Professional Title/Position

Degrees and Education

• Ph.D., University of Arizona, Planetary Science, 2004
• B.S., Caltech, Astronomy, 1998

Affiliations

• University of Idaho, Associate Professor of Physics 2013-present
• University of Idaho, Assistant Professor of Physics 2008-2013
• NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, Ames Research Center, 2007-2008
• Postdoc, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 2004-2006

Research Areas, Topics, and Interests

• Titan
• Exoplanets

Services, Roles, and Activities

• Committee Member, 2009-2012
• Member, Scientific Organizing Committee, 2014 Annual Meeting (Tucson)

Candidate Statement

As the largest professional planetary society, the DPS is the primary voice of the community of planetary scientists. In terms of organizing our scientific communications and advocating our interests to the US government, the DPS remains an essential organization. As Chair my priority would be to modernize and streamline the DPS' finances, meetings, and online systems to ensure its continued effectiveness for a long and fruitful future.

Our greatest concern today is the NASA budget for planetary science. The Federal Relations Subcommittee (FRS), led by Makenzie Lystrup, has done an amazing job these past few years under trying circumstances. Thus I see the job of the Chair to be ensuring that Makenzie and the FRS have all the resources that they need continue to engage with Congress and, particularly, the administration regarding funding priorities. I will also work closely with our parent organization, the AAS, to ensure that we do not work at cross-purposes with one another. To help the FRS do its job, however, we all need to keep doing ours by reaching out to the public to communicate the discoveries that are the fruits of public funding to the taxpayers.

To continue to serve the planetary community the DPS must keep its own house -- particularly its finances -- in order. The DPS nearly went under in 2009, only to be rescued by a $250,000 federal bailout. That is embarrassing. And it is not a sustainable way to run a professional society. Although we are in good financial health today, we must never be put in such a position again, regardless of the state of the economy. To that end, we need to be careful to prevent inertia toward overly cavernous venues for the annual Meetings that comprise the overwhelming majority of our budget. The Committee should always consider at least two venues when deciding on each meeting location. And we also need to look more closely at holding meetings in small-to-medium sized cities that could be more cost-effective for the size of our gathering.

But the best thing that we can do for the financial health of the DPS is to diversify our revenue base. Right now over 90% of our annual income derives from the yearly meeting, with dues providing a small but important supplement. We need an extra source of money to provide stability in the case of a money-losing meeting, to enable new initiatives, and to allow the DPS the agency to pursue its interests.

Icarus the Division-sponsored journal, should provide us that new revenue. As a DPS Committee member, I initiated the currently ongoing reevaluation of our relationship with the Division-sponsored journal. While other societies own their journals (AAS owns ApJ and AJ, AGU owns GRL and JGR), Icarus is owned by Elsevier, a private company. As such Elsevier runs Icarus to maximize its profit. As a professional society, I think that the DPS needs to have some control over its own journal, including a share of those profits. Therefore I support continued efforts by the DPS to negotiate with Elsevier to tie our continued sponsorship of Icarus to (1) direct revenue payments from Elsevier to the DPS general fund, and (2) complete autonomy and authority for the DPS-appointed editor of Icarus (presently Phil Nicholson).

I would like to address two other issues that could be supported by any additional revenue. First, I want to fix our voting system. Turnout in DPS elections hovers around 20%, well lower than back when we mailed paper ballots. We all know why this is: the email that you get to vote is not a direct link, but rather it requires that you either remember or look up your DPS ID number and log in before you can vote. When we asked the AAS to fix this issue in the past, they blew us off. Now we will have money to contract to or hire whomever we need to solve the problem ourselves. The other use of money that I propose is to implement an online forum for DPS issues. Right now the DPS leadership communicates with the membership by way of the Member's Meeting at the annual conference. Unfortunately the meeting has historically been sparsely attended, and the attendees skew heavily to established scientists. To help address these problems, I propose to complement the Member's Meeting with a web-based discussion system that would both increase and broaden membership participation in Division matters.

