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Future Leaders of Ocean Worlds (FLOW)

OUR MISSION

Future Leaders of Ocean Worlds (FLOW) is a multidisciplinary group of early career scientists and engineers (undergrads, grad students, postdocs, research scientists and others <10 years post terminal degree) interested in ocean worlds and actively engaged in research relating to planetary science, origins of life, astrobiology, cryospheres, and/or oceanography. We seek to foster collaboration, develop community, and advance the interests of early career ocean world researchers. The primary objectives of this organization are as follows:
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  • FOSTER COLLABORATION
    • Provide opportunities for mentorship
    • Discuss research interests
    • Share research updates and receive feedback
    • Provide a place for meaningful discussion
    • Expand network of peers
  • DEVELOP COMMUNITY
    • Connect scientists and foster mentorship
    • Facilitate early career events for the ocean world community
    • Organize conference events/meet-ups
    • Advance equity, diversity, and inclusion within ocean world community
    • Provide an open and inclusive community for early career researchers
  • ADVANCE THE INTERESTS OF FLOW RESEARCHERS
    • Improve knowledge / understanding of ocean worlds
    • Advocate for early career interests and needs within the NOW network / ocean world community
    • Share opportunities and resources relevant to FLOW members (i.e. funding opportunities, conference info, job postings)

CODE OF CONDUCT

Collaboration, mutual respect, and the open exchange of information are vital to the success of FLOW. To facilitate complete and timely sharing among members, members agree to protect all intellectual property shared at all telecons, virtual and in-person meetings, via e-mail exchanges, etc. The intent is not to limit information exchange but to enable it. Information is to be taken in its broadest context; including data, results, figures, text, code, ideas, plans, goals, speculations, etc.
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In order to foster an atmosphere that encourages the free expression and exchange of scientific ideas, it is vital that all participants in FLOW should enjoy an environment free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. To that end, FLOW participants shall collaborate under the philosophy of equality of opportunity and treatment for all members, regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or religious belief, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities, veteran status, or any other reason not related to scientific merit. Bullying or harassment, sexual or otherwise, is a form of misconduct that undermines the integrity of FLOW collaborations. Similarly, FLOW members will conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the Ethics Policy adopted by the American Astronomical Society (AAS): https://aas.org/policies/ethics

Blatant violations of this code of conduct will be subject to discipline as follows:

Violation of the standards for professional behavior by a member, as outlined above, will result in dismissal from FLOW. Improper conduct also includes but is not limited to: attempting to publish, present results, or submit proposals independently of FLOW if they are based on information presented to FLOW by other team members, and sharing information with non-FLOW members without the consent of the original scientist(s).

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Application for the FLOW fellowship is open

We are now accepting applications to fill roles for FLOW fellowships. Future Leaders of Ocean Worlds fellows are responsible for engaging early career scientists in the NASA ocean world community. Fellows work directly with the Network of Ocean Worlds to organize networking events and scientific workshops that create opportunities for early career scientists. The roles and responsibilities are described in the application link below. Two people serve in each role. Fellows comprise the FLOW committee and are expected to work together to achieve the objectives of their fellowship term. Early career researchers are encouraged to apply, including undergrads, grad students, postdocs, and junior faculty (or equivalent).

If you are interested in applying for a FLOW fellow role, please submit the application by January 6th, 2025. FLOW fellows will be selected by election with the broader FLOW community. Elections will start on January 10th, 2025, and run until January 24th, 2025. The new FLOW fellows will be announced on January 31st, 2025.

We are transitioning to a fellowship structure to create a more meaningful experience for those serving the FLOW community that can be referenced on resumes and CVs. NOW hopes to secure funds for a small award for those elected as FLOW fellows. We will send updates as we hear more. Regardless of whether there is a small award, the FLOW fellowship will provide you the opportunity to directly engage with the Network of Ocean Worlds and give you hands-on experience leading and building the early career Ocean World community. We hope you consider applying!

