Nominations Invited for New COPAG Members
Susan Neff NASA's GSFC
The Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate invites nominations, including self-nominations, to serve on the Executive Committee of NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group, or COPAG. In the coming months, NASA anticipates making at least two new appointments to the COPAG Executive Committee to replace current members who will be rotating off the committee. Appointments are for a period of three years.
The current NASA Cosmic Origins (COR) mission portfolio includes Hubble, Spitzer, SOFIA, and Herschel for archival research. Later in the decade, the James Webb Space Telescope will be added to this portfolio, along with COR science interests in the The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope/Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST/AFTA) mission in development.
The COPAG is an open, interdisciplinary forum that provides community input to NASA’s COR Program and conducts analyses in support of science objectives and their implications for program activities. All interested members of the community are invited to participate. The COPAG is led by an Executive Committee (EC), whose membership is chosen to reflect the range of scientific disciplines and interests represented in COR. The EC Chair serves on the Astrophysics Subcommittee. Together, the COPAG EC and the Chair are responsible for capturing and organizing community input, overseeing COPAG analyses, reporting COPAG findings to the Astrophysics Subcommittee, and keeping the scientific community apprised of ongoing activities and opportunities within NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program. Detailed information about the structure and function of the COPAG can be found on the Cosmic Origins webpage.
Nominations, including self-nominations, for the COPAG Executive Committee should be submitted via email to [email protected]. Nominations must include both a cover letter and a one-page curriculum vitae summarizing the nominee’s relevant background and current COPAG-related interests, all bounded in a single PDF file. The cover letter should provide a description of the nominee’s area of expertise and qualifications for service on the COPAG Executive Committee. The deadline for receipt of nominations is 4 September 2015, with announcement of selections anticipated by early October 2015.
Nominations will be accepted only for scientists who reside at a US institution for the period of the service. There is no restriction on citizenship. For Fall 2015, nominations from individuals at an academic institution — university, college, or non-NASA research laboratory — are strongly encouraged.