REU Site: The Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium

凯克东北天文联合会(KNAC)是东北地区八所以本科生为主的机构，每个机构都有一个规模较小但活跃的天文学项目，将主办一个天文学方面的REU(本科生研究经验)项目。本科生主要来自东北地区那些天文学项目很少或根本不存在的机构，他们将在每年夏天与KNAC机构的天文学家一起进行指导研究。这些学生将加入到一个丰富而多样化的学生队伍中，他们仍然留在自己的学校里，并在联盟成员之间交换学生。这种支持性的导师网络给了学生在科学界的归属感，它极大地增加了他们选择科学或技术职业的可能性。KNAC是一个以本科生为重点的机构的地区性联盟，其使命是促进成员机构和其他接触天文研究有限的东北小型机构的学生的天文研究。所有成员机构的教职员工将在每年夏天与个别学生密切合作10周。在接下来的秋季学期，来自所有这些机构的学生和教职员工将参加联合本科生研究研讨会，他们的结果发表在学报卷上。KNAC充当了一个虚拟的天文学部门。它专注于地区，对于那些能够呆在家中，参加秋季研讨会，并在暑期项目结束后很久继续与导师培养关系的学生来说，它是一个有吸引力的选择。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium (KNAC), eight predominantly undergraduate institutions in the Northeast that each have a small but active astronomy program, will host an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program in astronomy. Undergraduate students, drawn primarily from institutions in the Northeast with small or non-existent astronomy programs, will engage in a mentored research experience each summer with an astronomer at a KNAC institution. These students will join a rich and diverse cohort of students who remain at their own institution and students exchanged among consortium members. This supportive network of mentors gives students sense of belonging within the scientific community, and it greatly increases the likelihood that they will chose scientific or technical careers. KNAC is a regional consortium of undergraduate-focused institutions whose mission is to promote astronomical research for students at member institutions and at other small Northeast institutions where exposure to astronomical research is limited. Faculty at all member institutions will work closely with individual students for 10 weeks each summer. During the subsequent fall semester, students and faculty from all these institutions will participate in the joint Undergraduate Research Symposium, with their results published in the Proceedings volume. KNAC acts as a virtual astronomy department. Its regional focus makes it an attractive option for students who can stay close to home, participate in the Fall Symposium, and continue to cultivate the relationship with their mentor well after the summer program has ended.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.