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DPS Meeting, Denver, October 2013

Between sessions (and sometimes during them), I spent much of my time at the 2013 Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Denver carrying around a camera. After an extended delay (hey, DPS 2014 in Tucson is less than a month away!), I've edited them down to a manageable gallery of around 200 pictures, from the 3000 I started with. Thanks to everyone who let me follow them around at the meeting and let me put them up here too! The DPS community is great and I look forward to every meeting.

I've also previously put up photos from the Nantes 2011 and Puerto Rico 2009 meetings. And I must also acknowledge the inpsiration from the historic DPS photo archive put together by Dale Cruikshank and David Morrison, distributed to everyone who was at the 2006 Pasadena meeting.

I've also put this up as an album on Facebook (same photos, more social).

Henry Throop
Planetary Science Institute & University of Pretoria, South Africa

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Slideshow (big images)

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Jump to section:

   Opening Reception
   Grad Student Mixer
   DPS Sessions
   HAD Sessions
   Space Art
   PSI Dinner
   Prizes and Talks
   Meetings: DPS Members; NASA Night; DPS Committee
   Banquet at Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Opening Reception

At the opening reception, with Doug Hamilton (UMD), Dan Durda (SwRI), and Joe Burns (Cornell).

Trivia question: how many DPS members can boast that they have an degree from a school of Naval Architecture? I don't know, but it's at least one! Joe Burns is a graduate of the Webb Institute, a privately endowed school on Long Island that I'd never heard of before he told me about it. Hey -- ship vs. spaceship?

Steve Lee (DMNS), Peter Thomas (Cornell), and Glen Stewart (U. Colorado).
Lori Feaga (UMD) handles her chopsticks.
Dan Durda (SwRI-Boulder) carries some heavy equipment.
Leslie Young (SwRI) is always looking for new horizons.
Jennifer Hanley (SwRI) and Amanda Zangari (SwRI).
Will Grundy (Lowell Obs.) wants you to submit to Icarus.
Feng Tian (Tsinghua University, China), Justin Erwin (LPL), Raul Ries (JPL) and Angela Zalucha (SETI) have some munchies.
Feng Tian works out some dusty plasma velocities for me in his head.
Josh Colwell (UCF) and Anne-Marie have plans. "We're going to go out on a date after this. I think we'll go to Chipotle. It's a big night."

Grad Student Mixer

Tracy Becker and Allison Bratcher (both UCF), at the grad student mixer.
Anthony Rasca (U. Colorado).
Erika Nesvold (UMBC).
Allison Bratcher (UCF) and Sarah Morrison (LPL) discuss the role of the recent government shutdown on science.
Jordan Steckloff (Purdue) explains his thoughts on upcoming missions.
___ and Kelsi Singer (Wash U).
Sally Blumenthal (UCF) and Ryan Hardy (Colorado).
Michel Lambrechts (Lund U) and Amanda Zangari.
Malynda Chizek Frouard (NMSU).
Andrew Foster (UCF) reads his table's future mission concepts.
Darsa Donelan (U. Florida).

