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

一个研究和教育途径方案被授予的核心使命是显著增加来自代表性不足群体的学生数量，特别是拥有引力波天体物理学学士学位后学位的西班牙裔和拉丁裔/a学生。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、西北大学和华盛顿州立大学(WSU)三个博士授予合作伙伴之间的现有合作。该计划将为CSUF学生进入合作大学的博士项目开辟一条明确的途径，包括在他们过渡期间提供财政和学术支持，从而为学生的STEM职业生涯提供长期路线图。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。在爱因斯坦首次预测引力波的存在近一个世纪后，科学家发现引力波-弯曲时空的涟漪-穿过地球，点燃了引力波天文学的时代。引力波是一种全新的工具，可以用来探索宇宙和探索推动一些最极端的天体物理事件的物理学，这是其他形式的天文学无法达到的。美国高级激光干涉仪引力波天文台(LIGO)将很快获得下一批科学数据，未来的天文台(如宇宙探索者、LIGO旅行者和爱因斯坦望远镜)有望将我们的引力波天文覆盖范围扩展到宇宙的边缘和新的频段，为天文发现带来更大的变革潜力。CSUF、锡拉丘兹、西北大学和威斯康星州立大学的学生研究人员将通过实验工作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模拟和解释引力波来源，从而为这些发现做出贡献。这一奖项推进了宇宙之窗大理想的目标。这一奖项反映了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。

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.