Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected]) 

 

To unsubscribe visit http://aas.org/unsubscribe or email [email protected].

To change your address email [email protected].

 

 

As a result of the AAS moving to new offices this month, we have moved up the abstract deadline for this Fall’s DPS/EPSC meeting in Pasadena to Wednesday June 22 at 9:00 PM (21:00) Eastern Daylight Time.  It turns out that the AAS will be physically unplugging the servers to migrate them to the new offices on the old deadline date.  Apologies for the change, but it’s the best solution under the circumstances. Please update your calendars with the new date:

9:00 PM EDT Wednesday June 22, 2016

Jason W. Barnes
DPS Chair

Issue 16-19, June 2, 2016

 

+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+

1. DEADLINE MOVED UP ONE DAY TO JUNE 22

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URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR: DPS 48/EPSC 11 ABSTRACT 

DEADLINE MOVED UP ONE DAY TO JUNE 22 

As a result of the AAS moving to new offices this month, we have moved up 

the abstract deadline for this Fall’s DPS/EPSC meeting in Pasadena to 

Wednesday June 22 at 9:00 PM (21:00) Eastern Daylight Time.  It turns out 

that the AAS will be physically unplugging the servers to migrate them to the 

new offices on the old deadline date.  Apologies for the change, but it’s the best 

solution under the circumstances. Please update your calendars with the new date:

 

9:00 PM EDT Wednesday June 22, 2016

Jason W. Barnes 
DPS Chair

 

———————————+

Send submissions to:

Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected]) 

 

To unsubscribe visit http://aas.org/unsubscribe or email [email protected].

To change your address email [email protected].

 

Issue 16-18, May 29, 2016

 

+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+

1. THIRD COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING NEW FRONTIERS PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY
2. NASA APPROVAL TO EXCEED PER DIEM LODGING FOR DPS 48/ EPSC 11
3. EARLY CAREER PARTICIPANT SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR NASA OPAG MEETING
4. STUDENT AND EARLY CAREER TRAVEL GRANTS FOR VEXAG MEETING #14 IN WASHINGTON, DC
5. NOTICE OF INTENT TO INITIATE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR ARECIBO OBSERVATORY
6. JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES
7. UPCOMING MEETINGS

+——————————————————————————————–+

 

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THIRD COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING NEW FRONTIERS

 

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY

 

This third community announcement about the fourth New Frontiers

 

Announcement of Opportunity (AO) provides the agenda for Technology

 

Workshop being held June 1, 2016, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel

 

and Conference Center in Bethesda, MD. The goal of this workshop is to

 

educate the potential proposing community on technologies being offered

 

by NASA and other organizations and inform how each technology will be

 

supported to the proposal team.

 

The workshop agenda is posted on the New Frontiers Acquisition website at

 

http://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/. The workshop will be broadcast via 

WebEx

 

using the following information:

 

Meeting Link: 

https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?MTID=m4ea7385a798ab6e9bdea3a039688643a

 

Meeting number: 996 367 002

 

Meeting password: W@lc0m31

 

Audio connection:

 

Free phone/Toll Free: USA callers: 888-989-9772

 

International callers 1-203-827-7011

 

Participant Passcode: 7270833

 

A poster session will be held in parallel with and after the oral 

presentations

 

are complete to encourage interaction between technology providers and

 

potential proposers.  In addition, attendees may request a one-on-one 

meeting

 

for more in depth discussions with any technology provider(s) listed on the

 

agenda.  To request such a meeting, please contact Dr. Curt Niebur via 

E-mail

 

([email protected] <http://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/ as it becomes available. 

Questions

 

may be addressed to Dr. Curt Niebur, New Frontiers Program Lead Scientist,

 

Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA,

 

Washington, DC 20546; Tel.: (202) 358-0390; E-mail: 

[email protected] <[email protected] <http://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/

 

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EARLY CAREER PARTICIPANT SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR NASA

 

OUTER PLANETS ASSESSMENT GROUP (OPAG) MEETING

 

NASA’s Outer Planets Assessment Group will provide travel grants for a

 

limited number of interested Early Career participants to attend the OPAG

 

meeting August 11-12 in Flagstaff, AZ.These individuals may also attend

 

the Roadmap for Ocean Worlds meeting on August 10.OPAG plays a key

 

role in sculpting the planetary science community’s input into NASA 

activities

 

for outer planets science and exploration.Thus it is critical for Early 

Career

 

scientists to attend these meetings both to learn how NASA and Planetary

 

Science programs operate and to represent the community that will work on

 

OPAG-relevant projects in the coming decade.Interested graduate students,

 

postdocs, and other Early Career scientists (within 5 years of PhD/MS/BS)

 

should submit a one page letter of interest and a CV to 

[email protected] <[email protected] containing:

 

1. A one-page description of how your participation in this meeting

    will benefit you professionally and contribute to NASA’s

    explorations of Venus.

