Alan Stern

S. Alan Stern is an American planetary scientist, born 22 November 1957, New Orleans, Louisiana, married (three children). He is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto. Stern was Executive Director of the Southwest Research Institute's Space Science and Engineering Division until becoming Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in 2007. He resigned from that position after nearly a year.

Biography

From 1983 to 1991 Stern held positions at the University of Colorado in the Center for Space and Geoscience Policy, the office of the Vice President for Research, and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy. He received his doctorate in 1989. From 1991 to 1994 he was the leader of Southwest Research Institute's Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences group and was Chair of NASA's Outer Planets Science Working Group. From 1994 to 1998 he was the leader of the Geophysical, Astrophysical, and Planetary Science section in Southwest Research Institute's Space Sciences Department, and from 1998 to 2005 he was the Director of the Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute. In 1995 he was selected to be a Space Shuttle mission specialist finalist and in 1996 he was a candidate Space Shuttle payload specialist.

His research has focused on studies of our solar system's Kuiper belt and Oort cloud, comets, the satellites of the outer planets, Pluto, and the search for evidence of solar systems around other stars. He has also worked on spacecraft rendezvous theory, terrestrial polar mesospheric clouds, galactic astrophysics, and studies of tenuous satellite atmospheres, including the atmosphere of the Moon.

In 2007, Stern was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.

On 27 August 2008 Stern was elected to the Board of Directors of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education.

NASA Associate Administrator

Stern was appointed NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, essentially NASA's top-ranking official for science, in April 2007.cite news
title = NASA's science chief resigns
work = New Scientist Space Blog
date= 2008-03-26
url = http://www.newscientist.com/blog/space/2008/03/nasas-science-chief-resigns.html
accessdate = 2008-03-26] Stern's style was called "hard-charging"cite news
title = NASA science chief Alan Stern resigns
author = Frank Morring, Jr.
work = Aviation Week
date= 2008-03-26
url = http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/Resign03268.xml&headline=NASA%20Science%20Chief%20Alan%20Stern%20Resigns
accessdate = 2008-03-26] and he pursued a "reform-minded agenda".cite news
title = Weiler to replace Stern as NASA science chief
author = Brian Berger
work = Space.com
date= 2008-03-26
url = http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080326-sn-stern-resigns.html
accessdate = 2008-03-26] He "made headlines for trying to keep agency missions on schedule and under budget"cite news
title = Wielding a Cost-Cutting Ax, and Often, at NASA
author = Warren E. Leary
work = New York Times
date= 2008-01-01
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/science/space/01stern.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
accessdate = 2008-03-26] but faced "internal battles over funding".cite news
title = Alan Stern has left the (NASA) building
author = Mark Matthews
work = Orlando Sentinel
date= 2008-03-26
url = http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_space_thewritestuff/2008/03/alan-stern-has.html
accessdate = 2008-03-26] He was credited with making "significant changes that have helped restore the importance of science in NASA’s mission."cite web
title = Planetary Society statement on Alan Stern's resignation from NASA
publisher = Planetary Society
date= 2008-03-26
url = http://planetary.org/about/press/releases/2008/0326_Planetary_Society_Statement_on_Alan.html
accessdate = 2008-03-26]

On 26 March 2008 it was announced that Stern had resigned his position the previous daycite news
title = NASA's Science Chief Resigns
author = Warren E. Leary
work = New York Times
date= 2008-03-27
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/science/27nasa.html?ref=us
accessdate = 2008-03-27] , effective 11 April.Andrew Lawler, " [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/320/5872/31 NASA's Stern Quits Over Mars Exploration Plans] " (subscription required), "Science" 320, 31 (4 April 2008). Retrieved on 3 April 2008.] He was replaced by Ed Weiler, who is serving his second stint in the position.cite news
title = An interview with NASA's next science chief
author = Brian Berger
work = Space.com
date= 2008-03-26
url = http://www.space.com/news/080326-weiler-interview.html
accessdate = 2008-03-26] cite news
title = Ed Weiler becomes NASA's science chief
work = United Press International
date= 2008-05-08
url = http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/05/08/ed_weiler_becomes_nasas_science_chief/7679/
accessdate = 2008-05-18] The resignation occurred on the same day that NASA Chief Michael Griffin overruled a decrease in funding for the Mars Exploration Rovers and Mars Odyssey missions that was intended to free up funds needed for the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory.cite news
title = Mixed signals from NASA about fate of Mars rover
author = Kate Tobin
work = CNN
date= 2008-03-24
url = http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/03/24/nasa.mars.rover/
accessdate = 2008-03-26] NASA officials would neither confirm nor deny a connection between the two events.cite news
title = NASA science chief resigns post suddenly
author = Will Dunham
work = Reuters
date= 2008-03-26
url = http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2634622620080326
accessdate = 2008-03-26]

Stern told "Science" magazine that he left to avoid cutting healthy programs and basic research in order to cover cost overruns. Stern believes that cost overruns in the Mars program should be accommodated from within the Mars program, and not taken from other NASA programs. According to "Science", Griffin became upset with Stern for making major decisions without consulting him, while Stern is frustrated by Griffin's refusal to allow him to cut or delay politically sensitive projects. Griffin favors cutting "less popular parts" of the budget, including basic research, and Stern's refusal to do so led to his resignation.

Involvement in planetary classification

Stern has become particularly involved in the debate surrounding the 2006 definition of planet by the IAU. After the IAU's decision was made he was quoted as saying "It's an awful definition; it's sloppy science and it would never pass peer review" and claimed that Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune have not fully cleared their orbital zones [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5283956.stm| title=Pluto vote 'hijacked' in revolt| publisher=BBC News| date=2006-08-25| accessdate=2006-09-03| first=Paul| last= Rincon] and has stated in his capacity as PI of the New Horizons project that "The New Horizons project [...] will not recognize the IAU's planet definition resolution of August 24, 2006."cite web| url=http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/overview/piPerspectives/piPerspective_09_06_2006.php| date=2006-09-06| work=The PI's Perspective| title=Unabashedly Onward to the Ninth Planet| publisher=New Horizons Web Site| accessdate=2006-12-21| first=Alan| last=Stern]

A 2000 paper by Stern and Levison proposed a system of planet classification that included both the concepts of hydrostatic equilibrium and clearing the neighbourhood used in the new definition,cite journal | last=Stern | first=S. Alan | coauthors=Levison, Harold F. | year=2002 | title=Regarding the criteria for planethood and proposed planetary classification schemes | url=http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~hal/PDF/planet_def.pdf | format=PDF | journal=Highlights of Astronomy| volume=12 | pages=205–213, as presented at the XXIVth General Assembly of the IAU–2000 [Manchester, UK, 7–18 August 2000] ] with a proposed classification scheme labelling all sub-stellar objects in hydrostatic equilibrium as "planets" and subclassifying them into "überplanets" and "unterplanets" based on a mathematical analysis of the planet's ability to scatter other objects out of its orbit over a long period of time. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were classified as neighborhood-clearing "überplanets" and Pluto was classified as an "unterplanet." One could take this classification system as planet and dwarf planet, respectively.

Publications

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Edited:
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References

External links

* [http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~alan/ Dr. Alan Stern's website at Southwest Research Institute]
* [http://www.astronomiaonline.com/entrevistas/alanstern/ Interview with Dr. Alan Stern at AstronomíaOnline.com] (Spanish)
* [http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1615991,00.html Alan Stern - The Time 100]