Since its inception as a Division in 1968, the DPS has served its membership through both flush and trying circumstances. I would like the chance to implement the ideas that I have described here to help ensure that the DPS can continue to serve us all for the foreseeable future.

Professional Title/Position

Degrees and Education

• Ph.D., Australian National University, Geophysics, 1985
• M.Sc., University of Canterbury, Astrophysics, 1979

Affiliations

• Lunar and Planetary Institute, Director, 2002-present
• Rice University, Adjunct Professor, Earth Sciences, 2005-present
• Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Uni. Bayreuth, Professor and Director, 1998-2002
• Pennsylvania State University, Professor, Geosciences, 1988-1996
• Cornell University, Research Fellow, 1984-1988

Honors and Awards:

• Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2010
• Stipendiat der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Bayreuth, Germany, 1996
• Fellow, Mineralogical Society of America, 1996

Services, Roles, and Activities

• Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets, Univ. Arizona Press, 2013
• Oxygen in the Solar System, Min. Soc. Am.: Rev. Min. Geochem., 2008
• Editorial Board, Phys. Chem. Min., 1996-present
• Editor in Chief, Geophysical Research Letters, 2001-2005
• Editor (Solid Earth), Geophysical Research Letters, 2000-2001
• Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 1992-1997
• NRC Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (2012-present)
• NRC Planetary Decadal Survey (Vice Chair - Inner Planets, and Steering Committee) (2010)
• NRC Committees: Assessment of NASA Science Mission Directorate 2014 Science Plan (2014); Lessons Learned in Decadal Planning in Space Science (2012); Review of Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies (2010); New Opportunities in Solar System Exploration (2008)
• NASA Review Panels: multiple PG&G (panelist, group chief, panel chair), Astrophysics Senior Review (2010), Human Tended Suborbital Science Program (2008), NIAC (2013)
• NSF - Program Director (Geophysics) (1993-1994)

Candidate Statement

For the past decade, my primary role as director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute has been to support and advocate for the planetary community. Our community has been hit hard by drift in the direction of NASA's programs and the low priority of Planetary Exploration within the Administration. The promise of the planetary community's Decadal Survey remains largely unfulfilled because planetary science funding does not match planetary science vision. The key challenge for DPS is to strongly and effectively advocate for planetary science in the halls of Congress, NASA, and the Administration. Our goal should be to have a planetary science budget that matches the vision of our Decadal Survey.

I spend a lot of time in Washington at NASA, on the Hill, and in other Administration offices as part of various analysis and advisory groups. I know how the process works and how to advocate effectively for our goals. As the Chair of DPS, I will be able to build on this foundation and advocate strongly for the key components of the Decadal, including Research and Analysis, Technology, Discovery, New Frontiers, and Flagship activities. My work in support of the planetary science community has given me a balanced perspective on the broader needs of our community. As your representative, I can bring your concerns to policy makers, advocate forcefully for the resources to bring our vision to reality, and continue the outstanding work of past chairs.

Professional Title/Position

Degrees and Education

• Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University La Sapienza - Roma (Italy), 1982
• "Habilitation à diriger des recherches" in Astronomy- University of Paris VII (France), 1993.

Research Areas, Topics, and Interests

Exploration of the Solar System from ground and space to understand the physical and chemical nature of primitive small bodies and to investigate the accretion and evolution processes of the protoplanetary disk(s). More than 680 scientific publications and several books.

Honors and Awards:

• 2011-2014: Prix for excellence in science from the French Research Minister
• 2009: American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE-2009) for the book "The Solar System beyond Neptune", Univ. Arizona Press
• 2004: ESA achievement award for OSIRIS-Rosetta Mission
• 2004: ESA achievement award for VIRTIS-Rosetta Mission
• 2000: NASA achievement award for HASI-Huygens/Cassini Mission
• 2000: NASA achievement award for CIRS-Huygens/Cassini Mission
• 1994-2010: Award for research and doctoral tutorial.

