Integrated STEM Research Opportunities for Undergraduates Through Radio Astronomy

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MIT Haystack Observatory has successfully developed an educational program that applies the multidisciplinary power of radio astronomy to undergraduate student projects and research in a discovery-based environment. The goal of the program is to enable an integrated approach to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education through astronomical observations in order to help attract and prepare undergraduate students for graduate science education and technical careers. The program has included the development and commercialization of a small radio telescope (SRT) kit, the provision of access to a 37m-diameter radio telescope for individual student research, the training of faculty, and the dissemination of educational materials. Intellectual Merit: The project is making available to students, either remotely or on site, observing time and technical support on a large radio telescope. In addition, it is supporting and extending the use of the SRT.Broader Impact: The undergraduate program has reached over 500 students at about 35 institutions annually who use the 37-m telescope. This usage is in addition to students who use the SRT at their home institutions. The SRT has been distributed to over 100 institutions nationally and has been adopted by a broad international community that has also recognized its value for student training.In this project, technical support to CASSI Corp, the current commercial source for the SRT, and to the user community is being maintained through March 2007. After that time, information about the SRT assembly and other documentation, control software and project materials are available on the Haystack Web site. In addition, access to the Haystack 37-m telescope for student projects is being continued for the Fall 2006 within the available telescope time.