March 4, 2024 Nancy Chabot

Dear Meteoritical Society,

Here are some news items and announcements we wanted to share:

  • Host the 2028 Annual Meeting! – We are welcoming invitations for interest in hosting the 90th annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society in 2028! See this announcement for details, with a deadline of April 15.

  • Officers and Councilors Officially Elected for 2025 – The slate of candidates announced in November have now been officially elected. These new terms will begin on January 1, 2025, and thank you to all those taking on roles to serve our community.

  • 12 New Endowment Grants Awarded – The Meteoritical Society Endowment Fund supports a variety of activities through grants that advance the goals of the society, with selections made twice a year. The recently selected grant efforts are:

    • Community Grants - more details in this news story:
      • Samanta Aravena (Universidad de Chile, Chile) - Meteorites: Human Heritage
      • Nicholas Gessler (Duke University (retired), USA) - EL ALI in Contemporary Somali Media (Translated into English)
      • Richard Greenwood (The Open University, UK) - A New Meteorite Gallery at the Open University: A Community Science Outreach Resource
      • Kuljeet Kaur Marhas (Physical Research Laboratory, India) - 4th Symposium on “Meteoroids, Meteors and Meteorites: Messengers from Space” (MetMeSS-2024)
      • Peng Ni and Bidong Zhang (UCLA, USA) - Meteorite Information Digitization and Archiving (MIDiA) at UCLA
      • Lee Francis White (The Open University, UK) - Engaging Local Schools at the European Lunar Symposium (ELS)
      • Mehmet Yesiltas (Kirklareli University, Turkey) - Turkish All-Sky Fireball Network
    • Research Grants - more details in this news story
      • Luke Alesbrook (University of Kent, UK) - Impacting Exotic Ices
      • Mayssa Daldoul (University Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) - Mapping Martian Craters
      • Yeimmy Alexandra Gutierrez Pardo (Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil) - Genesis of the Mafic Granophyre Impact Melt Rock, Vredefort Impact Structure, South Africa
      • Sadeeda Marjan (University of Kerala, India) - Hydraulic Modelling and CRN Dating of Inlet and Outlet Valleys on Terrestrial and Martian Craters
      • Ran Zhao (University of Bayreuth, Germany) - Meteoroid Impacts
    • Additionally, one proposal submitted for consideration of a Community Grant was recommended by the Membership Committee to be supported out of the society's operating budget rather than the endowment fund:
      • Thomas Burbine (Mount Holyoke College, USA) - Information Booth at AGU.
  • Ed Scott Lecture Series – The lecture by Hap McSween entitled "Mars Sample Return: Why Martian Meteorites and Rover Missions Are Not Enough" is now available on the MetSoc website. Thank you Hap for this engaging lecture and to Ian Sanders for leading the lecture series.

  • Make Your Plans for the 2024 Meeting – Visit the 2024 MetSoc meeting website and plan to join the meeting in Brussels, July 28 though August 2. Meeting organizers want to note in particular that the dates overlap with the Summer Olympics in nearby Paris, so making travel plans early is advised.

Community Submitted Announcements

  • Misasa International Student Internship Program (MISIP) – Due March 24, 2024. The Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Japan, has opened the annual Misasa International Student Internship Program (MISIP) for advanced undergraduate (3rd to 4th year) and Master's students majoring in earth sciences, physics, chemistry, materials sciences, or related fields. Students (who have a strong interest in a career pursuing scientific research) from either within or outside Japan, regardless of nationality, are eligible to apply.

    • Travel expenses and daily living expenses will be covered, and accommodation in the Misasa Guesthouse, close to the Institute, will be provided.

    • Total number of participants: 8-10.

    • Internship dates: July 2nd (Tue) to August 8th (Thu), 2024.

    • Last date of application: 24th March 2024 (23:59 JST).

    • Details can be found in this link: https://www.misasa.okayama-u.ac.jp/MISIP/

    • For more details contact: Dr. Tak Kunihiro (misip@adm.okayama-u.ac.jp).

  • Kaba Meteorite Research Consortium. The Kaba Meteorite Research Consortium is focused on the Kaba CV3 carbonaceous chondrite research activity and sharing the latest updates on the Kaba Meteorite (fall in Hungary in April 1857), such as exchanges of scientific results as well as ideas. Currently the Consortium contains twenty internationally recognized researchers in the field of meteoritics, mineralogy, as well as astronomy. If you are interested in joining the Consortium, please send a short E-mail message to kmrc2024@gmail.com or contact Arnold Gucsik.

  • A Tour of the Solid Solar System: Recognising Early Career Contributions to Planetary Science, A Geological Society of London Special Publication – Abstracts Due March 8, 2024. We are looking for contributions from early career researchers (students and those within 10 years of completing their degree) who are conducting novel science with extraterrestrial samples. The Geological Society of London represents the interests of the geoscience community globally, and planetary science was recently incorporated into the Society’s Scientific Themes. This upcoming Special Publication aims to encompass the solid solar system from pre-solar disk components through planetary bodies to celebrate the excellent work being carried out by students and early career researchers in planetary science. Abstracts should be no longer than two pages and can include figures and tables if desired. Submission for this Special Publication is not restricted to studies that are currently complete; we are also accepting abstracts for studies that can reasonably be ready for peer-review within the next 10-12 months.

    • Abstracts should be submitted by 12pm (noon) GMT on Friday 8th March 2024 using this form. An abstract template can be downloaded here.

    • Questions should be directed to Dr Jennifer Mitchell, Lead Editor, at jtmitche@umn.edu.

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.

Nancy Chabot, Meteoritical Society President, metsocpres@gmail.com
Jutta Zipfel, Meteoritical Society Secretary, metsocsec@gmail.com
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Categories: Newsletter