DPS Sessions

Clark Chapman (SwRI) discusses why David Morrison (NASA Ames) will not be here to discuss anything at all. David Morrison was among the civil servants unable to come to DPS this year because of federal travel limitations.
Mark Boslough (Sandia) shows some great movies of the Chelyabinsk airburst.
Mark Boslough.
Al Harris (MoreData!, ex-JPL) get the microphone, between Y Chapman and Stan Peale (USCB).
Imke de Pater (Berkeley).
Nathan Kaib (Northwestern).
Erika Nesvold (UMBC).
Will Grundy, as seen from a large distance.
Jason Cook tweets.
David Trilling (NAU) gives the big news on their sub-100-meter NEO search. What's next? "Like any good scientist, we proposed for a bigger, better, followup study!"
Luke Dones (SwRI) is a connected man.
Seth Jacobson (Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur) talks collisional grinding!
Brett Gladman (UBC) sees the light.
Hal Levison has the best talk title of the conference ("The Formation of Pluto's Small Satellites: Proof of the Existence of God?")
Hal Levison.
Mike Brown doesn't buy it.
Christina Dalle Ore (SETI).
Leslie Young.
Alessandro Morbidelli (Observatoire de la Cote D'Azur) and David Nesvorny (SwRI) ingest thermalized test particles in an attempt to randomize their orbits.
Dave Brain (U. Colorado) knows how to deliver an engaging poster presentation. He is planning on walking to the Tucson DPS from Colorado while balancing his poster.
Matt Burger (UMBC) and Dave Brain shared an office in grad school, and have very mixed feeling about reconnecting.
Crystal Tinch and Tracy Beale (both from the AAS) at the registration desk.
Fran Bagenal (U. Colorado, and LOC chair for this meeting) describes her last several weeks.
Padma Yanamandra-Fisher (SSI) searches for a planet to observe.
Murthy Gudipati (JPL) is about to search for organic molecules in his coffee.
Rosaly Lopes (JPL).
Rosaly Lopes (outgoing DPS chair) and Athena Coustenis (DPS secretary).
Dogs need hydration breaks too! Taken when I was on a telecon outside of the Sheraton on the on the Denver 16th Street Mall.
Amy Lovell (Agnes Scott), Casey Lisse (APL), and Laura Woodney (CSU San Bernadino) all seek refreshment, although only Amy has succeeded.
Mark Sykes (PSI) hopes that Faith Vilas (PSI) will take him into space.
Con Tsang (SwRI) loves poster sessions.
David Vokruhlicky (Charles U, Prague) explains planar motion.
Joe Spitale (PSI) is getting tips in preparation for next year's DPS, where he will be running the show as LOC chair. While not doing that, he's also telling entertaining stories of his previous career in the music industry.
Joe Spitale with Kat Volk (CITA).
John Spencer (SwRI), part of the SOC for this meeting. Andrew Steffl is the other SOC co-chair, and was never motionless long enough to get a picture of.
Tilmann Denk (Freie U, Germany) laughs as Carly Howett (SwRI) studies those dropping NASA R&A selection rates.
Alessondra Springmann (Arecibo) dances while Dan Britt is transfixed by something.
Sondy's 3D-printed asteroid (which one?) is only slightly larger than that beaver ring.
Chrissy Richey (NASA HQ) recruits Justin Erwin for a review panel. Do it, Justin!
Chrissy has probably already had Kunio Sayanagi (Hampton U) serve on a panel.
The French dynamics node: Jean-Marc Petit, Sebastien Charnoz, and Francois Poulet (U. Paris-Sud).
Jean-Marc Petit (CNRS / Observatoire de Besancon)
Sebastien Charnoz (Univ. Paris).
Gregg Vane (JPL).
Sally Blumenthal (UCF) simulates an edge-on circumstellar disk courtesy of her morning donut.
Larry Esposito (U. Colorado) tells me about his daughter's MS thesis on South African elephant behavior.
Michael Combi (UMich) and Fran Bagenal.
Jordan Steckloff loves celery. There were also some kale chips at this snack station, which he may be going after with those tongs.
Julien Salmon.
Jason Cook searches for ice.
Erin Ryan (GSFC).
Erin Ryan and Anne Verbiscer (UVa).
Nancy Chanover (NMSU).
Former and current CDAPS and Origins Emerging Worlds program officers! Henry Throop (PSI) and Chrissy Richey.
Chrissy Richey keeps busy.
Chrissy Richey and Joe Masiero (JPL) are horrified.
Shawn Brooks (JPL) with Paul Estrada (SETI).
Paul Estrada and Henry Throop. We're in the Sheraton lobby, with most of the bulk of the hotel behind me.
Paul Estrada.
Dan Scheeres (CU Boulder), Seth Jacobson, and Jay McMahon (CU Boulder) look out for hazards above.
Sona Hosseini (UC Davis).
Ralph McNutt (APL) has a secret about Pu-238 he'd love to tell you.
Lucas Paganini (GSFC / Catholic U) and Matthew Knight (Lowell) discuss.
Amanda Bosh (MIT) and Jake Olkin (Niwot High School!).
Jake Olkin talks about Pluto ices.
Three Olkins: Cathy, Jake, Terry.
Carolyn Porco (Space Science Institute).
Ludmilla Kolokolova (UMD) and Bob West (JPL).
Nicole Albers (U. Colorado).
Kevin McGouldrick (LASP).
Allison Bratcher checks out those Saturnian ring-shadow models!
Catherine Neish (FIT) and Seth Jacobson.

