The Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy NSF-REU Site Program

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This grant will fund the continuation of a productive REU program led by Dr. Wood at the Florida Institute of Technology. The students in this REU program will be working with mentors and institutions that are part of the Southeast Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA), a consortium of 10 universities located primarily in the southeastern US. Ten students will participate in a 9 to 10 week program that includes a 2-hour course on scientific ethics. Over a dozen research topics are offered to the students, the topics range from solar system studies to cataclysmic variable stars and active galactic nuclei. The program also includes two-day workshops at the start and end of a ?semester? where all of the participants (both students and mentors) gather together to share experiences and review the activities of the summer. This program uses social media like Facebook, blogs, and email list servers to keep all of the participants connected and up-to-date with the program activities.The very nature of an REU site results in a broader impact, in terms of educational activities. The program has served a range of students, some of whom go on to careers in astronomy, and some of whom find that the experience sets them on a different career path, yet one that is well served by involvement in the REU program. In this particular program all 10 of the students will use the SARA Observatory in Arizona during the course of their summer research activities. At the conclusion of the program all of the students will be required to present a talk on their research project and they will be required to publish a paper in the undergraduate research journal JSARA (http://www.jsara.org). The most promising students also get to travel to a professional meeting to present their results.