For Vice Chair
Peter Meszaros
Biographical Information:
Current position: Professor and Head, Department of Astronomyand Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University. Previously staff scientist, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching; research fellow, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge; research fellow, Princeton University Observatory; also visiting scientist, Institute for Theoretical Physics,UCSB; Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. I received my Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of California, Berkeley, and received the first prize of the Gravity Research Foundation in 1976. I am a Fellow of the APS, member of the Board of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, and have served on the Executive Committee, as well as chair of the nominating committee,of the Astrophysics Division of the AAS. My main research interests are in theoretical high energy astrophysics and cosmology, in particular gamma-ray bursts, neutron stars, black holes, radiation backgrounds and galaxy formation. Most recently I have been involved in proposing and developing the cosmological fireball shock scenario of gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows.
Candidate's Statement:
Astrophysics is increasingly weaving itself into the mainstream of the physics community, as well as being the focus of increased public attention. This is both a serious responsibility and a source of major opportunities for our community. We need to make the public more aware of the exciting opportunities and achievements of astrophysics, and to communicate our goals and aspirations in the context of the current social and political climate, in order to make a strong case for the funding of the strategic plans of the astrophysical community, and of physics in general. Astrophysics is a science of great appeal to the imagination of the public, and is therefore well-suited for promoting science in general and public education. Our division is in a good position to play a larger role in public outreach and in providing information to legislatorsand funding agencies. There is a great sense of excitement in astrophysics, withspectacular new discoveries being made, and we need to exploit this by communicating it in an effective and responsible manner to a broad audience. In addition to ensuring that we have top-notch speakers at our DAP meetings, we need to increase our efforts to develop conference programs which emphasize interdisciplinary research which is accessible to APS members from sister divisions, such as Nuclear, Particles, Atomic, Plasma and Condensed Matter.
This is important both for increasing awareness about our discipline and for recruiting new members, as well as for providing overviews of the achievements and the expected impact of future experiments, which is necessary in order to develop a strong physics-wide support base for the funding and promotion of key research initiatives.
Virginia Trimble
Biographical Information:
Virginia Trimble currently oscillates at 31.7 nHz between the Physics Department of University of California, Irvine and University of Maryland. Her degrees are from UCLA (BA 1964), Caltech (MS 1965, PhD 1968), and Cambridge (MA 1969) and her research interests over the years have included white dwarfs, the Crab Nebula and other supernovae and their remnants, statistics of binary stars, and advanced stages of stellar evolution. Previous APS service includes the executive committee of the Forum on the History of Physics, Secretary-Treasurer of the Division of Astrophysics, and current membership on Council. She has also held various mid-level positions in the American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union, and other scientific societies.
Candidates's Statement:
I believe that the primary purpose of the APS divisions is to act as advocates and promoters of our specialties within the APS itself and to the world at large. The relevant tasks include planning interesting scientific programs for the annual meeting, nominating outstanding astrophysicists for fellowship, for prizes, and for committees and offices within the society, responding to requests from the press and from other organizations for information, speakers, and writers, and urging members to make their voices heard in support of science and science education at the federal, state, and local levels.
For Member-at-Large
Patricia Boyd
Biographical Information:
Patricia T. (Padi) Boyd is a research astrophysicist with Universities Space Research Association. She is currently an RXTE duty scientist in the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at Goddard Space Flight Center. She holds a Ph.D. in Physics awarded in 1993 from Drexel University. She has previously been a member of the Hubble High Speed Photometer Team and the MOnitoring X-ray Experiment (MOXE) Team for the upcoming Spectrum X-Gamma mission. She is the current Secretary/Treasurer of the APS Division of Astrophysics. She also coordinates the X-ray Public Outreach Group at GSFC.
Research Interests:
Development of analysis techniques for nonperiodic variations in astrophysical systems, X-ray binaries, pulsars, polarization in astrophysical systems.
Candidate's Statement:
During the next two years, the DAP has the chance to make a memorable impact on the APS Centennial Celebration, an event which is sure to grab the attention of the general public. As a Member-at-Large of the DAP, I would strive to make sure that the intricate interplay between astro-physics and nearly all other branches of physics is highlighted during the Centennial year. My two-year term as DAP Secretary/Treasurer has made me well aware of the responsibilities of our division and the workings of the APS. I would be happy to continue serving the astrophysics community as an Executive Committee Member-at-Large
Jerry Fishman
Biographical Information:
Gerald J. (Jerry) Fishman is an astrophysicist in the Space Sciences Laboratory of the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center and the head the gamma-ray astronomy research group there. He is the Principal Investigator of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Jerry obtained his Ph.D. in 1970 from Rice University. He has participated in numerous balloon-borne experiments and in the development of nuclear instrumentation for space-borne applications and has also served as the principal scientist on experiments on Skylab, Spacelab and the Long Duration Exposure Facility. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and was awarded the Bruno Rossi Prize of the AAS in 1994.
Research Interests:
Gamma-ray bursts, x-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, nuclear astrophysics, background radiation in space.
Candidate's Statement:
The Astrophysics Division is unique in combining astronomy and astrophysics with many diverse fields within physics. In this role, the Division can simultaneously serve both astronomers and physicists in areas of career planning, research funding opportunities, education and outreach programs. Through invited talks at APS meetings, it can also stimulate new directions for research that would appeal to both physicists and astronomers.
