PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 9, Number 9 (March 1, 2015) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Mark V. Sykes Co-Editors: Melissa Lane, Susan Benecchi Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. Postdoctoral Researcher: Mineralogy and Petrology of Planetary Materials 2. LPSC: MESSENGER MDIS Data Users Workshop 3. LPSC: Higher Education Faculty Workshop 4. LPSC: Scientist and Science Educator Professional Workshop Development Workshop - Communicating with Your Audience 5. LPSC: User Workshop for Mars CHEMCAM/LIBS Data 6. First Annual Emerging Researchers in Exoplanet Science (ERES) Symposium 7. NASA Postdoctoral Fellowships 8. Invitation for PDS Reviewers for the Dawn Vesta Framing Camera Mosaics 9. Abstract Deadline Approaching for the AbSciCon 2015 10. AbSciCon 2015 Session: Titan's Organic Chemistry and Insights Into Habitability 11. AbSciCon 2015 Session: Martian Habitability as Informed by Past and Ongoing Orbital, Lander, and Rover Missions 12. Electromagnetic and Light Scattering XV: Celebrating 150 Years of Maxwell's Electromagnetics 13. International Meeting: Radiation Mechanisms of Astrophysical Objects - Classics Today 14. The Lunar Workshops Newsletter 15. Announcing a Newsletter Dedicated to Comet Science 16. OPAG Announcement 17. Student Travel Grants for Upcoming Mars-Relevant Workshops 18. Post-Doctoral Teaching Associate in Mineralogy - University of Tennessee 19. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions o---------------------------------------------------------------------o 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER: MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY OF PLANETARY MATERIALS The Universities Space Research Association's Lunar and Planetary Institute, invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in the mineralogy and petrology of planetary materials. The successful candidate will work with Dr. Allan Treiman in NASA-funded efforts, emphasizing planetary crusts and magmas, and their volatile constituents and on the CheMin science team of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The candidate will participate in analysis and interpretation of CheMin X-ray diffraction data of Mars surface materials; and may also participate in operations planning for the CheMin instrument. Applicants should have a recent Ph.D. in petrology or geochemistry; experience with planetary materials is helpful, but not required. The position would be for two years, with possible extension to a third year. The candidate must be a U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident, and be able to pass a detailed government background investigation. Applicants should send a letter of interest, a curriculum vita with a list of publications, a brief (maximum three pages) statement of research interests, and a list of three references to the posting at: https://usracareers.silkroad.com/ USRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Disabled 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 LPSC: MESSENGER MDIS DATA USERS WORKSHOP There will be a MESSENGER MDIS Data Users' Workshop held in association with LPSC on Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 1:30 pm. The workshop will feature hands on examples of using MDIS data, and no previous experience with MDIS data is required. The overall goal of the workshop is to increase the awareness and accessibility of MDIS datasets to the scientific community, to support ongoing scientific projects, and to enable future research proposals. For more information, visit the workshop's website: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/workshop2015/index.html Registration is free but encouraged, to help with planning and to enable sharing of workshop announcements prior to the event. 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 LPSC: HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY WORKSHOP Sunday, March 15, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Higher-education faculty are invited to participate in a workshop before LPSC. Participants will engage in discussions about the use of course management systems and social media, assessment, and innovative authentic projects. Participants will be asked to choose which topics will be of most interest and the workshop will be designed to address the most popular responses. Registration is free and required in order to attend (attendance at LPSC is not required); For more details, please contact Sanlyn Buxner (buxner@psi.edu). Register at: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/workshops/lpsc2015 /undergraduate_teaching/ 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 LPSC: SCIENTIST AND SCIENCE EDUCATOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP - COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE Sunday, March 15, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m Experts in communicating with the public and press will present techniques for successfully engaging a variety of audiences in different formats, including press releases, classroom presentations, and public talks. Following interactive presentations, participants will work with the presenters to apply their knowledge to their own communications products and presentations. Those wishing to attend the communications workshop in the morning and the Higher Education Faculty Workshop in the afternoon are welcome to do so! Registration is free but required in order to attend (attendance at LPSC is not required). A 90-minute lunch break will be provided for lunch on your own. For additional information, please contact Christine Shupla (shupla@lpi.usra.edu). Register at: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/workshops/lpsc2015/communication/ 