Excellence in Research: An HBCU Partnership to Leverage Resources and Increase Scientific Productivity in Observational Time Domain Astrophysics

南卡罗来纳州州立大学和维尔京群岛大学将加强其天体物理学研究能力，将其天体物理学资源结合起来，组成时域天体物理学合作组织，这将大大提高其科学生产力，并使其进入不断发展的时域天体物理学领域。 TDAC学校管理或合作管理位于美属维尔京群岛和基特峰国家天文台的两台小口径望远镜。该项目将使两个机构通过增加人员，教师和学生的支持，并改善其物理基础设施来建立研究能力。该项目将为UVI设施增加一名常驻观察员，SCSU将聘请其有史以来第一位天文学博士后研究员。这些增强功能将使他们能够与更大的天文学界一起参与协调研究，对引力波的电磁对应物进行多信使观测，监测活动星系核，并通过使用他们在亚利桑那州（SCSU）和维尔京群岛（UVI）的望远镜设施，为K和M矮星上的红矮星项目做出贡献。 这笔赠款将导致教师的研究能力增强，并通过实习，校园研究会谈以及将项目成果纳入两个机构的课程，包括物理学和计算机科学，招聘和保留SCSU和UVI的STEM本科专业。这将激励这两所院校的少数民族学生继续攻读研究生或进入STEM领域的劳动力市场。 该项目由激励竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）和HBCU的卓越研究（EIR）计划共同资助，并由MPS/AST管理。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

South Carolina State University (SCSU) and the University of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) will enhance their research capabilities in astrophysics by combining their astrophysical resources to form a Time Domain Astrophysical Collaboration (TDAC) which will significantly increase their scientific productivity and move them into the growing field of time domain astrophysics. The TDAC schools manage or partner in the management of two small aperture telescopes located in the United States Virgin Islands and at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This project will allow both institutions to build research capacity through the addition of personnel, faculty and student support, and improvements to their physical infrastructure.The project will add a Resident Observer to the UVI facility and SCSU will hire its first ever Postdoctoral Researcher in astronomy. These enhancements will allow them to participate in coordinated research with the greater astronomical community in multimessenger observations of the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves, monitoring Active Galactic Nuclei and contributing to Living with a Red Dwarf project on K and M dwarf stars through use their telescope facilities in Arizona (SCSU)and in the Virgin Islands (UVI). This grant will result in the enhanced research capabilities of the faculty and recruitment and retention of STEM undergraduate majors at SCSU and UVI through internships, campus research talks, and the incorporation of project results into the curriculum of both institutions, including physics and computer science. It will result in motivating minority students at both institutions to continue on to graduate school or enter the workforce in STEM fields. This project is jointly funded by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and HBCU's Excellence in Research (EIR) Program and managed by MPS/AST.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.