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321Science produces fast-draw and other formatted videos to explain concepts in planetary science and promote communication about and public engagement in the mission and Solar System exploration.  OSIRIS-REx Presents 321Science posts entertaining videos about asteroid science and OSIRIS-REx mission information. Regular installments are posted to the OSIRIS-REx YouTube Page.

Recent 321Science clips include:

Thanks to the 321Science team: Anna Spitz, Symeon Platts, Melissa Dykhuis, James Keane, Heather Roper, Zoe Bentley, Rose Patchell, Sarah Spitz, Ross Dubois, and OSIRIS-REx Scientists and Educators.

Kudos to Ali Bramson, who won an Outstanding Student Paper Award (Planetary Sciences) at the Fall 2013 AGU meeting. Ali's paper was titled, "Thick subsurface water ice in Arcadia Planitia, Mars" (Bramson, Byrne, Putzig, Plaut, Mattson, Holt). According to the AGU web site, "The Outstanding Student Paper Awards (OSPAs) are awarded to promote, recognize and reward undergraduate, Master’s and PhD students for quality research in the geophysical sciences. It is a great honor for young scientists at the beginning of their careers and the process relies entirely on volunteer judges. Typically the top 3-5% of presenters in each section/focus group are awarded an OSPA and all judged students are provided feedback."

Congratulations, Ali!

Phil Bloomenthal began work at LPL as a Systems Administrator on the OSIRIS-REx mission in January. Currently, his primary responsibilities include network security and maintenance of all Microsoft servers, mostly focusing on Active Directory and MS Exchange. Prior to joining LPL, Phil spent six years as part of the staff of a local behavioral health organization, eventually taking over as IT Director in 2012.

Phil is originally from Ridgewood, N.J., but grew up in Tucson; he returned to Arizona in 2002 after studying creative writing and filmmaking at The New School for Social Research in New York City. In his free time, Phil enjoys writing and directing short films for children, wearing cardboard robot costumes to the Renaissance Faire and wrangling his two very active Queensland Heelers, Laika Eloise and Dalton Wade. His favorite food is boxed macaroni and cheese, but he tells people it's truffled risotto.

Amy Brenton joined LPL in March as Administrative Associate for Professor Timothy D. Swindle. Amy comes from the Flowing Wells School District where she spent 10 years, most recently at Walter Douglas Elementary working as an administrative assistant to the principal. Amy is an Arizona native, having spent most of her life in Tucson and southern Arizona. She spends most of her non work time keeping up with her husband, two kids, three dogs, and twelve chickens. Amy says she has had a great welcome from LPL and is very excited to be here.

Sue Robison is Business Manager for the HiRISE group. She started work at LPL in May 2012, but recently assumed duties performed by Senior Business Manager Linda Hickcox, who retired in February. Sue  began her career at the University of Arizona 20 years ago in the Department of Geosciences. She worked there as an Accountant and Accountant Senior for 5 years. Next she moved to a position in the College of Science Dean’s office to work with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. She worked with the ambassador program, coordinated convocation and honors convocation, scholarships, advising and outreach activities.  Following this opportunity, Sue returned to Geosciences as a Project Manager for the RRUFF Project where she performed the business affairs, managed 25 undergraduate and graduate students, and worked with the scientists on a project to create a database of all the world’s minerals, so that they can be quickly identified by Raman Spectroscopy. At funding’s end, she moved to the Office of the Provost, as a Senior Program Coordinator, to work on the reaccreditation of the university, Bridging to the Future, NCA2010.  In addition, while in the Office of the Provost, she was the assistant to the Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs.

As much as Sue enjoyed her other positions, it is working on the business side of the University that she most enjoys. When a position opened in Planetary Sciences as a Business Manager, she decided to apply.  She enjoys learning and facing new challenges, and is so glad she made the change.  She is pleased to be back in a department that is part of the College of Science community, and working with the HiRISE and administrative teams in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

PTYS graduate students Patricio Becerra and Michelle Thompson were each awarded a Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) Career Development Award in February 2014.

The award is given to graduate students who submitted a first-author abstract to the 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC). The awards are based on a review of the application materials by a panel of planetary scientists, and recipients received a $1000 travel stipend to help cover LPSC conference expenses.

Patricio's poster abstract was titled, "Martian Polar Stratigraphy from HiRISE Stereo Topography." The title of Michelle's abstract was, "Nanoscale Analysis of Space Weathering Features in Soils from Itokawa."

Third-year graduate student Melissa Dykhuis is the recipient of a 2014 Ray Duncombe Prize from the Division on Dynamical Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society for her contributed presentation titled Defining the Flora Family: Reflectance Properties and Age. The prize provides a travel stipend to the 2014 DDA meeting in Philadelphia and waives meeting registration fees. 

The Duncombe competition is open to all students currently enrolled in an academic program at any college or university and doing research in the area of dynamical astronomy. Such research areas include, but are not limited to: the dynamics of planetary systems (small bodies, planetary rings, natural and artificial satellites, extrasolar planets, etc.), star and planet formation, star cluster dynamics, hydro- and plasma dynamics, galactic and extragalactic dynamics, cosmology, coordinate systems, astrometry

Melissa's advisor is Professor Richard Greenberg. Congratulations, Melissa!

Congratulations to LPL's 2014 Galileo Circle Scholarship recipients: Patricio Becerra, Ali Bramson, Melissa Dykhuis, Tiffany Kataria, James Keane, Cecilia Leung, and Kelly Miller. Galileo Circle Scholarships are awarded to the University of Arizona's finest science students and represent the tremendous breadth of research interests in the College of Science.

Galileo Circle Scholars receive $1,000 each; these awards are supported through the generous donations of Galileo Circle members. The Galileo Scholars were honored at an early evening reception held on April 17, 2014.

Congratulations to all our 2014 Galileo Scholars!

Patricio Becerra
(Byrne)

Ali Bramson
(Byrne)

Melissa Dykhuis
(Greenberg)
  

 

Tiffany Kataria
(Showman)

 

  

James Keane
(Matsuyama)

Cecilia Leung
(McEwen)

Kelly Miller
(Lauretta)
  
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