REU Site: Wyoming Astronomy

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The PI and his team will lead an REU program in extragalactic and galactic astronomy at the University of Wyoming. Students will be directly involved in research led by faculty, and participants will utilize a variety of first-rate observatories and labs including the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Wyoming-NCAR Supercomputer, and the Wyoming Infrared Observatory with its 2.3 meter telescope. Our students will work as a team on a coherent project, with the specific project rotating each summer. Topics will cover star formation within the Milky Way, the properties of galaxy outer disks, and quasar phenomenology; all projects will be closely related under the umbrella theme "galaxy evolution". Astronomy faculty will train the students to observe at a telescope, process and analyze astronomical data, develop and use sophisticated computer models, and effectively communicate the results. The broader impact of the program has many facets, including intimately involving undergraduates in forefront research, training students how to prepare for their post-baccalaureate lives, integrating topical ethical questions into the program, and working with teachers and school children in our ten-day Wyoming AstroCamp for rising 6th-8th graders. Perhaps most importantly, since our students will work together each summer, they will develop skills in teamwork, leadership, and peer teaching. We will focus our recruiting on undergraduate students with little to no research experience, including freshmen and sophomores, and/or students from liberal arts colleges and from Wyoming's two-year community colleges.