Despite our tendency to crisscross the whole southwestern U.S. on these trips, there is an incredibly interesting geologic story sitting on our doorstep here in the Tucson area. There has been growing interest among the fieldtrip group in understanding more about the processes that have fashioned the local landscape around Tucson and that was finally satisfied this semester.
On May 1, NASA announced that the OSIRIS-REx target asteroid 1999 RQ36 was renamed Bennu. The name Bennu was selected from over 8,000 entries submitted to the Name that Asteroid! contest. Bennu was an important avian deity in ancient Egypt and one of the symbols of the god Osiris. Egyptians usually depicted Bennu as a gray heron.
Early this year, the International Astronomical Union announced the naming of asteroids after two women with strong ties to LPL.
The LPL Board of Advisors, the external group chartered with helping LPL and its director improve interactions with the world beyond campus and NASA, has been reformulated after a several year absence. The group will have its initial meeting in June to set goals and begin work. The Board members range from LPL alumni to Tucson community leaders who have not been part of the LPL family before. You’ll be hearing more from the Board as time progresses. Board members are:
As usual, we’ve got a variety of news from the people around the lab, and links to stories talking about some of the great science the lab has been doing. But I wanted to highlight three things
The UA/NASA Space Grant Program and nominating departments provide six graduate fellowships per year to exceptional graduate students interested in promoting the understanding of space-related research to the public and who are studying in space sciences/engineering, public policy, earth sciences, science education, and global change-related fields.
NASA is seeking applications from graduate students for the new Space Technology Research Fellowships. Applications are being accepted from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of graduate students interested in performing space technology research beginning in the fall of each year. The fellowships will sponsor U.S. graduate student researchers who show significant potential to contribute to NASA strategic space technology objectives through their studies.
The NASA Postdoctoral Program provides talented postdoctoral scientists and engineers with valuable opportunities to engage in ongoing NASA research programs and serves as a source of talent to ensure the continued quality of the NASA research workforce. These one- to three-year Fellowship appointments are competitive and are designed to advance NASA missions in space science, earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.