Mark Leising
Biographical Information:
Mark Leising received a B.S. from the University of Notre Dame, and an
M.S. and Ph.D., in 1987, from Rice University. He was an NRC/NRL post
doc at NRL (1986-1988) and NRL staff astrophysicist (1988-1991),
before joining the faculty at Clemson University as an Assistant
Professor (1991-1994), and Associate Professor (1994-present.) He
is currently on sabbatical for one year at the Max Planck Institut
fuer Extraterrestriche physik in Garching, Germany. His research has
centered on gamma-ray studies of nucleosynthesis events, especially
supernovae and classical novae, and of galactic structure as revealed
through diffuse radioactivity and positrons. He also studies the
cosmic gamma-ray background and the implications of measurements of
radioactivity in the early solar system. He has taught physics and
astronomy courses at all levels and is involved in physics and
astronomy outreach efforts.
Candidate's Statement:
I would work as an executive committee member to continue and extend
the excellent series of plenary talks and joint sessions with other
Divisions at the Spring Meeting. What has been so successful with
Nuclear Physics and Plasma Physics should be also carried out with
Computational Physics, Fluid Dynamics, and indeed nearly all other
Divisions. We should especially focus on making astrophysics a
pervasive topic at the 1999 Centennial Meeting. Our division is
the natural entity to coordinate astronomy education efforts of the
AAPT and the AAS Education Office; I would help us take on that role.
Finally, I would try to improve communication between the executive
committee and the membership, with - at the very least - timely
mailings and updated links from the APS pages.
Eun-Suk Seo
Biographical Information:
Eun-Suk Seo received her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University in
1991 for research carried out primarily at the NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center. She is a member of the NASA Cosmic Ray Roadmapping
Committee, the NASA Astrophysics Working Group, and the NASA-Republic
of Korea Ministry of Science and Technology Investigators' Consultative
Group for cooperation in Space Science. Eun-Suk received a
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 1997.
Research Interests:
All aspects of high energy astrophysics, although her research has
focused on measurements and interpretation of data related to
understanding the origin and acceleration of cosmic rays in supernova
shock waves, as well as the interaction of cosmic rays with the
heliosphere and the interstellar medium. In parallel with analysis
and interpretation of data from the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in the
outer heliosphere, Eun-Suk has been involved in several balloon
projects to collect data on cosmic ray composition
and energy spectra over a wide energy range.
Candidate's Statement:
In addition to making the Spring Meetings successful, an important
role of the Executive Committee must be integrating the community
voice. It is important for the Committee to foster effective
communication between DAP members and the APS, so that the full
voice of our community can be heard. Underrepresented groups,
such as young scientists whose future is uncertain due to the
changing climate for research support, should be encouraged to
participate in all levels of DAP activities. It seems essential
that the DAP should strive for more public awareness and active
outreach activities that seek to increase research funding for
the field. In addition, the DAP should emphasize interdisciplinary
connections and contacts with other research areas, in order to make
them aware of the opportunities in our field and to give our
students broader opportunities.
For Secretary/Treasurer
Neil Gehrels
Biographical Information:
Neil Gehrels is head of the Gamma Ray and Cosmic Ray Astrophysics
Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center where he has been a
researcher in high energy astrophysics since receiving his Ph.D.
in physics from Caltech in 1981. Other positions and committees
include Visiting Professor of Astronomy at University of Maryland
in 1995; Chair of High Energy Astrophysics Division of the AAS in
1996-97; Secretary/Treasurer of HEAD in 1991-93; Project Scientist
of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory; Member of the NASA Structure
and Evolution of the Universe Subcommittee; Fellow of APS since 1993.
Research Interests:
High energy astrophysics; gamma-ray astronomy; nuclear astrophysics;
gamma- ray bursts; AGN; solid state detectors.
Candidate's Statement:
The key responsibility of the Secretary is to write the Division
Newsletter. I have considerable experience in this area, having
composed the AAS/HEAD Newsletter from 1991 to 1993. I am proud to
have expanded and considerably improved that newsletter. This is
a job I look forward to doing well. The Division of Astrophysics
is an excellent organization. I strongly support sustaining the
high quality of its membership, annual meeting and invited speaker
program.
James M. Ryan
Biographical Information:
Jim Ryan received his M.S. in Applied Physics from UC San Diego in 1973
and his Ph.D. in Physics from UC Riverside in 1978. He was a Research
Scientist on the Gamma Ray Spectrometer experiment on the Solar Maximum
Mission from 1978 to 1982 after which he worked on the COMPTEL
experiment on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission. He became a
Co-PI on that experiment in 1988. He has published theory papers on
solar wind ion composition, solar flare particle transport and solar
flare and interplanetary particle acceleration. His experimental
publications cover the subjects of atmospheric cosmic-ray measurements,
cosmic gamma-ray bursts, cosmic diffuse gamma rays, solar flare
gamma-ray measurements, gamma-ray pulsars, AGNs and other phenomenon
studied with the COMPTEL instrument. He has also authored general
interest articles on solar physics and other space-related subjects.
Research Interests:
Solar energetic particles, high energy astrophysics, gamma-ray and
energetic particle detector development.
Candidate's Statement:
The duties of the Secretary-Treasurer are well defined. I intend to
execute these duties in an efficient and timely manner. This is
essential for a properly functioning Division. Publicizing through the
newsletter the activities of the Division and the issues confronting
the Division is one of the few ways we have of fostering wide
participation of the membership. As a member of the Executive
Committee I would do my best to see that the Society and the Division
stay out in front of the research and education areas. With the
funding situation in a state of flux, I believe that it is important to
attempt to engage the entire membership. This is necessary to have our
opinions heard and to ensure that science, and particularly astrophysics,
has priority on a national level. To accomplish this we must continue to
host vibrant and stimulating meetings that encourage research and
provide a vehicle for initiating collaborations.
