I. Research

Vilas continued work on the Atsa Suborbital Observatory emphasizing the Atsa I Camera (formerly Atsa Armrest Camera), with PSI scientist and Citadel professor L. S. Sollitt. Efforts to fund the progress of the Atsa were pursued in multiple directions.

Vilas continued in her last year as the Chief Scientist for the Planetary Data System. During the past year, the individual nodes worked to transfer data to the new PDS4 system from the existing PDS3 format. Preparation for recompetition of the PDS nodes grants continues. Vilas lectured to the Servicio Geológico Colombiano in Spanish on the functioning of the PDS overall. Vilas supported the PDS presence at both the Lunar and Planetary Conference in March, and the DPS/AAS meeting in Denver in October.

Vilas continued as a MESSENGER team Participating Scientist, analyzing MESSENGER imaging data for (the rare) spectral feature. New evidence for absorption features has been detected. Using the relative ages of craters where signatures had been seen, Vilas and co-workers were able to correlate the presence and degradation of the signatures in hollows in Mercurian craters with their ages. Best. Data. Ever.

As part of the newly established Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surfaces SSERVI team, Vilas pursued research into the spectral effects of space weathering in the UV/blue spectral region for the S-complex asteroids in ground-based observational work.

Vilas attended various scientific conferences, and chaired sessions in the Lunar and Planetary Conference, and the Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2014 conference.

Vilas supported efforts at NASA's Johnson Space Center to observe and quantify the orbital debris population in Earth orbit.

II. Publications

Papers:

Domingue, Deborah L., with 30 co-authors, including William Feldman, Catherine Johnson, and Faith Vilas (2014), “Mercury's Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroidal Space Weathering Studies”, Space Science Reviews 181, 121-214.

Fraeman, A. A., Murchie, S. L., Arvidson, R. E., Clark, R. N., Morris, R. V., Rivkin, A. S., Vilas, F. (2014), " Spectral absorptions on Phobos and Deimos in the visible/near infrared wavelengths and their compositional constraints", Icarus 229, 196-205.

Izenberg, Noam R., Klima, Rachel L., Murchie, Scott L., Blewett, David T., Holsclaw, Gregory M., McClintock, William E., Malaret, Erick, Mauceri, Calogero, Vilas, Faith, Sprague, Ann L., Helbert, Jörn, Domingue, Deborah L., Head, James W.; Goudge, Timothy A.; Solomon, Sean C., Hibbitts, Charles A., Dyar, M. Darby (2014), " The low- iron, reduced surface of Mercury as seen in spectral reflectance by MESSENGER", Icarus 228, 364-374.

Conference Presentations:

French, Linda M., Stephens, R. D., Coley, D., Wasserman, L. H., La Rocca, D., Vilas, F. (2014), "A Troop of Trojans: Photometry of 24 Jovian Trojan Asteroids", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #223, #247.05.

Vilas, F., Hendrix, A. R., Li, J.-Y., Cochran, A. L. (2014), “Vesta in the Ultraviolet/Blue: What We Knew Before Dawn's Arrival, and How does it Augment What We Learned from Dawn?”, LPI Contribution No. 1773, p.2050.

Izenberg, N. R., with 9 co-authors, including F. Vilas (2014), “Correlation of Mercury Spectral Units with Geology and Elemental Abundance”, 45th LPSC, LPI Contribution No. 1777, p.1216.

Vilas, F., and 8 co-authors (2014), “Dominici Crater Wall Hollows: Potential Spectral Evidence for Sulfide Mineralogy on Mercury”, 45th LPSC, LPI Contribution No. 1777, p.1296.

Domingue, D. L., with 13 co-authors, including F. Vilas (2014), “A Search for Regional Signatures of Space Weathering on Mercury”, 45th LPSC, LPI Contribution No. 1777, p.1363.

Sollitt, L., Barrett, D., Boodee, R., Rhodes, C., Vilas, F., (2014), “The Atsa Suborbital Observatory: Concept and Current Status”, 45th LPSC, LPI Contribution No. 1777, p.2236.

Vilas, F., Hendrix, A. R. (2014), “Searching for Evidence of UV/Blue Space Weathering in S-Complex Asteroid Photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey”, 45th LPSC, LPI Contribution No. 1777, p.2772.

Vilas, F., Hendrix, A. R., Jensen, E. A., (2014), “Evidence for UV/Blue Space Weathering in S, Q, and O Asteroids in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey?”, Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2014, Helsinki.

Vilas, Faith, with 10 authors including D. Domingue (2014), “Hollow Promises: A Window into Mercury's Surface Mineralogy”, American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #46, #205.02.

Morgan, Thomas H., McLaughlin, S. A., Grayzeck, E. J., Vilas, F., Knopf, W. P., Crichton, D. J. (2014), “The Planetary Data System--- Archiving Planetary Data for the use of the Planetary Science Community”, American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #46, #214.04.

Invited Talks, Panels

Panel member for the public discussion of the Professional Development Committee of Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting #46, American Astronomical Society, November 2014 meeting in Tucson, Arizona.

III. Awards and Honors

None.

IV. Service to Scientific Community

Chair, NASA Mars 2020 mission spectroscopy instrumentation proposal review panel.

Chair, planetary science panel, and member of executive panel for Hubble Space Telescope Cycle 22 proposal review.

Chair, Scientific Organizing Committee for Division for Planetary Sciences, American Astronomical Society, November 2014 meeting in Tucson, Arizona. Work began in 2013, and continued into 2014.

V. Teaching Activities/Public Lectures

Lecture in Spanish to Servicio Geológico Colombiano, by internet, on 4 December, 2014, “NASA’s Planetary Data System.”