Please fill out the application form by January 6th: https://forms.gle/Xpqhyux9iNKjDtbL6

PAST EVENTS

NOW/ FLOW AGU Meet Up

The Network for Ocean Worlds (NOW) and Future Leader of Ocean Worlds (FLOW) are organizing a meet-up at the AGU 2024 Fall Meeting in Washington D.C. Collectively, NOW and FLOW are professional organizations consisting of multi-disciplinary scientists who do research on ocean worlds, both Earth and icy satellites. Our members span early career scientists (e.g., students, post-doctoral scholars, assistant professors, etc.) to more senior scientists.

We will be having lunch on December 11th (Wednesday) at 12:15-1:30 PM ET at Stan’s DC Restaurant, 1029 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Attendees will be responsible for their own meal expenses. This event is open to all NOW and FLOW members, as well as other ocean world scientists who are interested in learning about NOW and FLOW.

NOW/ FLOW LPSC Meet Up

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at LPSC this year! The Future Leaders of Ocean Worlds (FLOW) group would like to highlight presentations by NOW/FLOW members and coordinate a lunch/dinner for our community during the week. To help us coordinate, please fill out this Google Spreadsheet by Friday March 3rd. This is so that we can get an idea of how many people to expect and can make reservations as well as determine the day/time. We are also planning for the meal to be outside to further help mitigate the spread of COVID.

Even if you can’t make a dinner, we’d love for you to still fill out the columns for your presentation so that we can highlight all the cool work members of our community are doing!

FLOW Coffee Hour: Behind the Scenes of the Decadal Survey

Join FLOW’s Coffee Hour Nov. 14th at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT to learn about what it was like working on the Decadal Survey! We have invited four scientists that served on three different panels to discuss their experiences and any insight they have for those eyeing to volunteer in the next Decadal. Submit an indication of interest to receive a link and calendar invite for the meeting. The form also provides a space for you to list any questions you would like asked.

Panelists and the Panels on which they served:
Dr. Emily Martin (National Air and Space Museum): Ocean Worlds and Dwarf Planets
Dr. Marc Neveu (Univ. of Maryland/NASAGSFC): Ocean Worlds and Dwarf Planets
Dr. Edgard Rivera-Valentín (Johns Hopkins/APL): Small Solar System Bodies
Dr. Alyssa Rhoden (Southwest Research Inst.): Giant Planet Systems

Virtual Coffee Hour: The Art of Networking

Date & Time: Monday, June 6 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET

Location: Webex (link below)

Join FLOW (Future Leaders of Ocean Worlds) in the upcoming virtual coffee hour on The Art of Networking. Learn how one can leverage conferences, workshops, and meetings to build meaningful research connections and advocate for changes in the research community.

Panelists:

  • Dr. Donald Burke-Agüero: Professor of molecular microbiology and immunology and joint professor of biochemistry at the University of Missouri; https://burkelab.missouri.edu/
  • Dr. Justin Filiberto: Branch chief in Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Research Office at NASA Johnson Space Center; https://www.justinfiliberto.com/
  • Dr. Graham Lau: Host of the show, “Ask an Astrobiologist”; Director of Communications and Marketing for Blue Marble Space; Research Scientist with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science; Director of Logistics for the University Rover Challenge; https://cosmobiota.com/

FLOW Career Development Coffee Hour

How to Get Field Work Funded (special emphasis on Antarctica)

  • Webex Meeting number: 2760 073 4161, password: f8jBSMp5Nr5
  • Monday April 18th at 1-2 pm ET (10 am - 11 am PT)

Panelists:
Dr. Mary Voytek, Senior Scientist for Astrobiology in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA HQ and Point of Contact for NASA PSTAR Program.

Dr. Britney Schmidt, Associate Professor Astronomy and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University.

Dr. Andre Belem, Oceanography Professor at Universidade Federal Fluminense.

Please add your questions here

FLOW Proposal Writing Workshop

FLOW is hosting a two, half day, peer lead early career proposal writing workshop where early career workshop participants will have an opportunity to write and receive feedback from both their peers and a NOW steering committee review panel on a two page “executive summary” geared toward NASA’s ROSES 2021 solicitation.

