SGAC Supports the 2011 Planetary Defense Conference Student Competition – Enter Today!

28 October, 2010

The International Academy of Astronautics will hold its second conference on protecting our planet from impacts by asteroids and cometsfrom 9 - 12 May 2011 in Bucharest, Romania.  SGAC is proud to be involved by assisting in the organisation of the student paper competition, entitled "From Threat to Action."  The competition asks students from around the globe to send in their entries for the call for papers.

The deadline for submissions is January 14, 2011 and detailed info can be found on the conference website.

The aim of the student competition is to help promote academic work and informed political debate by enhancing research and general understanding essential for sound decision making on NEO impact threats in years to come.

The student competition has two major categories.

• MAKING THE WORLD AWARE: Participants are requested to develop and study creative ideas to help deepen the understanding of the public, decision makers and academia on the nature of threats posed by Near Earth Objects.
• FROM THREAT TO ACTION: Papers may also be submitted on any of the diverse areas covered by the conference, including celestial mechanics, space engineering, astrodynamics, political sciences, social sciences, etc., as they relate to planetary defense.

The best student paper in each category will be awarded a prize.

Alex Karl, Co-Lead for SGAC’s NEO Working Group, who is also one of members of the conference organising committee, said in a statement: “This is a unique opportunity for students to present their work in diverse fields of NEO research and to have access to the top professionals at the same time. I encourage everyone to get involved and help protecting Earth from asteroids!”

More info on the SGAC NEO Working Group and how to get involved can be found here