AASWomen for January 22, 2010

The 2010 Hale Prize goes to Marcia Neugebauer for her seminal contributions to the discovery of the solar wind and her extensive and ongoing contributions to solar-heliospheric physics.

The Hale Prize is awarded to a scientist for outstanding contributions to and impact on the field of solar astronomy. It was first awarded in 1978; this is the first time it will go to a woman.

Marcia Neugebauer has not only made fundamental contributions to the understanding of Solar and Space Physics, but she has also had an enormous personal impact on the field.

?Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics,? http://cwp.library.ucla.edu/ , highlights some of the important scientific contributions Marcia has made during her illustrious career:

1. "Mariner 2 Observations of the Solar Wind, 1. Average Properties," (with C. W. Snyder) J. Geophys. Res. 71:4469 (1966) contained the first extensive measurements of the solar wind as well as the discovery of many of it properties.

2. "Initial Deceleration of Solar Wind Positive Ions in the Earth's Bow Shock," J. Geophys. Res. 75:717 (1970) showed how ions are decelerated at the bow shock, an important step not only in understanding the mechanisms that produce this shock, but also the shocks that occur throughout the solar system and presumably the galaxy and beyond.

3. "Observations of the Internal Structure of the Magnetopause," (with C.T. Russel and E.J. Smith) J. Geophys. Res. 79:499 (1974) showed that the magnetopause was a thick boundary of many ion gyroradii, and changed the theory of the structure of the boundary.

4. "The Role of Coulomb Collisions in Limiting Differential Flow and Temperature Differences in the Solar Wind," J. Geophys. Res. 81:78 (1976) showed that despite the "collisionless" nature of the solar wind, there was evidence that energy equipartition between H+ and He+ could be understood in terms of the Coulomb collision frequency for the two species.

5. "The Velocity Distributions of Cometary Protons Picked Up by the Solar Wind," (with A. J. Lazarus, H. Balsiger, S. A. Fuselier, F. M. Neubauer and H. Rosenbauer) J. Geophys. Res. 94:5227 (1989) measured the velocity distributions of ions in the coma of comet Halley.

6. "Densities and Abundances of Hot Cometary Ions in the Coma of P/Halley," (with R. Goldstein, B. E. Goldstein, S. A. Fuselier, H. Balsiger and W.-H. Ip) Astrophys. J. 372:291 (1991) measured the mass spectrum of ions in the outer coma of comet Halley.

Marcia has been a Co-PI for the solar wind experiments on Mariner 2, OGO 5, Apollo 12, Ulysses, Giotto, WIND, CELIAS on SOHO, and the Genesis Discovery mission. She has management experience as the supervisor of the JPL Space Plasma Physics Group, manager of the JPL Physics Section and Space Physics Section, and as the lead scientist for the JPL Space Physics Element. She has given back to the community through her service as an associate editor of JGR, secretary, president elect, and president of the Solar-Planetary Relationships Section of the AGU, editor in chief for Reviews of Geophysics, president elect and president of the AGU, and a member of the governing board of the American Institute of Physics. She has numerous awards and medals, is the author of over 200 scientific publications, and the editor of six books.

For these and many other reasons, Marcia Neugebauer is well deserving of the 2010 Hale Prize.

Watch out . . . the shards of that shattered glass ceiling are falling all around us!

All events will be held in the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Please check on room assignments at the hotel as they may change nearer the time! (You do not need to register for the APS meeting to attend the reception or the luncheon, but you must register to attend invited sessions)

Saturday, February 13, 1:30-3:18 pm Invited Session D3: Mentoring Perspectives of Mentor and Mentee. Sponsored by Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, the Committee on Minorities, the Forum on Graduate Student Affairs, and AAPT.

Saturday, February 13, 6:00-8:00 pm COM/CSWP Reception (Hoover) Learn about the work of the Committee on Minorities in Physics and the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, network with colleagues, and unwind after a long day of sessions. All are welcome.

Monday, February 15, 12:00-1:30 pm CSWP/DPF Networking Luncheon (Coolidge) Buffet luncheon, opportunity for networking with colleagues! Cost: $20 ($5 for students). All are welcome, both men and women, however pre-registration by February 1 is strongly advised as there will be only limited space for walk-ins. Pre-register at www.aps.org/meetings/april/events/receptions/index.cfm

Monday, February 15, 1:30-3:18 pm Invited Session Q6: Perspectives of Women Physicists As Seen from Academia, National Laboratories, and Industry Sponsored by the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, the Committee on Minorities, the Forum on Graduate Affairs, and AAPT.

Tuesday, February 16, 10:45-12:33 pm Invited Session X2: Strategies for Improving Climate and Diversity in Physics Departments. Co-sponsored by the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, the Forum on Education, and AAPT.

Apparently you can vote for Barbie's next career.

Still no "physicist" or "astronomer" but ...

http://www.barbie.com/vote/

If you're looking for ways to dispel the misinformation about the 2012 Doomsday, check out "Will the World End Before Finals?", a classroom- ready powerpoint slide set posted at

http://dps.aas.org/education/dpsdisc/

The Division for Planetary Sciences of the AAS has commissioned these slidesets for discoveries and events too new to be in textbooks.

The Department of Physics (physics.ucf.edu) at the University of Central Florida is searching for candidates to fill one or more tenured or tenure-track faculty positions in the area of planetary sciences and astronomy (planets.ucf.edu) at rank commensurate with experience. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent from an accredited institution in planetary science, astronomy, physics, or a closely related field and have appropriate teaching and research experience. Preference will be given to candidates with existing vigorous research programs in planetary science or astronomy. The starting date is expected to be in August 2010.

UCF is a leading metropolitan research university with over 53,000 students. The physics department currently has 35 faculty members and offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees, including Planetary Science Ph.D. and Masters tracks. All interested individuals must complete an on-line application by going to: jobswithucf.com.

Applicants must apply on-line and upload, in PDF format, a cover letter, curriculum vitae, brief statements of research and teaching interests, and contact information for three persons (with addresses, phone numbers and emails) who can provide letters of reference. Letters will be requested only for candidates on the short list.

Applications received by February 1, 2010, will receive full consideration; review will continue until the position is filled. The University of Central Florida is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply. As an agency of the State of Florida, UCF makes all application materials and selection procedures available for public review upon request.

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