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Announcements -
1) Recently Published Research from the NAI
2) Astrobiology Interpreted in Yellowstone National Park
3) Intelligent Design
4) Awards
5) Call for Proposals
6) Events
7) Postdoctoral Positions Available
8) Do you know these Travel Grants are available?
9) NAI Director’s Seminar
*Events Calendar
Recently Published Research from the NAI
The following new papers have been published recently by NAI members. These and other recent NAI funded research are presented on the NAI member portal and collected in the NAI Research Highlights Archive – http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/research/. In this archive, you can link to the papers and any press materials that may have been generated about them.
If you have an upcoming or recent publication, please tell us about it as soon as possible. We will work with your institution to produce press releases, publicize the paper on the NAI website, and pre-populate your team's annual report with your publication. Please send any information to Krisstina Wilmoth krisstina.l.wilmoth@nasa.gov
Astrobiology: The Study of the Living Universe
Christopher Chyba and Kevin Hand of the NAI’s SETI Institute Team have just published this article in the Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ARAA). It reviews the habitability of the Galaxy in general and of planets and moons in particular, and summarizes current controversies in origins-of-life research and in evidence for the earliest life on Earth. It critiques certain “rare Earth” and “anthropic” arguments, and considers four approaches to deciding whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the Galaxy. It concludes that astrobiology must also speak to the future of human civilization.
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Astrobiology Interpreted in Yellowstone National Park
The NAI NASA Ames Research Center Team has recently completed work on their WaySide Exhibit project with Yellowstone National Park. These exhibits will be located Park-wide at sites that best illustrate the most compelling aspects of astrobiology research in Yellowstone. They will describe how the Park's hydrothermal features are extreme habitats for amazing life forms that may help explain the history our biosphere, and also provide clues to assist our search for life on other planets. Installation of the eight exhibits will begin this month. This project is one aspect of the multi-faceted, long term collaboration the Ames team shares with Yellowstone National Park; they now move on to designing astrobiology exhibits for Yellowstone’s new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center.
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Intelligent Design
NAI PI Peter Ward offers his commentary on this very current, public issue in science education.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/insight/story/5100636p-4645187c.html
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Awards
Russell Hemley (CIW) Receives the 2005 Balzan Prize in Mineral Physics
Russell Hemley of the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory have won the Balzan Prize for 2005 in mineral physics. The announcement was made last week by the International Balzan Foundation. For more see http://www.carnegieinstitution.org/news_releases/news_0509_09.html
Edna DeVore (SETI) Honored with the Aerospace Awareness Award
Join NAI in congratulating NAI E/PO Lead for the SETI Institute Team, Edna DeVore. She will be honored September 27 with the Aerospace Awareness Award for her work in education and public outreach. The award is granted by Women in Aerospace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in aerospace and related careers, and to recognizing the achievements of outstanding women in aerospace. DeVore has been a researcher, planetarium director, teacher, curriculum writer and administrator. Currently, she is the Director of Education and Outreach as well as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA. In addition to working with NAI, she co-directs the education and public outreach (E/PO) programs for two major NASA research missions: NASA's SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) airborne observatory, and Kepler, a Discovery Mission that seeks Earth-sized planets around other stars.
Murray Gell-Mann Receives 2005 Humanist of the Year Award
Former member of the NAI Director’s Science Council received the 2005 Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association. For more see http://www.americanhumanist.org/conference/awardees05.html
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Call for Proposals for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF)
Proposals for observing time on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) for the February 1, 2006, through July 31, 2006, semester are due Monday, October 3, 2005, 5:00 P.M. Hawaii Standard Time.
See the IRTF Observing Time Application web page at http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/userSupport/indexota.html for instructions. Complete instructions may be found at http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/userSupport/Call_for_Prop_2006A.pdf.
Observers should read the information on the current IRTF instrument complement and visitor instruments, available on a collaborative basis, which may be found at http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/Instrument.pdf. Remote observing is available for selected instruments.
Questions or requests for additional information should be addressed to Ms. Karen Hughes of the IRTF at (808) 956-6795 or hughes@ifa.hawaii.edu.
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NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) 2005 Annual Meeting
The NIAC 7th Annual Meeting will be held at the Omni Interlocken Resort located between Denver and Boulder, Colorado on October 10-11, 2005. Confirmed keynote speakers include Courtney Stadd, Dr. Paul MacCready, and Dr. Fred Adams. NIAC Phase I, Phase II and Student Fellows will present their work.
Please register for the meeting by October 3. This is an open meeting with no fee. For more meeting information http://www.niac.usra.edu/
Planetary Protection: Policies and Practices
This course will be held November 15-17, 2005 at The Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB) in Baltimore Maryland. Registration Deadline: October 31, 2005
This NASA-developed course is designed to familiarize current and future planetary protection practitioners with the NASA and COSPAR Planetary Protection Programs. The course will review all applicable policies, practices and procedures necessary to implement a successful planetary protection program and will emphasize integration of the managerial, administrative and laboratory components of planetary protection. For more information http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/coursesconferences/index.cfm
International Space University (ISU) 10th Annual International Symposium
The Symposium entitled "Space Exploration: Who, What, When, Where, Why?" will be held in Strasbourg from Wednesday 30 November to Friday 2 December 2005. The Preliminary Program is now online, linked to our Symposium page at http://www.isunet.edu/EN/191. There you will find a full listing of papers to be presented, and those to be displayed as posters, together with information on registration, accommodation and other useful information. The program is shaping up very well, offering a good range of interesting and topical titles in sessions addressing Exploration Goals, Infrastructure, Science, Technology, Human Systems and Policy.
