The DPS is the leading and largest professional association of planetary scientists in the world. Carl Sagan, who popularized astronomy, served as a chair of the organization from 1975-76.
Britt joined UCF in 2003 and was the director of the on-campus Robinson Observatory. His research revolves around using remote sensing tools to determine the composition and evolution of solar system objects, including asteroids, comets and Mars. He has worked on several NASA projects, including the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1993.
Britt will serve as vice-chair of the DPS through the fall of 2011. That’s when he takes over as chair. Britt is not the only UCF representative to help the organization’s leadership. UCF Associate Professor Josh Colwell is a DPS committee member.
UCF helped bring the DPS annual conference to Florida for the first time in 2007. Professor Humberto Campins and Britt helped organize the DPS conference that year. More than 1,000 scientists from around the world attended that conference.