IRES Track I: Exploring New Horizons in the Observable Universe at the Cosmic Dawn Center of Excellence in Copenhagen

第一批恒星、星系和黑洞在大爆炸后仅数亿年就爆发了，为宇宙带来了光，并启动了建立我们今天所看到的宇宙的运动过程。关于这些早期的时代，许多谜团仍然存在，但不会持续太久：新的和即将到来的设施，如阿塔卡马大毫米阵列和詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜，都经过了优化，以彻底改变我们对这段时间的理解，也就是我们所知的“宇宙黎明”。位于丹麦哥本哈根的国际研究中心宇宙黎明卓越中心(DOWN，成立于2018年)汇集了对宇宙黎明进行广泛的观测和理论研究的学者。他们的专业知识，加上哥本哈根美丽而丰富的环境，使黎明成为初露头角的美国学者的理想东道主。我们将创建黎明-IRES学者计划，通过一个千载难逢的机会访问哥本哈根，让他们自己沉浸在这个充满活力的国际研究中心，从而增强未来几代美国科学家的能力。黎明-IRES的学者将加入一个由7名学生研究人员组成的队列，参加一个为期10周的激动人心的科学项目，该项目将使用下一代望远镜的研究与一座千年古城的生活相结合。该计划的结构将鼓励学生在他们的同龄人中建立学习社区，为他们配备实用的研究和沟通技能。同时，国际上对尖端资源的接触和获取将有助于保持美国在全球天文学领域的领导地位。学生们将领导观察和/或理论项目，有助于理解当今天体物理学中的一些最基本的问题：是什么导致了宇宙的再电离？第一批大质量星系是如何形成的？星系标度关系的起源是什么？是什么使大质量星系中恒星的形成熄灭？在接下来的十年里，该中心的任务是开发和测试一个物理模型，解释直到今天最早的星系组装的关键过程。曙光-IRES学者将加入这个蓬勃发展的国际研究网络，将协调该项目的美国副教授所进行的世界级研究与曙光永久教师和当地项目协调员联系起来。这一国际研究体验的主要学习目标包括：(1)建立一个学习社区以刺激个人和学术成长，(2)发展有效的科学交流技能，以及(3)针对天体物理学中的一个公开问题进行具有全球竞争力的研究。曙光-IRES计划主要旨在通过为不同的美国学生提供独特的全球教育培训体验来促进科学进步。定义该计划更广泛影响的主题包括多样性、培训、传播和社区。通过广泛的积极主动的招聘策略(直接接触少数族裔服务机构的教师、利用社交媒体、广泛散发传单、在STEM课程中发布本地公告等)，PI将汇集不同的学者群体，以激励优秀和创新。该计划结合了广泛的职业发展活动，侧重于提高科学交流技能(例如，每周研讨会、黑客日、在国外和美国国内的口头演示)。学生还将建立专业的研究工具包，包括学习编程、数据分析和演示技术。研究成果的传播将通过每年夏季末在哥本哈根举行的黎明-IRES学者研讨会，以及在学生当地机构和美国天文学会全国会议上的一次陈述进行。与康涅狄格州大学卓越教学中心合作，曙光-IRES的评估战略将根据该计划的学习目标量身定做。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The first stars, galaxies and black holes burst into existence only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, bringing light to the cosmos and setting in motion processes that built the Universe as we see it today. Many mysteries remain about these early epochs, but not for too much longer: new and upcoming facilities such as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and the James Webb Space Telescope are optimized to revolutionize our understanding of this time period, known as "Cosmic Dawn." The Cosmic Dawn Center of Excellence (DAWN, established 2018), an international research center in Copenhagen, Denmark, brings together scholars whose interests span a broad range of observational and theoretical inquiries into Cosmic Dawn. Their expertise, together with Copenhagen's beautiful and enriching setting, make DAWN an ideal host for budding US scholars. We will create the DAWN-IRES Scholars Program to empower future generations of US scientists through a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of visiting Copenhagen to immerse themselves into this vibrant international research center. The DAWN-IRES scholars will join a cohort of 7 student researchers in a stimulating 10-week science program that merges research using next-generation telescopes with life in a thousand-year-old city. The program's structure will encourage students to build learning communities within their cohorts, equipping them with practical research and communication skills. At the same time, the international exposure and access to cutting-edge resources will help maintain US leadership within the global astronomical community.Students will lead observational and/or theoretical projects that contribute towards understanding some of the most fundamental questions in astrophysics today: What caused the reionization of the Universe? How do the first, massive galaxies form? What is the origin of galaxy scaling relations? What quenches star formation in massive galaxies? Over the next decade, the center's mission is to develop and test a physical model explaining the key processes responsible for the assembly of the earliest galaxies through to the present day. The DAWN-IRES Scholars will join this thriving international research network, bridging the world class research performed by the US-based associate faculty coordinating this program with the DAWN permanent faculty and the local program coordinator. The key learning goals of this international research experience include: (1) building a learning community to stimulate personal and academic growth, (2) developing effective scientific communication skills, and (3) performing globally competitive research addressing an open question in astrophysics.The DAWN-IRES program is primarily designed to enhance the progress of science through a unique global educational training experience for a diverse cohort of US students. The themes defining the broader impact of the program include diversity, training, dissemination, and community. Through extensive proactive recruitment strategies (direct contact with faculty at minority-serving institutions, leveraging social media, widely circulating flyers, local announcements in STEM courses, and more), the PI will assemble diverse groups of scholars to stimulate excellence and innovation. The program incorporates a wide range of professional development activities that are focused on advancing scientific communication skills (e.g., weekly seminars, hack days, oral presentations abroad and stateside). The students will also build professional research toolkits, including learning programming, data analysis and presentation techniques. Dissemination of research will occur through the DAWN-IRES Scholars Symposium at the end of each summer in Copenhagen, together with a presentation at the students' local institutions and the national American Astronomical Society meeting. Working with the Center for Excellence in Teaching at UConn, the assessment strategy of DAWN-IRES will be tailored to the learning goals of the program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.