Message from Yvonne Pendleton, Senior Advisor For Research and Analysis, NASA Science Mission Directorate

The most recent updates to the SARA webpage have just been made. Go to http://science.hq.nasa.gov/research/sara.html

A list of page changes can be found at http://science.hq.nasa.gov/research/sara_whats_new.html

Dear Colleagues,

The R & A Management Operations Working group has just been finalized, and I thank each of the following individuals for agreeing to serve in this capacity. I will update the list next time with their contact information, but you are encouraged to be in touch with them as we go forward in the process of discussing R & A process improvements and the many new ideas we all have for ways to get more out of our R & A dollars. The MOWG will meet primarily through videoconferencing, perhaps as often as twice a month initially, and we expect to have at least one in person meeting sometime in March.

Below are the names of the individuals, their current position, and their research area of expertise.

• Guenter Riegler, Retired NASA Senior Executive, Astrophysics, Chair
• Steve Bougher, U of M, Heliophysics, Co-Chair
• Spiro Antiochos, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, (Heliophysics)
• Joshua (Josh) Grindlay, Harvard University (Astrophysics)
• Lynne Hillenbrand, Caltech (Astrophysics)
• Everette Joseph, Howard University, (Earth Science)
• James (Jim) Kasting, Penn State (Earth Science)
• Adam Showman, U of A (LPL) (Planetary Science)
• Margaret (Maggie) Tolbert, U of CO (Earth Science)

In addition, Paul Hertz and I have also asked our internal science staff (the program officers and the division management within SMD) to provide input on issues related to our panel review practices. The goal is to document SMD’s R & A Review Practices and communicate these clearly to the external community. Our objectives in this exercise are to:

1. Document SMD’s best and acceptable practices for R & A reviews
2. Provide additional guidance to program officers
3. Offer additional transparency into SMD process to community
4. Provide assurance (to SMD managers, to the community, to auditors)
5. that SMD program officers are following SMD policies and practices

Your input through the SARA email and through the town hall meetings has contributed to the items we will discuss in this process, and you are welcome to send me additional input at any time. We will complete our internal review and documentation process by mid-March, so that these items will be clearly articulated to all before the first ROSES panel meets for the FY08 cycle.

Speaking of ROSES08, you can find a list of the program elements on the grant stats page today. Many hours of hard work went into the development of the ROSES08 call, especially by Paul Hertz, Max Bernstein, and the program officers responsible for each element. Please thank them when you have a chance.

Other items in today’s update include the presentation at the AAS meeting in Austin by Alan Stern and Jon Morse, a report on the EPO MOWG activities from the kick-off meeting January 14, and new science highlights. As always, a complete list of the updated pages can be found on the What’s New page.

Best Wishes,

Yvonne