AstroCom NYC: A Partnership between Astronomers at CUNY, AMNH, and Columbia University

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AstroCom NYC is designed to improve access by urban minority students to opportunities in astrophysical research by greatly enhancing partnerships between research astronomers in New York City. The partners are minority serving institutions of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the astrophysics research departments of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Columbia University. This award will create a substantive and sustainable partnership spanning New York City to provide centralized, personalized mentoring as well as financial and academic support to CUNY undergraduates throughout their studies, plus the resources and opportunities to further CUNY faculty research with students.The partners of AstroCom NYC are uniquely qualified for the task of improving minority access to astrophysics research because of their strong working relationships, expertise in mentoring students with diverse backgrounds, and the ready pool of candidates from within the urban population of New York City. AstroCom NYC will also serve as a model to urban areas with large and diverse minority populations, and to this end the partners will widely publish results and present progress reports at national conferences. For the students, AstroCom NYC will provide - and prepare them for - research opportunities with structured and centralized mentoring, personal attention, a rigorous Methods of Scientific Research course developed specifically to this purpose, a seminar course around the weekly Columbia colloquia, scholarships and stipends, and regular assessment for maximum effectiveness. Stipends will in part alleviate the burdens at home typical for CUNY students so they may concentrate on their academic success.The various student research projects will form the backbone of AstroCom NYC. Students will participate in projects on galaxy properties and evolution, nearby and low mass stars, evolved stars, numerical simulations and modeling, and observational astronomy from the radio to gamma-rays. AstroCom NYC will facilitate further research by CUNY faculty, resulting in more contributions to their fields, and enhanced research collaborations among the program partners, while attracting more diverse students to astrophysics.