| Heliophysics MOWG's Management Operations Working Groups (MOWG’s) are informal groups who help NASA discipline personnel maintain a close relationship with the space science community. NASA regulations do not specifically authorize MOWG’s, although they do distinguish emphatically between advisory committees and operational review groups. Members of advisory committees legally become government employees during their service, their meetings must be publicly advertised well in advance, and meetings are fully open to whoever wishes to attend. In contrast, MOWGs meet more informally and the hard-copy result of an MOWG meeting is by tradition a series of “Findings” rather than a set of “Recommendations.” MOWG products may include analytical papers, staff analyses, or other types of work products that explain or analyze a situation or a set of facts or data but do not specifically recommend a particular decision or course of action. A working group may also set up a series of options or identify the strengths and weaknesses and/or costs and benefits of alternative courses of action. MOWG Findings are submitted by the MOWG Chair to the Heliophysics Advisory Subcommittee, which is a standing subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC); it also supports the advisory needs of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The scope of the Subcommittee includes the study of the Sun, the Sun’s connections to the space environments of the bodies of the solar system, and the heliosphere out to its interface with the interstellar medium. The membership of the Subcommittee consists of 12-15 leading scientists with relevant expertise drawn from industry, academia, and government institutions. Members will generally be appointed to two- or three-year terms, and approximately one third of members will be replaced annually. Current Members:
Current Members:
|
|