The David C. Byers Memorial Lecture (The Byers Lecture)
A. Description
David C. Byers (1939-2018) played a crucial role in transitioning electric propulsion from the laboratory to the broad flight applications it sees today. His technical and programmatic actions enabled early applications ranging from the arcjet for commercial GEO Comsats to the ion engines that set in-space records while enabling a new age of space exploration on Deep Space 1 and Dawn. The early commercial success of arcjets precipitated industry competitions, leading to the broad use of arcjets, ion thrusters and Hall thrusters. Beyond his direct contributions to our field, Dave was a great mentor. He strongly supported young researchers and was always asking questions and providing advice. The simple words “Be of Value” were his creed and he instilled this message in every person and program he touched.
Dave’s passing in 2018 greatly saddened the electric propulsion community – he was a giant in the field. Electric propulsion would not be the technology of choice for many applications today had it not been for Dave’s insight and leadership. To honor his memory, the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society (ERPS) initiated the David C. Byers Memorial Lecture or “Byers Lecture” to be delivered at a plenary session of each International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC) starting in 2019. The first Byers Lecture celebrated Dave’s life and accomplishments and was delivered by a collection of presenters selected for their knowledge of Dave’s immense contributions. In 2021 and beyond, the Byers Lecture will be delivered by a selected individual or team to tell the story of a successful insertion of an electric propulsion technology into either an operational mission or major demonstration. The lecture will provide a description of both the technology used in, and lessons learned (drivers and obstacles) from, the insertion effort. The presenter will be selected by the ERPS Board of Directors as either the key individual or representative of the team responsible for the technology transition.
B. Selection Process
For the first lecture (Vienna, 2019), the ERPS President will select presenters for the lecture, which will be approved by the ERPS Board of Directors.
For each ensuing lecture, the ERPS Awards Chair will poll the ERPS Directors individually to identify candidates (individuals or teams) prior to the upcoming IEPC. For every candidate identified by a Director, the Awards Chair will work with that Director to develop a one pager describing the basis for nomination. The Awards Chair will present the Board of Directors with a list of candidates and associated one page documents for consideration.
The lecturer will be selected by a simple majority vote of the ERPS Board of Directors. In the event of a tie, the ERPS President will make the final selection from the nominees receiving the most votes. The lecturer will be notified of their selection by the ERPS President.
The selection must be made no less than 60 days from the start of the IEPC, to permit sufficient time for the lecturer to prepare their lecture and for the preparation and shipment of award materials for presentation.
C. Award Value
The David C. Byers Memorial Lecturer will receive a waiver of the IEPC Conference fee. If a team is selected, only a single key individual or representative of the team selected will receive the waiver.