Professional Experience and Positions

• Professor of "Solar System science" at Master1 and Master2 level (1995-present)
• PI of the MarcoPolo-R mission in study at ESA in the framework of CosmicVision M class program (2007-2013)
• Co-I of the OSIRIS-REx (NASA) and Hayabusa2 (JAXA) mission (2011-present)
• Member of RSSD advisor Committee of ESA (2007-2008)
• Member of AHG of ESSC-ESF for the European Space Exploration Roadmap (2006-2008)
• Co-I of several instruments: SIMBIO-SYS for BEPI COLOMBO (ESA) (2004-present); VIRTIS and OSIRIS for ROSETTA ESA mission (1995-present); AMIE camera on SMART-1 ESA mission (1998-2006); CIRS on the orbiter and of HASI for Huygens probe on CASSINI/Huygens NASA-ESA mission (1990-present).
• Member of the ESA Solar System Working Group Committee (2006-2009)
• Deputy Director of LESIA-Paris Observatory (2001-2005)
• Member of the Science Definition Team at ESA of ROSETTA mission (ESA) (1992-1994)

Candidate Statement

We live in a worldwide uncertain period for science and space exploration. The Division for Planetary Science of the A.A.S. plays and has to continue to play a fundamental role to focus and promote planetary research activities. If selected for the DPS committee, I will strive to support these goals toward the main objectives of planetary exploration. I dedicated a large parte of my career in planetary science and space missions with involvement in ESA, NASA and JAXA projects and I will continue to work toward a common international effort to increase the planetary science activities, searching to improve the ways to collaborate among fellow scientists and engineers in order to optimize the results.

Planetary science is a major player in space agencies all over the world, and in particular in Europe and in the US. It is essential to maintain the momentum gained and the interest of the communities behind common projects in which constructive exchanges between the two continents (via collaborations, communications, multi-agency forums, etc) will play a major role. The future of planetary science and exploration requires a lot of attention, especially in these difficult budgetary times, and it is my wish to work together with the DPS committee to develop plans to strengthen these activities and promote space exploration. I believe that joint meetings between the DPS and other countries (such as with the European Planetary Science Conference) are beneficial and I will certainly help to organize such joint venue opportunities.

I am very sensitive to science education and outreach to form and promote future generations of scientists and engineers and it will be my duty to be vigilant that young people and teachers will benefit from the DPS guidance and networking. I will help in any possible way the DPS E/PO officer to maintain and enhance the outreach activities and promote the science to the public.

If elected in the DPS committee, I would like to hear the opinions and ideas from the community for improving our goals and ensuring a bright future for planetary exploration through the generations to come.

Professional Title/Position

Degrees and Education

• Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences (minor in Geosciences); Univ. Arizona, Tucson, 2002/li>
• B.S. in Astronomy and Physics; Boston University, 1995

Affiliations

• American Astronomical Society / Division for Planetary Sciences
• Federal Relations Subcommittee, 2008-2012
• American Geophysical Union

Research Areas, Topics, and Interests

The goal of my research is to contribute to the understanding of the formation and evolution of the Solar System and the distribution of organic material. As an observational planetary astronomer, I apply the techniques of reflection and emission spectroscopy and spectrophotometry of primitive and icy bodies in the near- (0.8 to 5.0 ?m) and mid-infrared (5 to 50 ?m) to address these topics. The Jupiter Trojan asteroids have been a strong focus of my research because they are a key group for distinguishing several models of Solar System evolution and for understanding the prevalence of organic material. I also regularly observe Kuiper Belt objects, icy satellites, and other asteroid groups to understand the state of their surfaces as related to these topics. I am a Co-I on the OSIRIS-REx mission.