The Symposium will bring together experts from agencies, industry and academia around the world, plus ISU's Masters 06 class and students and enthusiasts from elsewhere with special interests in future space exploration beyond Earth's frontier, by both human and robotic means.
If you wish to attend you are encouraged to register before 4 November 2005 to benefit from the 'early-bird' fee. Please also note that, as last year, the Symposium overlaps the early stage of Strasbourg's Marché de Noël, the biggest Christmas Market in Europe, when it can be very difficult to find hotel accommodation - so do book early.
We look forward to seeing many of you here later this year and would be grateful if you could forward the address of our Symposium web-page (http://www.isunet.edu/EN/191) to any of your colleagues who may also be interested in attending.
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Postdoctoral Positions Available
2 PhD Positions in Prebiotic Chemistry at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany.
We are seeking talented and highly motivated individuals with experience in one or more of the following fields: synthetic inorganic / organic chemistry, metal coordination chemistry, analytical organic chemistry (GC / MS, HPLC, NMR). A basic knowledge of prebiotic chemistry would be advantageous.
Research will focus on prebiotically relevant interactions of simple organic molecules, such as amino acids, with inorganic salts and silicates. The work will comprise synthetic and analytical aspects.
To be admitted to our PhD program, applicants must have a master’s degree in chemistry with a grade point average equivalent to at least a “good“ German diploma. The successful candidates must have sufficient knowledge of the English language. It is expected that a working knowledge of German will be acquired within an appropriate time. The positions are immediately available. The annual gross salary starts at approximately EURO 19,200 (ca. USD 23,300).
The University of Hohenheim is situated on the periphery of the City of Stuttgart. Stuttgart is the center of one of the most powerful industrial regions of Germany and one of Germany’s top research locations. The beautiful Hohenheim campus was built around an 18th century palace and provides an attractive and academically stimulating environment.
For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Henry Strasdeit
(e-mail: h-strasd@uni-hohenheim.de).
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Do you know these Travel Grants are available?
NAI Research Scholarship http://nai.nasa.gov/funding/index.cfm#scholarship
There will be one more opportunity to apply for The NAI Research Scholarship before it is combined with the newly established Lewis and Clark Fund. The NAI Research Scholarship Program offers stipends and research-related travel expenses to enable students (graduate or postdoctoral) to circulate among two or more of the Lead Teams, including all of the participating institutions of the NAI. The program also supports travel to field-sites when required for the progress of the student's research.
Research Scholarship applications are peer-reviewed, and only those deemed of sufficient merit will be selected. The last application deadline for this program will be October 1, 2005. Maximum awards of $5000 each. Should the research cost exceed $5000, cost-sharing with the Lead Teams involved must be negotiated with the Deputy Director.
Soffen Travel Awards run by the NASA Academy Alumni Association, http://www.nasa-academy.org
In the spirit of dedication to the growth of young scientists and engineers embodied by Gerald Soffen throughout his life, the Dr. Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Space Science Education offers Student Travel Grants. The Travel Grants are awarded to students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in aerospace-related sciences or engineering fields (astrobiology, astronomy, earth and space science, engineering, etc.) to attend a meeting at which they will present their research.
The deadline for the 2005 application opportunity is October 15, 2005. Notification of the award will be made approximately one month after the application deadline. Therefore, the Travel Grant can only support travel to meetings with dates falling after November 15, 2005.The Soffen Travel Fund is not run by the NAI, but by the NASA Academy Alumni Association, http://www.nasa-academy.org . For information about this fund, http://www.nasa-academy.org/soffen/travelgrant/
Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research, http://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/lewisandclark.htm,
Our second NAI Director, Barry Blumberg, is a long standing member of the American Philosophical Society (APS), and is now its President. NAI is contributing funds to a special section of the Lewis and Clark Fund for astrobiology related exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation. Applications are invited from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archeology, anthropology, astrobiology and space science, biology, ecology, geography, geology, and paleontology, but grants will not be restricted to these fields.
Eligibility: Grants will be available to graduate students, postdoctoral students, junior and senior scientists, and social scientists who wish to participate in field studies for their theses or for other purposes. Undergraduates are not eligible. A graduate student applicant should ask his or her academic supervisor or field trip leader to write one of the two letters of recommendation, specifying the role of the student in the field trip and the educational contribution of the trip. Budgets should be limited to travel and related expenses, including personal field equipment.
Awards: Amounts will depend on travel costs, but will ordinarily be in the range of several hundred dollars up to about $5000. Grants are payable to the individual applicant.
Deadline: March 15, 2006, with notification in May, for work in June 2006 and beyond.
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NAI Director's Seminar – September 26 at 11:00 am
Join us for the next NAI Director's Seminar on Monday, September 26th at 11:00am when Michael R. Meyer of the Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona presents, "Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Placing Our Habitable Solar System in Context"
Over the past 10 years abundant evidence has emerged that many (if not all) stars are born with circumstellar disks. Understanding the evolution of disks can provide strong constraints on theories of planet formation. While consensus is emerging concerning the early evolution of accretion disks (tau < 10 Myr) and the characterization of older debris disks (tau > 1 Gyr) continues at a rapid pace, little is known about the transition between these two extremes thought to occur during the epoch of planet formation. Recent studies undertaken with ground and space-based observatories are helping to address questions concerning the evolution of disks around sun-like stars. We will review recent results from these programs, and compare them to models for the evolution of our own solar system. This comparison sheds light on whether solar systems like our own (and the potential for life that such systems represent) are common or rare among the ensemble of sun-like stars in the disk of the Milky Way.
For connection information, http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/seminars/instructions.cfm
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