2. An abstract for a 5-10 minute presentation

3. Your resume

4. An endorsement from a faculty member.

 

For logistical reasons, also provide:

 

– Legal Full Name

– Date of Birth

– City/State of Birth

– Preferred Email Address and Phone Numbers

– Home Address

– Emergency Contact – Name, Relationship, and Phone Number

– Your Affiliation with Full Address and Phone Number

– Gender

 

If you are a foreign national or permanent resident alien, also provide:

 

– Country of Citizenship

– Birth Date and Birth City, State/Region and Country

– Passport Number, with Expiration Date

– Visa Type, with Effective and Expiration Dates

– Alien Registration # (if applicable)

 

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NOTICE OF INTENT TO INITIATE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

 

FOR ARECIBO OBSERVATORY

 

The National Science Foundation has issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to

 

Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Initiate Section 106

 

Consultation for Proposed Changes to Arecibo Observatory Operations,

 

Arecibo, Puerto Rico and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings and Comment

 

Period.  As indicated in the NOI, scoping comments may be submitted to the

 

National Science Foundation during the public comment period, which

 

extends through June 23, 2016, via email ([email protected]) or via

 

mail to Ms. Elizabeth Pentecost, National Science Foundation Division of

 

Astronomical Sciences, Suite 1045, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington VA 22230.

 

Comments may also be provided during the two public scoping meetings

 

scheduled for June 7, 2016 in Puerto Rico, at locations listed in the 

Federal

 

Register notice linked below.

 

Federal Register:

 

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR=2016-05-23/pdf/2016-12036.pdf

 

Information will be posted throughout the process at: www.nsf.gov/AST.

 

Please note that comments must be submitted via the mechanisms described

 

above in order to be considered.

 

James S. Ulvestad, Division Director, Division of Astronomical Sciences

 

Paul B. Shepson, Division Director, Division of Atmospheric and Geospace 

Sciences

 

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JOBS, POSITIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

 

A) RESEARCH SCIENTIST IN PLANETARY RADAR

 

Arecibo, Puerto Rico

 

The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is seeking applicants

 

for a Research Scientist position in the Planetary Radar group at the 

Arecibo

 

Observatory in Puerto Rico. The research emphasis of the group is the study

 

and characterization of near-Earth objects and other Solar System bodies.

 

Experience and interest in astronomical observations of Solar System 

objects,

 

small-bodies geophysics, astronomical instrumentation, and/or numerical

 

inverse modeling are desirable. Experience with radar observations and

 

techniques, programming languages, and Linux systems is preferred, but

 

not required. Applications from members of underrepresented groups are

 

particularly encouraged.

 

The incumbent should hold a Ph.D. in planetary science, astronomy, physics

 

or a related field. Postdoctoral experience is preferred, but not 

required. The

 

successful candidate should demonstrate the ability to perform independent

 

research, have a track record of scientific publications in planetary 

science,

 

and would be encouraged to apply for partial funding. The incumbent would

 

be expected to participate in radar observations, data processing, 

archiving,

 

and modeling of near-Earth asteroids and other Solar System bodies with the

 

Arecibo Planetary radar system.

 

A complete application must include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a

 

research plan, which is limited to three (3) pages, and contact information

 

for three (3) references. Review of applications will begin August 29, 2016

 

and continue until the position is filled.

 

The Arecibo Observatory is managed for the NSF by a consortium comprising

 

SRI International, USRA, and Universidad Metropolitana. It is home to the

 

largest radio telescope in the world and conducts research programs in 

Radio

 

Astronomy, Planetary Radar, and Atmospheric Sciences. All appointments

 

are contingent upon the continuation of the cooperative agreement with the

 

NSF for the operation of Arecibo Observatory.