Services, Roles, and Activities

• Group chief, panel member, and external reviewer for various NASA programs
• Journal reviews (Icarus, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Astronomical Journal, Astrophysical Journal, Nature, Journal of Geophysical Research)
• Keck Next Generation Adaptive Optics Working Group, 2006
• Spitzer Warm Mission, Planetary Science Goals team member, 2007
• NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Time Allocation Committee, 2007 - 2009
• Spitzer Space Telescope allocation committee (2010) and DDT external reviewer (2007 - 2010)
• Session chair at Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, AAS/DPS, and AGU
• Contributed substantially to 5 white papers for NASA Planetary Science Decadal Survey

Professional Experience and Positions

• 2011 - present: Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee
• 2010 - 2011: Research Associate Professor, University of Tennessee
• 2008 - 2010: Research Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee
• 2005 - 2008: Principal Investigator, SETI Institute
• 2002 - 2005: Research Scientist, SETI Institute (NASA Ames contractor)
• 1998 - 2002: Graduate Research/Teaching Associate, University of Arizona
• 1995 - 1998: Graduate Research/Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona
• 1992 - 1995: Undergraduate Research Assistant, Boston University

Candidate Statement

Professional organizations such as the DPS provide critical roles in advocating for the interests of the membership and facilitating communication of science among members and to the broader community. Over the years, the DPS committee has been very successful, helping to build the robust international planetary science endeavor we enjoy today. The annual DPS membership meeting is my favorite conference - the right size to fill a full week with exciting science and still enable plenty of personal interaction. The DPS support of Icarus continues to provide the community an excellent venue for publishing results that span the broad scope of planetary science. The committee must be vigilant to ensure that the annual meeting and Icarus continue to have the resources to serve the membership, while thinking broadly to identify avenues for improvement. Support for students and early career scientists, in terms of both meeting attendance and access to Icarus, is particularly important.

It is clear that, in the current and foreseeable budget climate, the DPS leadership must continue strong and strategic advocacy for planetary science. During my recent 4 year tenure on the DPS Federal Relations Subcommittee, including several trips to Washington to meet with members of Congress, OMB, and NASA management, our advocacy needs changed. The importance of open dialog with all of the stakeholders in planetary exploration, in order to overcome the challenges posed by recent presidential budget requests, cannot be overstated. The DPS committee and chairs have done an excellent job stepping up this communication and coordinating with other relevant professional organizations, and we have seen tangible results of their hard work. Yet the absence of several important elements of the balanced program put forth in the Decadal Survey from the latest presidential budget request highlights the need for continued dialog.

The DPS membership is international, and each of us benefits tremendously from the global nature of this field. Just as we in the US have specific advocacy issues right now, our members in other countries may also, from time to time, need the backing of a large community. The DPS should continue its efforts to improve coordination with relevant international organizations for worldwide support of planetary science.

As a DPS committee member, I would be honored to serve the planetary community to help preserve and expand the vibrant and exciting scientific exploration that we all have been blessed to participate in.

Professional Title/Position

Degrees and Education

• Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1999
• B.A., Physics-Astronomy, Agnes Scott College, 1990

Research Areas, Topics, and Interests

Radio Spectroscopy of Comets and Thermal Emission from Asteroids

Services, Roles, and Activities

• DPS Federal Relations Subcommittee 2007-2011
• DPS Professional Development Subcommittee 2012-
• Committee on Radio Frequencies 2013-
• Arecibo Science Advocacy Partnership (ASAP) Board Member 2008-
• NSF Astronomy Portfolio Review Committee 2011-2012
• AAS Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy 2010-2011
• National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Comets10 Workshop SOC, 2010

Professional Experience and Positions

• Agnes Scott College Department of Physics & Astronomy, 2000-present
• Arecibo Observatory Visiting Scientist 2006-2007
• Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) Visiting Scientist, spring 2004
• Amherst College, Five College Astronomy Science Education Fellow, 1998-2000