The workshop is limited to 15 participants and is first come, first serve. Registration will first be open to FLOW members starting on December 13th. The registration form will be sent out through the FLOW listserv and posted on Slack. We encourage NOW early career scientists to become FLOW members to take part in this event.

On December 20th registration will be open to the broader NOW early career scientist community if slots are not filled. The registration form will be shared through the NOW listserv.

Deadline for registration is January 10th, 2022.

Workshop details:

January 21st homework due: One slide, or short paragraph (e.g. 350 words) description for 2-3 proposal ideas. This is to start assembling peer review panels.

Day 1 on Friday February 4th, 1-4 pm ET, 10-1 pm PT: Review of proposal template for the ROSES 2021 solicitation. Review of executive summary. Assembly of peer review panels. Writing session (optional).

February 13th deadline for peer review draft: Drafts will be sent to their respective peer review panels.

Day 2 on Friday February 18th, 1-4 pm ET, 10-1 pm PT: Overview of NASA review panel process. Breakout to peer review panels. Discussion of reviews if time permits.

February 25th deadline to submit revised executive summary for review by steering career panels.

FLOW Career Development Coffee Hour

Wed. March 2nd at 12 pm PT

Career Paths: Life cycle of missions and getting involved in mission work

Panelists:

    • Dr. Linda Spilker (NASA JPL) - Vice Chair for Outer Planets Assessment Group; previous work includes Cassini Project Scientist; Voyager Science Liaison; Enceladus Life Finder, Hermes mission concepts.
    • Dr. Melissa Trainer (NASA GSFC) - Deputy PI of Dragonfly; DAVINCI Co-I; MSL science team member; worked on TiME mission concept to Titan.
    • Dr. James Keane (NASA JPL) - Science team member for New Horizons & GRAIL; Co-I on Io Volcano Observer mission proposal; Juno Participating Scientist
    • Dr. Kate Craft (JHU APL) - Europa Clipper, Europa Lander mission concept.

FLOW Career Development Coffee Hour

December 7th, 1 pm ET/ 10 am PT

Career Paths: Academia

Panelists:

  • Dr. Charlene Estrada South Mountain Community College
  • Dr. Alberto Mestas-Nunez University of Texas at San Antonio (R2 University)
  • Dr. Jill Mikucki University of Tennessee (R1 University)
  • Dr. Alysia Cox Montana Technological University (PUI)

FLOW Career Development Coffee Hour

October 20th, 3pm ET/ 12 pm PT

Career Paths: Industry Professionals

Panelists:

  • Dr. Elise Miner - Battery Engineer at Sila Nanotechnologies
  • Dr. Pablo Sobron - Founder / Sensing Wizard at Impossible Sensing
  • Peter Ilhardt - Data Scientist at Areté
  • Shivaprakash Muruganandham - phd candidate in Earth & Atmospheric Science, previously management consultant in the space/ satellite industry

FLOW Career Development Coffee Hour

September 7th, 4pm ET/ 1 pm PT

Career Paths: Coffee with Co-Leads Series

Panelists:
Chris German (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

FLOW Kick-Off Social

September 3rd, 7:30pm ET/ 3:30pm PT 

A social event following OPAG for ocean world early career researchers to talk, connect, and learn about FLOW. Hosted by Elizabeth Spiers

FLOW Career Development Coffee Hour

July 26 11 am ET/ 8 am PT

Career Paths: Government Sector

Panelists:
Sharon Walker (Oceanographer, NOAA)
Dr. Laurie Barge (Research Scientist, NASA JPL)
Dr. Elliot Sefton-Nash (Planetary Scientist, ESA)
Dr. Bethany Theiling (Research Scientist, NASA Goddard)

FLOW Career Development Coffee Hour

June 15 4pm ET/ 1pm PT

Career Paths: Non-profit, Research Institute Sector

Panelists: Julie Huber, Jeffrey Seewald, Jennifer Hanely and Alejandro Soto