Monthly Archives: September 2023

4 Oct GSW meeting (the 1592nd) is at the Cosmos Club

It is an IN-PERSON meeting only. It will feature talks on space weather, experimental petrology, and exploration of the planet Mercury, and of course, an informal presentation on the spectacular return of the asteroid samples from OSIRIS-REx. We will begin with a talk by Yarieska Collado-Vega (GSFC) on the ‘Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office: Support for NASA missions and the Artemis program’. Next up will be Megan Mouser (Carnegie) talking on ‘Exploring early planetary formation processes using high-pressure, high-temperature experimental techniques’. The final talk of the evening will be presented by Shoshana Weider (NASA Hq) on ‘Mercury Exploration: Past, Present, and Future’. Abstracts of the talks, and biographies of the speakers, are here. This meeting has proven more difficult than most to assemble because of a possible government shutdown. So details of the talks, and even who the speakers will be, was still in a state of flux until two days before the meeting. Many of you will remember our last US government shutdown in 2019, which extended for more than a month. We had several in-person GSW meetings during that time, and I vividly remember the circumstances because I was your GSW president. It was a time of improvisation, and my favorite event was showing selected cartoons from Richard (Rick) Blakely (USGS-Emeritus) as a stress reliever. One final issue: we are having some problems accessing our archives, and so Tim Mock was unable to provide the history slide during our last meeting. That slide has been a part of the background of our meetings for as long as I have been at GSW. It seems to be a problem associated with our web server, and I am working this issue, as are several others. Everything else for the meeting should be the same: Come at 7:30 PM to socialize and imbibe, the meeting begins at 8 PM, and ends by 10 PM. Michael Purucker (purucker@alumni.caltech.edu & michael.e.purucker@nasa.gov)

Draft minutes of 13 Sep meeting (1591st GSW)

Our meeting secretary, Graham Lederer, has kindly provided the following draft minutes of our last meeting. Let him know of any additions or corrections at glederer[at]usgs.gov.

Draft minutes of 3 May meeting (1590th GSW)

Our meeting secretary, Graham Lederer, has kindly provided the following draft minutes of our last meeting. Let him know of any additions or corrections at glederer[at]usgs.gov.

Bradley Lecture by Paul Richards (Lamont) is this coming Wednesday (13 Sep) evening at AGU (2000 Florida Av)

Traditionally, the GSW has adjourned for the summer months to provide time for fieldwork. Our named lecture, the Bradley, will restart the GSW fall season, and will be given by Paul G. Richards, of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. It will be held this year at AGU Headquarters (2000 Florida Av. NW), beginning at 8 PM on Wednesday, 13 September. Come at 7:30 PM for socializing (AGU usually has gratis snacks and drinks). The Bradley lecture, ‘Precision Seismology with applications to signals Old and New’ will be 60 minutes with questions to follow. The abstract, and biography, are here, and a flyer is here. You will be asked to sign-in when you enter the AGU building, after you tell them that you will be attending the Bradley lecture of the GSW. If you use the Metro (Red line) you’ll get off at the Dupont Circle stop, and walk north a few blocks on Connecticut to Florida Av. Take a gentle right, and AGU will be on your right in the next block. If you are interested in getting dinner beforehand in the area, the Washington Post had a nice piece last week (7 Sept) on the Square, DC’s new dining collective, located at Farragut Square. Check out the review here.