MRI: Development of a Robotic University of Hawaii 88" Telescope (Robo88): A new tool for large surveys, rapid transient classification, and multimessenger astronomy

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This project will develop a robotic University of Hawaii 88" Telescope (Robo88) on Mauna Kea Hawaii, one of the premier astronomical sites in the world. Robo88 will bring new capabilities that will enable scientific investigations that are not currently feasible, including large systematic surveys of many targets distributed over the sky, studies of supernovae and other transients, and rapid follow-up of gravitational wave sources, potentially hazardous near-earth asteroids, and stellar flares. The project will also support undergraduate research and training in the fast-evolving field of time domain astronomy. Through partnership with the Akamai Workforce Initiative, this project will broaden participation in science by engaging students from underrepresented populations.Robo88 will be an agile robotic observatory with three instruments: 1) The Supernova Integral Field Spectrograph, a fully-integrated high-throughput instrument delivering one percent spectrophotometric observations for point sources even on structured backgrounds. 2) STACam, a 10K by 10K wide field-of-view imager. 3) Robo-AO-2, a robotic laser adaptive optics system that will deliver visible and infrared diffraction-limited imaging. Robo88 will bring new capabilities that will enable three new classes of scientific investigations not currently feasible: 1) Large systematic surveys (e.g., exoplanet host star characterization) that have many targets distributed over the sky that are otherwise not feasible on larger telescopes. 2) Rapid supernovae/transient classification of handfuls of interesting targets each night, that are otherwise inefficient on classically scheduled telescopes. 3) Near-immediate observations of quickly evolving or moving objects (e.g., gravitational wave sources, near-earth asteroids, stellar flares) that are only briefly visible once discovered.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.