Yes, that's beer in the background, but no open bar here!

Anders Johansen has recovered from his talk.
Sean Hsu and Anthony Shu (both U. Colorado). I'm headed to Boulder the week after DPS to spend a week generating high-speed dust grains with Anthony.
Tommy Grav (PSI)
Leslie Sage (Nature) discusses the SKA and his visit to Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Julien Salmon (SwRI).
Sona Hoseni, Carrie Nugent (JPL), and Rachel Stevenson (JPL).
Malynda Chizek Frouard and Sona Hosseini.
Ann Harch (Cornell / SwRI).
Shawn Brooks (JPL) keep busy sequencing Cassini.
Sona Hosseini (UC Davis).
Seth Jacobson and Michiel Lambrechts (Lund U).
Mark Showalter (SETI) takes out a bit of small-body aggression on Marc Buie (SwRI).
That's Erik Asphaug (UCSC) and John Stansberry (STScI).
Josh Emery (University of Tennessee Knoxville) next to Mike Brown (Caltech).
Jose Luis Galache (MPC), Al Harris, Alessandro Morbidelli, Jean-Marc Petit.
Heidi Manning (Concordia College).
John Keller (Cal Poly SLO) and I have shared some long-overdue burritos. John also remind me that there is no such thing as a cosmic ray. "They are cosmic particles!"
Tyler Nordgren (Redlands) makes some great posters while on tour promoting the night sky in national parks. Britt Scharringhausen (Beloit) wants to go along!
Rick Feinberg (AAS press officer) keeps busy.

HAD Sessions

This meeting of the DPS had a few sessions run by the AAS's Historical Astronomy Division (HAD). David Levy talks about Clyde Tombaugh.
Jay Pasachoff (Williams College) gives a talk about historic oil paintings of solar eclipses -- really cool! Jay also managed to cite the Museum of Jurassic Technology in his slides, which is probably a first for DPS, and definitely worth a visit next time you're in Culver City.
Don Yeomans (JPL) discusses the history of studies of lunar craters.
Clifford Cunningham (National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand) gives a really neat talk about the origin of the word asteroid. Although it's usually assumed to be given by Herschel, and even the OED states this, Clifford dug up letters by a neighbor of Herschel who actually coined the word.
Clifford Cunningham.
David Levy and Matt Tiscareno (Cornell) during the HAD session.
Presenters at the HAD session: Jay Pasachoff, David Levy, Clifford Cunningham, Donald Campbell (Cornell), Derek Sears (Ames), Paul Steffes (Georgia Tech), Don Yeomans (JPL), Jason Callahan.
David Levy, Jay Passachoff, Derek Sears, Don Yeomans.

Space Art

Bob Pappalardo in the Space Art exhibit at DPS. This was a show put together by the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA).
Sarah Morrison (U. Arizona), Will Grundy, and Luke Moore (BU) observe New Horizons observing Pluto, in a painting by Dan Durda.
Jean-Loup Baudino, Cateline Lantz, and Melody Sylvestre (all Observatoire de Paris) check out icebergs on a Kepler planet, courtesy of Dan Durda.
Michael Snowden (New Zealand) examines Mars.

PSI Dinner

Don Davis (PSI).
Bob Nelson (PSI) is one more ex-JPLer at PSI.
Bob Nelson and Amara Graps (both PSI) go way back. Currently living in Latvia, Amara may be the furthest north PSI-er.
Nalin Samarasinha (PSI) gives me travel tips for Sri Lanka. Sure enough, it turned out that he and I were going to be there at the same time: he to travel home to Colombo in December, and me to go on vacation from South Africa.
Karly Pitman (PSI) with Astrid.
Astrid.

