IJW / Laboratory and Theory Discipline

To: The DPS community and other interested scientists
From: Julianne Moses
Subject: IJW "Laboratory and Theory" Discipline

The International Jupiter Watch (IJW) is an informal program created to encourage and coordinate studies of
temporal variations in the Jovian system. Although observations constitute the backbone of the IJW, the program also provides a mechanism for the rapid dissemination of all types of theoretical, experimental, and observational information among scientists interested in the Jovian system.

The IJW consists of six working groups (disciplines) concerned respectively with the (a) Io torus, (b) Jovian
atmosphere, (c) satellites, (d) magnetosphere and radio emissions, (e) aurorae, and (f) laboratory and theory. Don
Hunten, the chairman of the IJW steering committee, has asked me to manage the "laboratory and theory" discipline, which has been idle since 1995.

Experimental data and theoretical modeling are required for accurate interpretation of remote sensing data or for
simulating complex processes. In spite of this need, the theoretical, observational, and laboratory communities within planetary science do not always communicate well with each other. It is my hope that the IJW laboratory/theory discipline will encourage interactions within the entire Jovian science community.

To achieve this goal, I have created a new IJW discipline Web site and will maintain a newsletter dedicated to current experimental and theoretical advances in our understanding of the Jovian system. The URL address is
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/IJW. The Web site will contain newsletters, lists of recent publications, access to laboratory data in advance of publication, information on meetings of possible interest to discipline members, and links to other useful Web sites.

Anyone interested in subscribing to the IJW/Laboratory and Theory newsletter, which will be sent out roughly one a month (or as needed), should notify me at moses@lpi.usra.edu. I also welcome submissions regarding unpublished laboratory data, references to recently published experimental or theoretical papers, links to other relevant URLs, and comments and suggestions on what to include in the site.

Happy Holidays!

Julie
December 18, 1998