REU Site: Wyoming Astronomy

PI和他的团队将在怀俄明大学领导一个河外和星系天文学的REU项目。学生将直接参与由教师领导的研究，参与者将利用各种一流的天文台和实验室，包括斯皮策太空望远镜、怀俄明-NCAR超级计算机，以及怀俄明州红外天文台及其2.3米望远镜。我们的学生将作为一个团队在一个连贯的项目上工作，具体项目每年夏天轮流进行。主题将涵盖银河系内的恒星形成、星系外盘的性质和类星体现象学；所有项目都将在“星系演化”的伞形主题下密切相关。天文学教师将培训学生用望远镜观察，处理和分析天文数据，开发和使用复杂的计算机模型，并有效地交流结果。该项目的广泛影响是多方面的，包括让本科生密切参与前沿研究，培训学生如何为毕业后的生活做准备，将热门的伦理问题纳入该项目，以及在我们为期10天的怀俄明州AstroCamp中与教师和学生合作，面向6-8年级的高年级学生。也许最重要的是，由于我们的学生每年夏天都会一起工作，他们将在团队合作、领导力和同伴教学方面发展技能。我们将集中招聘几乎没有研究经验的本科生，包括一年级和二年级学生，和/或来自文科学院和怀俄明州两年制社区学院的学生。

The PI and his team will lead an REU program in extragalactic and galactic astronomy at the University of Wyoming. Students will be directly involved in research led by faculty, and participants will utilize a variety of first-rate observatories and labs including the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Wyoming-NCAR Supercomputer, and the Wyoming Infrared Observatory with its 2.3 meter telescope. Our students will work as a team on a coherent project, with the specific project rotating each summer. Topics will cover star formation within the Milky Way, the properties of galaxy outer disks, and quasar phenomenology; all projects will be closely related under the umbrella theme "galaxy evolution". Astronomy faculty will train the students to observe at a telescope, process and analyze astronomical data, develop and use sophisticated computer models, and effectively communicate the results. The broader impact of the program has many facets, including intimately involving undergraduates in forefront research, training students how to prepare for their post-baccalaureate lives, integrating topical ethical questions into the program, and working with teachers and school children in our ten-day Wyoming AstroCamp for rising 6th-8th graders. Perhaps most importantly, since our students will work together each summer, they will develop skills in teamwork, leadership, and peer teaching. We will focus our recruiting on undergraduate students with little to no research experience, including freshmen and sophomores, and/or students from liberal arts colleges and from Wyoming's two-year community colleges.