Candidate Statement

I would be honored to serve the DPS as a committee member, and hope to draw on an array of scientific and professional experiences to keep the Division strong. I am pleased to see DPS membership has been increasing in diversity in a variety of ways -- in national and international geographical representation, in differing professional paths of planetary science, at all career levels including students, in broader racial & ethnic representation, and towards a more equal gender balance. I will strive to help the Division keep in mind and broaden our diversity of membership, and how we can stay relevant and supportive of our wide variety of members. I have also been pleased to see a more active stance of the DPS in science advocacy, in the legislative process, in professional development, and in education. Building on a strong subcommittee structure, and in partnership with the AAS, I want to continue the work to keep our voices heard by policymakers and the public both in our local areas and in Washington. I would urge all DPS members to take a more active role and voice, within the acceptable parameters of their employment, to increase support for planetary science research, solar system missions, and rational science education.

The DPS has been my professional home for 20 years, and as the only planetary scientist on the faculty at a small undergraduate institution, I value highly the professional and scientific interactions of our annual meetings. Given the importance of international collaborations and partnerships in planetary science, I also value the geographic diversity of our membership and am eager to see international members at meetings both in the US and abroad. While recent meetings have opened increased opportunities in professional development both for students and early-career scientists, I would like the DPS to strengthen these and other professional development initiatives, including mentoring and networking. Any attempt to increase professional networking or mentoring, however, needs a full array of DPS members at meetings, and such efforts are harmed when civil servants have restricted travel, when US planetary scientists have trouble attending international meetings, or when funding limitations of many sorts interfere. This is another area where I believe DPS advocacy and action is needed, and can have positive impacts on the field of planetary science.

Professional Title/Position

Degrees and Education

• Ph.D., Geological Sciences, Brown University, 2007
• B.S., Geology, University of Florida, 1997

Research Areas, Topics, and Interests

I use remotely sensed data to understand the formation and evolution of planetary surfaces. Current research involves understanding the radar scattering properties of lunar surface materials and the tectonic histories of Europa, Ganymede, and Enceladus.

Services, Roles, and Activities

• Cassini Participating Scientist, February 2014 - present
• Co-Investigator, RIME on Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer, February 2013 - present
• Deputy PI, Mini-RF on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, June 2013 - present
• Co-Investigator, Mini-RF on LRO, 2011 - 2013
• Associate Pre-Project Scientist, Europa Mission Concept, May 2010 - present
• Science team member, Mini-RF on LRO, 2008-2011
• Science team member, Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1, 2008-2009
• Local organizing committee, The Habitability of Icy Worlds, February 2014
• Co-organizer, DC-area Europa Workshop, April 2014
• Science organizing committee, Planetary Data Users Workshop, June 2012
• Member, NASA Europa Science Definition Team, May 2012 - present
• Associate member, NASA Europa Science Definition Team, 2011 - May 2012
• Co-organizer, ISIS Users Workshop, October 2011
• Co-organizer, Planetary Science session, AGU December 2010 - 2013
• Fellow, NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP), 2004 - 2007

Professional Experience and Positions

• Senior Professional Staff, Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Lab., 2009-present
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Lab., 2007-2009

Candidate Statement

In my view, any professional society should play two primary roles for the community it serves. It should promote growth within the community and advocate for that growth to decision makers external to the community. These two important principles are something the DPS does extremely well and something its members should be proud of. I would be honored to serve this community as a committee member and would strive to maintain, and build upon, the great work that the DPS current does.

As a member of the community for more than 10 years, I have had the opportunity to serve on several panels/organizations that advocate for missions, particular planetary bodies, and planetary science in general. As an active member of the organization Young Scientists for Planetary Exploration and DC-area resident, I have also had the privilege of both attending congressional committee meetings pertinent to planetary science and advocating for planetary science with specific congressional representatives on a number of occasions. That experience has been very educational and eye-opening for me and I would be honored to continue making such visits as a DPS committee member. Finally, I have had the opportunity to organize a number of meetings, workshops, and sessions (small and not so small) that deal with specific topics ranging from the discussion of specific solar system bodies to techniques for analyzing planetary data in general. I believe the experience gained from these efforts would help me serve the community well as a committee member.