Dear Meteoritical Society Members,
We wanted to share some announcements in this monthly email:
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Scam/Phishing Attempt - Several members have received an email which was apparently sent from our President, Brother Guy Consolmagno. The email was sent from an incorrect address. PLEASE do not respond to or act on the email's request, Please report such requests to the MetSoc leadership.
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2026 Annual Meeting - The organizers of the Meteoritical Society Meeting in Frankfurt would like to thank all participants who joined them for a wonderful meeting. A collection of photographs from the meeting can be accessed here.
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2026 Award citations - Links to the 2026 award citations presented at the Meteoritical Society Meeting in Frankfurt are now active. Please see here for the citations.
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2027 Society Awards - At the 88th annual meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, those selected to receive 2027 Awards were announced. The 2027 Awards will be given to:
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Leonard Medal: Meenakshi Wadhwa
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Barringer Award: Falko Langenhorst
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Nier Prize: Bidong Zhang
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Jessberger Award: Katherine R. Bermingham
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Service Award: Victor Grokhovsky
For further details see here.
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Society Awards – Please consider nominating a deserving colleague for a future award. Nominations for the Leonard Medal, Barringer Award, Service Award, Nier Prize all have a deadline of February 15, 2027. The deadline for the Pellas-Ryder Award is January 31, 2027.
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Ed Scott Lecture Series – The next lecture will be given by Dante Lauretta on 1st October at 8 pm UK Time (7 pm UTC), entitled Bennu and the OSIRIS-REx Mission: Insights from an Ancient Asteroid. A link for accessing the meeting will be announced closer to the meeting.
COMMUNITY SUBMITTED ANNOUNCEMENTS
Job Announcement for a Postdoctoral Research Associate
The Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University are searching for a postdoctoral research associate to join a NASA S-cubed funded project. The research includes analyses of various organic compounds in extraterrestrial samples (carbonaceous meteorites, pristine asteroid samples) using GC/HPLC/UPLC chromatography and quadrupole/high resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry techniques, as well as construction of an interactive GCMS and chromatography database for organic compounds in extraterrestrial samples. The candidate should have a Ph.D. in one of the following areas including chromatography and Mass spectrometry, Organic Geochemistry (preferably related to astromaterials), Astrobiology, cosmo-organic chemistry. A wide range of chromatography and mass spectrometry instrumentation is available for analyzing extraterrestrial organic compounds at Brown. These include GCFID, GCMS, HPLCMS, GC-isotope ratio-MS, and a newly acquired state-of-the-art UPLC-orbitrap mass spectrometer (Thermo Exploris 240). This position is funded for three years. The position can start as early as October 1, 2026.
Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, a summary of research accomplishments and career objectives. Inquiries regarding this position and all application materials should be sent directly to Yongsong_Huang@brown.edu.. Review of applications will continue till the position is filled. Brown University is an equal opportunity employer.allenges like asteroid detection, impact mitigation, space law, or public education.
Submitted by Yongsong Huang (Brown University)
Call for nominations for the J. Lawrence Smith Medal
The J. Lawrence Smith Medal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is awarded every three years for recent original and meritorious investigations of meteoric bodies. The award includes a $50,000 prize. Neither nominee nor nominators need be members of the NAS.
Additional information, including past recipients, eligibility requirements, and more, can be found here. All nominations must be submitted online by Monday, October 5, 2026
Membership in the NAS is not required of either the nominee or nominators. Nomination restrictions can be found here. Please help spread the word that the nomination process is underway.
Submitted by The J. Lawrence Smith Medal Selection Committee
Stipends and research funding opportunities at the Smithsonian
The Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History invites applications for postdoctoral, predoctoral, graduate student, and senior fellows for the 2027 cycle. Active areas of research: geochemistry, petrology, experimental petrology, volcanology, rock magnetism, mineralogy, biomineralogy, environmental mineralogy, meteorite studies, solar system formation, and planetary formation and evolution. The department houses the National Meteorite Collection, the National Rock/Ore Collection, the National Gem/Mineral Collection, and the Global Volcanism Program. A description of facilities, staff profiles, and collections can be found on the Mineral Sciences website.
Postdoctoral candidates may propose projects up to 24 months in length. Predoctoral (those who have advanced to PhD candidacy) and senior (held PhD for 5+ years) candidates may propose projects between 3 and 12 months in length. PhD students not yet advanced to candidacy and MSc students may propose projects 10 weeks in duration. Stipends and research funding are provided through SIFP, the Big 10 Academic Alliance Program (only for predoctoral candidates), the Hevey Graduate Fellowship, and the NMNH Peter Buck Fellowship Program. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Smithsonian research staff to identify potential advisors and discuss project feasibility. The application deadline is Thursday, October 15th, 2026.
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/
submitted by Cari Corrigan (Smithsonian Institution)
Announcement from ExMAG
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ExMAG Community Survey: The Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG) is seeking input from the worldwide scientific community studying extraterrestrial materials, including returned samples, meteorites, micrometeorites, interplanetary dust particles, and analogue materials. The survey will help ExMAG better understand the current state of the community and identify areas where additional coordination, resources, or support may be needed. We encourage broad participation and would greatly appreciate your feedback. Please take the ExMAG survey here: ExMAG survey
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Open Positions on the ExMAG Executive Committee: ExMAG is currently seeking three new members to join the Executive Committee (EC). Serving on the EC is an opportunity to contribute to ExMAG activities, represent the needs and interests of the extraterrestrial materials community, and help shape future priorities.
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Save the date: the 2026 ExMAG meeting will be fully virtual: US/Europe optimized on November 3rd (local date) and Asia optimized on November 4th (local date).
Submitted by Liu Yang (JPL)
Share your announcements with MetSoc members – Submission guidelines and other details are given on the society's website.
Thank you for being a part of the Meteoritical Society, and please feel free to reach out to us at any time.
Guy Consolmagno, Meteoritical Society President, metsocpres@meteoritical.org
Jutta Zipfel, Meteoritical Society Secretary, metsocsec@meteoritical.org
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