Little-known fact: Although 'Astrid' is not even listed on the top-1000 names, both Karly and I have rapidly growing Astrids born within a few weeks of each other!

Astrid with Damian.
Bob Nelson is excited for his bottle and banana.
Larry Lebofsky (PSI).
Nalin Samarasinha and Michael Snowden. (If Michael joins PSI, he'd displace me as the furthest-south employee.)
Jian-Yang Li (PSI).
Candy Hansen (PSI).
Nader Haghighipour (U. Hawaii and PSI).
Elizabeth Jensen (PSI).
Eileen Ryan (ex-PSI, now NM Tech).
Tom Spilker (ex-JPL) and Don Davis.
Tom Spilker (ex-JPL).
Tom Spilker.
Sanlyn Buxner (PSI) with Annyse.
Andy Nelson (ex-PSI, now Los Alamos).
Mark Sykes serves up.
Susan Benecchi (PSI / Carnegie) is slightly occulted by Andy's hair. Amanda Hendrix on the left.
Andy Rivkin (APL) often looks like this.
Jennifer Grier and Andy Rivkin.
Amanda Hendrix is yet one more former JPL-er who's recently moved to PSI.
Peter Tamblyn (Binary Astronomy) reminds me he was at PSI a long time ago...

Prizes and Talks

Don Yeomans (Sagan Prize winner) is crowned by Rosaly Lopes.
Rosaly Lopes and Don Yeomans.
Joe Veverka (Cornell) gives the Kuiper Prize talk: Small is NOT Dull: Unravelling the Complexity of Surface Processes on Asteroids, Comets and Small Satellites.
Joe Veverka receives the Kuiper award from Rosaly Lopes.
Anders Johansen gives the Urey lecture (From Pebbles to Planets).
Anders Johansen.
Anders Johansen.
Anders Johansen (Lund University) with Rosaly Lopes and Heidi Hammel.
Anders Johanesen.

Meetings: DPS Members; NASA Night; DPS Committee

Vishnu Reddy (DPS Press Officer) at the DPS Members' Meeting.
Nick Schneider discusses the state of the Education & Public Outreach committee, with Rosaly Lopes.
Rick Fienberg, AAS press officer.

By the way, this is NASA Night, but why are there no photos of NASA employees here? BECAUSE NONE OF THEM COULD COME DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN!

Dan Britt, DPS committee member (and just elected to the DPS Nominating Committee).
Makenzie Lystrup talks Federal Relations at the Members Meeting.
Makenzie Lystrup.
Phil Nicholson dicusses the state of Icarus.
John Spencer appears to tower over Fran Bagenal.
Fran Bagenal.
Phil Nicholson asks a question.
Paul Weissman (JPL).
Athena Coustenis and Tony Roman (STScI) count the votes for the DPS election, for a new member of the Nominating Committee. The winner? Dan Britt.
Athena Coustenis and Tony Roman.
Rosaly self-identifies.
Heidi Hammel is given the DPS gavel from Rosaly Lospes.
Heidi Hammel assumes the incoming chair.
Keck has its eyes on Makenzie Lystrup (DPS Federal Relations Subcommittee, and Ball).
One fascinating slide of Makenzie's. Take-home point: if you write to your rep about science, you have a good chance of being heard!

And the issue that gets 4x the constituent traffic as NASA?

"If there was ever an opportunity for Washington to improve its public image with the American people, the Affordable Footwear Act is it," said AAFA president and CEO Kevin M. Burke.
(I looked into it and as of May 2014, this bill was still working its way through Congress. If passed, it would lower tariffs on Chinese-made shoes.)
Emily Lakdawalla wants you to sign up to be a member of the Planetary Society. (And indeed I did that very night!)
Emily Lakdawalla.
The DPS Committee at work!

Around the table, that's....

