AAS 231 for the Policy Crowd
Ashlee Wilkins
The 231st meeting of the American Astronomical Society is upon us! While the full meeting schedule is available both through our website and on our meeting app, I would like to highlight several AAS231 events — concurrent sessions, splinter meetings, town halls, panels, plenaries, and special sessions — that are particularly relevant to the public-policy-interested among our membership.
In particular, I aim to draw your attention to items in the AAS 231 itinerary that relate to informing and/or developing the public policy that governs federally funded research in the astronomical sciences, which includes advisory group meetings, 2020 decadal-survey planning, agency town halls, a panel discussion facilitated by the AAS Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy (CAPP), and more.
There are, of course, many other events that warrant your attention during AAS 231. Since time turners are not included in the standard AAS employee benefits package, not even your resident John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow will be able to attend every session listed below, let alone all of the interesting science, professional development, and education opportunities the meeting has to offer.
Other roundups of subsets of the meeting include:
- Press Conferences (not just for reporters!)
- Workshops and Events
- 70+ exhibitors in the Exhibit Hall, open Tuesday - Friday
- Plenary and award lectures, with profiles by Astrobites
- The AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy's roundup of presentations by astronomers of color
- Other events advertised by members and sponsors on the #AAS231 hashtag.
If you are interested in engaging in AAS 231 like a Policy Fellow, check out the following events throughout the week (all times EST):
Sunday, 7 January
Board of Trustees Meeting
8:30 am − 4:00 pm
RiverView Ballroom A
NASA Exoplanet Program Analysis Group, Day 1
More details and an agenda are on the ExoPAG website.
2:00 pm − 6:00 pm
RiverView Ballroom 1 − 2
Monday, 8 January
NASA Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group (COPAG), Day 1
More details and an agenda are on the COPAG website.
Far-Infrared Science Interest Group
8:30 am − 10:30 am
Maryland Ballroom 5
Technology Interest Group
9:00 am − 12:00 pm
Maryland Ballroom 6
Ultraviolet-Visible Science Interest Group
9:00 am − 1:30 pm
Maryland Ballroom 2
Cosmic Dawn Science Interest Group
10:30 am − 12:00 pm
Maryland Ballroom 5
Joint PAG Meeting (COPAG, PhysPAG, and ExoPAG)
1:30 pm − 3:00 pm
Maryland Ballroom A
Full COPAG
3:00 pm − 6:00 pm
Maryland Ballroom 1−2−3
NASA ExoPAG, Day 2
More details and an agenda are on the ExoPAG website.
9:00 am − 6:00 pm
RiverView Ballroom 1 − 2
NASA Physics of the Cosmos Program Analysis Group (PhysPAG)
More details and an agenda are on the PhysPAG website.
8:30 am − 6:00 pm
Cosmic Ray Science Interest Group
8:30 am − 10:30 am
Maryland Ballroom 3
Gravitational Wave Science Interest Group
8:30 am − 10:30 am
Maryland Ballroom 4
Gamma-Ray Science Interest Group
10:30 am − 12:30 pm
Maryland Ballroom 3
X-Ray Science Interest Group
10:30 am − 12:30 pm
Maryland Ballroom 4
Joint PAG Meeting (COPAG, PhysPAG, and ExoPAG)
1:30 pm − 3:00 pm
Maryland Ballroom A
Full PhysPAG
3:00 pm − 6:00 pm
Maryland Ballroom 4
Tuesday, 9 January
NASA COPAG, Day 2
8:30 am − 6:00 pm
More details and an agenda are on the COPAG website.
Far-Infrared Science Interest Group
9:30 am − 12:30 pm
Maryland 1 − 2
103. NASA Decadal Preparations I: Large-scale Studies
10:00 am − 11:30 am
Potomac Ballroom D
118. NSF Town Hall
12:45 pm − 2:00 pm
Potomac Ballroom C
121. NASA Decadal Preparations II: Probes Mission Concept Studies
2:00 pm − 3:30 pm
Potomac Ballroom D
122. The Triple Threat to Multi-wavelength Observational Astronomy
2:00 pm − 3:30 pm
Maryland Ballroom A
Arecibo Observatory: In the Eye of the Storm: An Update on the Passage of Hurricane MARIA and on the Observatory in General
6:30 pm − 7:30 pm
Chesapeake 1
Career Networking & Job Fair
6:30 pm − 8:00 pm
Maryland Ballroom A−B
Wednesday, 10 January
Career Hour 2: Showcasing Astronomy Alumni in Non-Academic Careers
12:00 pm − 1:30 pm
National Harbor 10
218. NASA Town Hall
12:45 pm − 2:00 pm
Potomac Ballroom C
221. Beyond the Academy: Panel Discussion on Entering Non-Academic Careers
2:00 pm − 3:30 pm
Maryland Ballroom A
259. National Academy of Science Town Hall, Astro2020: The Next Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics
6:30 pm − 8:30 pm
Potomac Ballroom C
Thursday, 10 January
307. Astronomy Software Publishing: Community Roles and Services
10:00 am − 11:30 am
National Harbor 2
NASA ExoPlanet Exploration Program Update
10:00 am − 11:30 am
Chesapeake 1
365. Status of the Astronomy Workforce
10:00 am − 11:30 am
Potomac Ballroom C
319. National Center for Optical-Infrared Astronomy (NCOA) Town Hall
12:45 pm − 2:00 pm
Potomac Ballroom C
Friday, 12 January
407. AAS Public Policy Panel: The Ongoing Evolution of the WFIRST Mission and Implications for Future Flagship Missions
10:00 am − 11:30 am
National Harbor 2
432. Plenary Talk: The Politics of Science Funding: Is it the Fault in Our Stars? (David Goldston, MIT)
3:40 − 4:30 pm
Potomac Ballroom A−B
Have I missed something? Get in touch to recommend additions to the list!