5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5 LPSC: USER WORKSHOP FOR MARS CHEMCAM/LIBS DATA Location: Indian Springs Room, Marriott Waterway Conference Center, The Woodlands, TX Time/date: 6 pm, Wednesday, March 18 ChemCam on Curiosity provides a large and varied geochemical dataset available for the planetary community including laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), passive VIS reflectance spectra, and the highest resolution remote micro-images (RMI) from the rover. More than 200,000 spectra and over 3,000 images from ChemCam available at the Planetary Data System (PDS). More than 30 submitted papers have included results from this data. A LIBS instrument is also being developed for the Mars 2020 mission. A 2 1/2-hour workshop will be held at 6 pm Wednesday, March 18 during the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (The Woodlands, TX) for community members interested in using this dataset. In the workshop we will describe the LIBS technique as used on ChemCam and data processing for the levels 1 and 2 provided in the PDS, and will provide updates on the latest calibration data. The meeting will be in the Indian Springs room of the Marriott Waterway Conference Center. Please see the ChemCam website for updates: http://msl-chemcam.com The contact is Roger Wiens (rwiens@lanl.gov). The ChemCam data can be found at: http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/chemcam.htm Presentation materials will also be posted on the PDS. 6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6 FIRST ANNUAL EMERGING RESEARCHERS IN EXOPLANET SCIENCE (ERES) SYMPOSIUM The first annual Emerging Researchers in Exoplanet Science Symposium (ERES) will be held May 28 & 29, 2015 at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA. This is the first in a series of annual symposia to be held in a rotating basis at different universities: Penn State (2015), Cornell (2016), and Yale (2017). ERES is aimed at early career scientists (graduate students, postdocs, advanced undergraduates) working in all realms of exoplanetary science and related disciplines (e.g. brown dwarfs, protoplanetary disks, star formation, related instrumentation and theory). The conference will give emerging scientists an opportunity to present their work in either a short oral presentation or a poster session and to network with other early career scientists, and special career development experts. Please spread the word that registration is now open! The registration deadline and deadline for abstract submission is March 26, 2015. To register, submit an abstract, or find more information about travel and accommodations, please email L-ERES-2015-QUESTIONS@lists.psu.edu or visit: http://eres-symposium.org You can find the conference poster at: http://eres-symposium.org/ERESS_Poster.pdf to help advertise around your department. Look forward to seeing you all here! Lisa for the ERES Organizing Committee 7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7 NASA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) provides opportunities for scientists and engineers to conduct research largely of their own choosing, yet compatible with the research opportunities posted on the NPP Web site. Selected by a competitive peer-review process, NPP Fellows complete one- to three-year Fellowship appointments that advance NASA's missions in Earth science, heliophysics, astrophysics, planetary science, astrobiology, space bioscience, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration and operations, and space technology. An example of one of the research opportunities in planetary science is: https://www3.orau.gov/NPDoc/Catalog/17590 Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in hand before beginning the fellowship, but may apply while completing the degree requirements. U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and foreign nationals eligible for J-1 status as a Research Scholar may apply. Stipends start at $53,500 per year, with supplements for high cost-of-living areas and for certain academic specialties. Financial assistance is available for relocation and health insurance, and $8,000 per year is provided for professional travel. Applications are accepted three times each year: March 1, July 1, and November 1. The latest NPP Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1Kjlmyr For further information and to apply, visit: http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc/description/index.htm Questions: nasapostdoc@orau.org 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8 INVITATION FOR PDS REVIEWERS FOR THE DAWN VESTA FRAMING CAMERA MOSAICS The Planetary Data System is inviting reviewers for the Dawn Framing Camera mosaics of Vesta. The data set includes Vesta global clear and color mosaics derived from images acquired by the Framing Camera on the NASA Dawn spacecraft during the high and low altitude mapping orbits (HAMO and LAMO). In addition to the mosaics, the data set includes the flatfield and stray light correction images used during the processing of the raw images. This review will be an external scientific peer review of the data set. Planetary scientists with experience in analysis of planetary surface image mosaics, not restricted to asteroids, are invited to participate. Participation is restricted to those who are not associated with the Dawn Framing Camera team or the PDS Small Bodies Node. The review will take place by teleconference in the months of March and April, and no travel will be required. For more information or to volunteer as a reviewer, contact Carol Neese (neese@psi.edu). 