REU Site: Undergraduate Astrophysics Research in Appalachia at West Virginia University

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This award will support research experiences for eight undergraduate students per year in the areas of astronomy and physics. This is a new REU site which will serve students from the greater Appalachia area. Students will have the opportunity to study aspects of radio astronomy and gravitational wave physics, with access to research mentors at West Virginia University and access to the Green Bank Observatory. Students will also receive extensive professional development mentoring over the ten week period of the experience. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST), the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Division of Physics (PHY).The projects available to the students include studies of the interstellar medium, supermassive black hole binaries, fast radio bursts, pulsars, galactic accretion, and the Sun. The research in gravitational wave astronomy is especially timely, and the institution has five faculty members involved in their study. Students will all participate in a two-day retreat to Green Bank Observatory for an opportunity to take original astronomical data from the observatory. They will be mentored in professional preparation, public speaking, professional interactions, and scientific communication.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.