 

The successful applicant will be a resident in Arecibo, Puerto Rico and 

will

 

be an employee of USRA. All interested candidates must apply directly on

 

our website at ** 

<http://www.elsi.jp/en/about/recruitment/public-offering-positions/2016/0…

 

 

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UPCOMING MEETINGS

 

A) U.S. RADIO-MM-SUBMM FUTURES II MEETING

 

August 3-5, 2016

 

Baltimore, MD

 

http://go.nrao.edu/Futures2

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

Registration is now open for the second of three conferences for the

 

astronomical community to broadly discuss potential futures for

 

radio-millimeter-submillimeter (RMS) science in the U.S. Funded

 

by Associated Universities, Inc. and the Kavli Foundation, Futures II

 

will take place 3-5 August in Baltimore, Maryland, and will focus on

 

the four broad areas of RMS community interest and opportunity that

 

emerged from the Futures I conference held in Chicago in December

 

2015.

 

Each Futures II focus area will explore the Flagship and Small/Midscale

 

instrument initiatives required for transformational scientific progress at

 

RMS wavelengths. Flagship initiatives are major investments with broad

 

community benefit and support that require funding by or on a scale

 

comparable to the National Science Foundation (NSF) – Major Research

 

Equipment and Facility Construction program. Small/Midscale initiatives

 

are significant investments that might be funded via the NSF Mid-Scale

 

Initiative Program, such as experiments emerging from smaller groups

 

and collaborations.

 

All Futures II conference events will take place at the Renaissance

 

Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. The $150 registration fee includes:

 

– 3-day conference

 

– plenary and breakout sessions

 

– all meeting materials

 

– breaks

 

– opening reception Wednesday evening

 

– conference dinner Thursday night

 

– $50 discount on rooms at Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel

 

(some restrictions apply).

 

Some funding is available to assist attendees who may need travel

 

support. If you need financial assistance to attend Futures II, please

 

email Local Organizing Committee Chair Karen Ransom

 

([email protected] <http://go.nrao.edu/Futures2

 

I hope you will join us 3-5 August 2016 for this important and

 

continuing discussion of the future of U.S. radio-millimeter-submillimeter

 

science.

 

Tony Beasley (NRAO Director)

 

on behalf of the Kavli/AUI Meetings Organizing Committee.

 

B) SBAG 15 MEETING

 

Dear SBAG community,

 

Just a reminder that the SBAG 15 meeting is roughly one month away:

 

June 28-30, 2016

 

Laurel, MD

 

A few logistical details, including a list of nearby hotels, is available

 

on the SBAG website:

 

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/

 

An agenda for the meeting is also available from this website.

 

I’m looking forward to a productive meeting at the end of June, and I

 

hope to see many of you there!

 

Best wishes,

 

Nancy Chabot

 

SBAG Chair

 

———————————+

 

Send submissions to:

 

Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected] <http://aas.org/unsubscribe or email 

[email protected] <[email protected] <

Newsletter 16-17

I wanted to relay to you a brief note on the budget situation.  The NASA Planetary Science budget has recovered from the hard times in 2013 and 2014 when we suffered a 20% cut in the President’s proposed budget. But even though Earth Science and Planetary Science had nearly the same enacted budget back in 2006, this past year PSD got $1.631B and Earth Science was up at $1.931. We want to grow the Planetary budget by increasing the topline numbers, not by cannibalizing other science programs. 

And with our strong support from Congress, continued Planetary budget increases are entirely within the realm of possiblility. The new House language mandates a 2022 Europa Clipper launch and a 2024 launch of a Europa Lander, and puts its money where its mouth is by allocating $260M for Europa. But the disconnect between the legislative branch and the executive branch is making for an inefficient way forward.

Congress has consistently supported Planetary Science over and above Presidential budget requests in recent years.  But the disconnect between enacted budgets and executive future budget runouts leads to a less than optimal use of money from an efficiency standpoint.  To illustrate the issue, we’ve put together this graph of requested and projected versus enacted budgets (real-year dollars, not inflation adjusted) since 2013: http://tinyurl.com/PSDbudget. These projections force NASA to plan assuming that it will get less money in the future, when its nearly certain that Congress will pass higher numbers.  These low projections make it hard to, for instance, plan for Europa Clipper’s development or choose a healthy number of competed missions. 

This administration has made it clear that Planetary Science is not their priority.But a new administration will come into the picture for the next budget cycle.  Hopefully their outlook will be more in tune with that of Congress and supportive for us, whoever it is that ends up in the White House in 2017.

Jason W. Barnes
DPS Chair