9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9 ABSTRACT DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR THE ABSCICON 2015 The Astrobiology Science Conference 2015 will take place in Chicago, IL on June 15-19, 2015. Abstracts are due by March 4, in less than a week! Abstract Deadline: Wednesday, March 4, 5:00 p.m. U.S. CST March 4 is also the deadline for Student Travel Grant Applications and Peripheral Meeting Requests. Hotel rooms at the special rate of $189.00/night are going fast! Reserve your room now to take advantage of this low rate. www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/abscicon2015/ 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 ABSCICON 2015 SESSION: TITAN'S ORGANIC CHEMISTRY AND INSIGHTS INTO HABITABILITY A session entitled "Titan's Organic Chemistry and Insights Into Habitability" is being organized by Conor Nixon, Morgan Cable and Martin Cordiner at this year's Astrobiology Science Conference, to be held in Chicago, Illinois, on June 15-19, 2015. The session will combine recent results from observational, theoretical and laboratory studies of Titan's organic chemistry, with an emphasis on topics relating to the formation and evolution of molecules relevant to the chemistry of life. The Abstract Deadline for talks and posters will be Wednesday, March 4th 2015, and we invite submissions from all researchers working on Titan's chemistry. The overall theme for AbSciCon 2015 is "Habitability, Habitable Worlds, and Life." More information, including how to register and submit abstracts, may be found at the following URL: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/abscicon2015/about/purpose/ 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 ABSCICON 2015 SESSION: MARTIAN HABITABILITY AS INFORMED BY PAST AND ONGOING ORBITAL, LANDER, AND ROVER MISSIONS Summary (abridged): The last few decades of Mars exploration have greatly improved our understanding of potentially currently habitable regions as Mars, sites of ancient habitability, and regions of increased preservation potential for biomarkers. The purpose of this session is to highlight the recent advances in understanding of martian habitability through current and previous observations of Mars' climate, glaciology, mineralogy, surface geochemistry, and organic chemistry. We invite abstracts with emphasis on data return from landers, rovers, and orbiters on the habitability potential (present or past) of specific regions on Mars, but are particularly interested in contributions that integrate lessons from more than one platform into a holistic perspective on martian habitability. These results might derive from the Mars Science Laboratory at Gale Crater, the Opportunity and Spirit Rovers, recent observations made by instruments onboard orbiters such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Express, and further interpretation from the Phoenix and Viking Landers. Abstracts are due on Wednesday, March 4th at 5 pm CST: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/abscicon2015/program /abstract_submission/ We hope to see you in Chicago! Mary Beth Wilhelm & James Wray Georgia Institute of Technology 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12 ELECTROMAGNETIC AND LIGHT SCATTERING XV: CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF MAXWELL'S ELECTROMAGNETICS The 15th International Conference on Electromagnetic and Light Scattering will take place 21-26 June 2015 in Leipzig, Germany. The objective of the ELS-conference is to bring together scientists and engineers studying various aspects of light scattering, for example: - new theoretical developments and numerical simulations of light scattering by nonspherical and morphologically complex particles and particle groups; - laboratory and field experiments in light scattering by natural and artificial particles; - applications of light scattering in remote sensing, particle detection, laboratory and field particle characterization. The deadline for the abstract submission is 10 March 2015. Some financial support will be available with preference, but not exclusively, to students and scientists from less developed countries. The appropriate form and information about applying for such support is also available at the web site. The scientific scope, all the information about registration, venue, accommodation and financial support can be found on the web site: http://els-xv-2015.net/ 13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13 INTERNATIONAL MEETING: RADIATION MECHANISMS OF ASTROPHYSICAL OBJECTS - CLASSICS TODAY St.Petersburg, Russia, September 21-25, 2015 Studies of radiation mechanisms and processes of spectra formation in astrophysical objects are among the fundamental tasks of modern astrophysics. A powerful tool for the solution of these problems is provided by the theory of radiative transfer, which has been substantially contributed to and developed by the full member of the Soviet (Russian) Academy of Sciences Victor Victorovich Sobolev. The 100th birthday anniversary of V.V. Sobolev will be celebrated on September 2, 2015. On this occasion the Saint-Petersburg State University organizes an international conference that will highlight recent advances in the field of interests of V.V. Sobolev. The conference will include plenary sessions with review talks by internationally recognized Russian and foreign scientists and a memorial session. It will continue with parallel sessions on: - radiative transfer theory, - physics of interstellar medium, - physics of stellar and planetary atmospheres, - high energy astrophysics at which original results in various branches of modern astrophysics will be presented. Key dates: 1 March 2015 - Registration and abstract submission open 31 July 2015 - Registration and abstract submission deadline For details see: http://www.astro.spbu.ru/sobolev100/?q=en/node/17 14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14 