The CSUF-led partnership for inclusion of underrepresented groups in gravitational-wave astronomy

一个研究和教育途径项目的核心任务是显著增加来自代表性不足群体的学生数量，特别是西班牙裔和拉丁裔/ A学生，获得引力波天体物理学学士学位后。该项目将大大加强加州州立大学富勒顿分校（CSUF）与雪城大学（Syracuse University）、西北大学（Northwestern University）和华盛顿州立大学（Washington State University）这三家授予博士学位的合作伙伴之间的现有合作。加州州立大学富勒顿分校是一所主要为西班牙裔提供本科服务的机构。该计划将为CSUF学生进入其中一所合作大学的博士课程提供明确的途径，包括过渡期间的财务和学术支持，从而为学生提供STEM职业的长期路线图。它将进一步确保被录取的学生完成博士学位，并通过提供持续的指导和积极培养合作机会，促进他们成为引力波天体物理学的领导者。在爱因斯坦首次预言引力波的存在将近一个世纪之后，科学家们发现了引力波——弯曲时空的涟漪——穿过地球，开启了引力波天文学的时代。引力波是一种全新的工具，可以用来探索宇宙，探索驱动一些最极端天体物理事件的物理原理，而其他形式的天文学是无法做到的。美国先进激光干涉仪引力波天文台（LIGO）将很快获得下一个科学数据，未来的天文台（如宇宙探索者，LIGO旅行者和爱因斯坦望远镜）有希望将我们的引力波天文学范围扩展到宇宙边缘和新的频段，为变革性的天文学发现带来更大的潜力。CSUF、锡拉丘兹、西北大学和WSU的学生研究人员将通过实验工作为这些发现做出贡献，以帮助最大限度地扩大引力波天文台的天文覆盖范围，并通过理论和计算工作来建模和解释引力波源。这个奖项推进了“宇宙大创意之窗”的目标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

A research and education pathway program is awarded with the core mission to significantly increase the number of students from underrepresented groups, in particular Hispanic and Latino/a students, with post-baccalaureate degrees in gravitational-wave astrophysics. This program will substantially strengthen an existing collaboration between California State University Fullerton (CSUF), a primarily undergraduate Hispanic-Serving Institution, and three Ph.D.-granting partners: Syracuse University, Northwestern University, and Washington State University (WSU). This program will develop a clear pathway for CSUF students to enter the Ph.D. program at one of the partner universities, including financial and academic support as they transition, thereby providing students with a long-term road map for their STEM careers. It will further ensure that admitted students complete the Ph.D. degree and facilitate their becoming leaders in gravitational-wave astrophysics by providing sustained mentoring and actively fostering partnership opportunities.Almost a century after Einstein first predicted their existence, scientists discovered gravitational waves— ripples of curved spacetime—passing through Earth, igniting the era of gravitational-wave astronomy. Gravitational waves are a radically new tool for exploring the universe and probing the physics driving some of the most extreme astrophysical events in ways inaccessible to other forms of astronomy. The U.S. Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) will soon take its next science data, and future observatories (such as Cosmic Explorer, LIGO Voyager, and the Einstein Telescope) have the promise to extend our gravitational-wave astronomical reach to the edge of the universe and to new frequency bands, bringing an even greater potential for transformative astronomical discoveries. Student researchers at CSUF, Syracuse, Northwestern, and WSU will contribute to these discoveries through experimental work to help maximize gravitational-wave observatories’ astronomical reach and theoretical and computational work to model and interpret gravitational-wave sources. This award advances the goals of the Windows on the Universe Big Idea.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.