  • Heidi Hammel (Incoming Chair; AURA).
  • Nick Schneider (Education & Public Outreach Officer; U. Colorado).
  • Athena Coustenis (Secretary; Pic du Midi).
  • Cristina Thomas (Nominating Committee -- standing, in green; GSFC).
  • John Spencer (SWRI, standing).
  • Bonnie Buratti (Vice-Chair; JPL, hair only).
  • Ross Beyer (Committee; Ames).
  • Vishnu Reddy (Press Officer; PSI).
  • Kim Earle (standing, in red; AAS).
  • ___.
  • Jani Radebaugh (Committee; BYU).
  • Paul Withers (Committee; Boston U).
  • ___ (against wall).
  • Ralph McNutt (Committee; APL).
  • Bob Pappalardo (Committee; JPL).
  • Dan Britt (outgoing chair, and soon to be voted into the Nominating Committee).
  • Tony Roman (Webmaster; STScI).
  • Rosaly Lopes (Outgoing Chair; JPL)

    I gave a presentation here too, as outgoing chair of the Nominating Committee.

Nick Schneider

Banquet at Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Heading over to the banquet at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, I share a bus ride with Don Davis. Unlike last time he and I talked, I now know that there are two different people: Don Davis the artist, and Don Davis the scientist (pictured here, talking with me about dark skies, fracking, and South Africa).
Too many people to identify, but I can see John Jenkins, Mark Lemmon (Texas A&M), Faith Vilas, Robert French (SETI), Paul Estrada, Heidi Hammel, and Emily Lakdwalla near the front.
Hundreds of us show up to the museum, only to find the doors locked...
"Let us in!!"

Fran Bagenal bangs on the glass to no avail.

Bob Johnson (UVa) and Nick Schneider walk around to the other side of the museum.
Jane Spencer loves feeding the goats next to her house in Boulder! But here she's walking to the banquet with a bunch of astronomers.
Adam Showman, Jane Spencer, John Pineau (SwRI), and Hal Weaver.
Nikku Madhusudhan (Yale) avoids the buffet line.
Chrissy Richey keeps busy at the banquet.
Erik Larson (University of Colorado) poses with a nice Colorado-brewed beverage.
Just a couple of Wellesley girls and their car... Sondy Springmann and Faith Vilas.
Faith and Sondy...
Bob Pappalardo.
Holy moly -- that's Ed Stone (JPL)!! He gave a fantastic talk later in the week about Voyager's trip to the edge of the heliosphere... unfortunately I got back late from lunch that day, so hadn't grabbed my camera in time for any photos of him in action.
How could we have a banquet without Bill Merline (SwRI)?!
Bill Merline and Don Korycansky (UCSC).
Bob Johnson.
Very few things terrify Britney Schmidt (Georgia Tech). But apparently Kunio Sayanagi is one of them.
Monica and Tyler Aiello are swept away.
Kim Earle (AAS) and Andy Rivkin (APL).
Ann Harch and Joe Veverka (both Cornell) are united by rockets.
Banquet at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The dinosaurs are off to the right, and ahead is Space Odyssey, which we got to tour for dessert.
At the banquet, watching historic photos. Joe Veverka (second from right in the inset) is somewhere in the audience watching himself in that 1982 picture.

NB: A lot of the photos, including this one, were from Dale Cruikshank's fantastic historic DPS photo archive. Also included were a bunch from more recent DPSs that I put together (Nantes, Pasadena, Puerto Rico, Cambridge).

Denver-based artist Monica Aiello makes cool paintings of Europa's ice cracks.
David Klassen (Rowan University).
Watching the photo show at the banquet... Larry Esposito and Mike Belton in front, surrounded by other famous luminaries.
Hal Levison somehow keeps that beard clean.
Steve Lee and Nick Schneider explore the Earth at the DMNS.
Ryo Suetsugu and Ryuki Hyodo (both Kobe University), exploring Mars.
Katherine Kretke (SwRI) and Rob Wilson (LASP) finish off the dessert bar, while Katherine give me tips for teaching astrobiology.
Michele Bannister (U. Victoria) loves Mars.
On the bus ride back, Kevin Baines (JPL) is an illuminating guy. Plus I don't think he's ever forgotten any conversation I've had with him in the past!

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Henry Throop

Last modified Wed Jul 6 22:27:00 2016