THE LUNAR WORKSHOPS NEWSLETTER Winter 2015 http://communications.selectinvestor.com/newsletter-winter-2015.html 15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15 ANNOUNCING A NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO COMET SCIENCE You are invited to read, subscribe to, and participate in the Cometary Science Newsletter (CSN), dedicated to sharing and furthering cometary science. Contributions are invited from the astronomical and planetary science communities, including abstracts of papers accepted for publication in refereed journals, thesis abstracts, conference announcements, job announcements, or other relevant and brief scientific communications. Relevant topics include observational, theoretical, and laboratory work concerning comets, but also may include studies of associated phenomena, such as Centaurs, asteroid-comet transition objects, and debris disks. The first CSN issue is planned for 1 April 2015, with monthly issues expected thereafter. For more information, and to read a sample issue online, visit the CSN homepage at: http://www.cometarysciencenews.org/ Sincerely, Mike Kelley, CSN Editor University of Maryland 16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16 OPAG ANNOUNCEMENT The presentations from the Feb 19-20 OPAG meeting at NASA Ames have been posted on the OPAG website: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/ There will be an OPAG townhall at LPSC on Wednesday, March 18, at noon, in Waterway 1-3. To receive OPAG newsletters with more information please indicate your interest at: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/opag.cfm 17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17 STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS FOR UPCOMING MARS-RELEVANT WORKSHOPS Student travel grants are available for the Fourth International Planetary Dunes Workshop: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/dunes2015/ and the Workshop on Issues in Crater Studies and the Dating of Planetary Surfaces: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/craterstats2015/ both to be held May 19-22. An application must be submitted by March 5 (same as the abstract deadline) to be considered for this funding. These opportunities are open to undergraduate and graduate students with Mars-related research interests, who are US citizens or legal residents. Information and the applications are posted on the MEPAG site: http://mepag.nasa.gov/student.cfm?expand=student Questions should be directed to Serina Diniega (serina.diniega@jpl.nasa.gov). 18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18 POST-DOCTORAL TEACHING ASSOCIATE IN MINERALOGY - UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences http://web.eps.utk.edu at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville invites applications for a Post-doctoral Teaching Associate position in Mineralogy starting August 1, 2015, pending approval of funding. The position is a 9-month appointment and includes benefits. Successful candidates will be expected to teach mineralogy for undergraduate geology majors, physical geology at the entry level, and possibly a specialized mineralogy or petrology course at the upper division undergraduate or graduate level. Candidates will also be encouraged to participate in departmental research projects and/or work on their own research. UT-Knoxville is the state's flagship research institution, located near Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Great Smoky Mountains. The EPS department comprises an energetic group of tenure-track and research faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and ~150 graduate and undergraduate students. Applicants should e-mail CV, description of teaching and research interests, and contact information for 3 references in PDF format to: Prof. Josh Emery Search Committee Chair University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1410 865-974-8039 jemery2@utk.edu The applicant should also arrange to have 3 letters of reference e-mailed to the same address. Review of applications will begin April 1, 2015. 19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html May 3-8, 2015 IsraSWAPS-2015: Space Weather And Plasma in Space http://www.tau.ac.il/institutes/advanced/cosmic/Conferences /IsraSWAPS-2015/SWAPS-2015.html Tel Aviv, Israel June 21-26, 2015 Electromagnetic and Light Scattering XV: Celebrating 150 Years of Maxwell's Electromagnetics http://els-xv-2015.net/ Leipzig, Germany September 21-25, 2015 Radiation Mechanisms of Astrophysical Objects - Classics Today http://www.astro.spbu.ru/sobolev100/?q=en/node/17 St. Petersburg, Russia [Editor Note: If there is a planetary-related meeting, conference or workshop of which your colleagues should be aware, please send the date, title, URL and location to pen_editor at psi.edu.] *********************************************************************** * The Planetary Exploration Newsletter is issued approximately weekly. * Current and back issues are available at http://planetarynews.org * * To subscribe, go to http://planetarynews.org/pen_subscribe.html, or * send a request to pen_editor at psi.edu * * To unsubscribe, send an email to pen_editor at psi.edu * * Please send all replies and submissions to pen_editor at psi.edu. * Announcements and other messages should be brief with links to URLs * for extended information, including detailed descriptions for job * announcements. Title plus text is limited to 200 words. Go to * http://planetarynews.org/submission.html for complete submission * directions. * * PEN is a service provided by the Planetary Science Institute * (http://www.psi.edu) using no NASA funds. All editorial work is * volunteer. **********************************************************************