REU Site: Astronomy and Geoscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Haystack Observatory

干草堆天文台REU计划每年夏天将接待10名学生，为期10周，与导师一起研究天文学、地球科学、空间科学和仪器设备等研究项目。其中许多项目利用主要的现场设施和仪器，所有这些项目都通过一个总体无线电科学主题联系在一起，提供了一个焦点，允许学生在项目期间随时与彼此的项目联系起来，并建立一个相互支持的社区。该计划强调学生对真正的尖端基础研究项目的参与和有意义的贡献。学生将接触到研究过程的所有阶段，从最初的科学问题，到仪器概念化，一直到对数据的科学解释和结果的发布。REU的项目雄心勃勃、引人入胜、回报丰厚，学生与他人合著评审的科学出版物和参加科学会议的比例一直很高。一些项目由青草堆博士后研究人员领导，他们通过该项目获得了宝贵的指导经验。为学生提供了一系列讲座和演讲，涵盖了草堆研究组合的各个方面，以及诸如科学道德、职业发展、工作场所行为以及多样性、公平和包容性问题等主题。参与者还参加由来访的科学家和工程师举办的研讨会和座谈会，并参加各种活动，使他们能够与干草堆观察站的同行和研究人员进行社交互动。学生们从事的项目包括一系列科学课题，如用事件视界望远镜观察黑洞，开发用于南极冰川学发现的地震软件包，使用GPS反射仪遥感海冰上的雪深，测量传播的电离层扰动，以及优化多输入多输出流星雷达网的设计。重点是让学生为STEM职业做好准备，从历史上看，这导致了该项目的高比例参与者决定进入研究生院学习。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 Haystack Observatory REU program will host 10 students for 10 weeks each summer, to work with mentors on research projects spanning astronomy, geoscience, space science and instrumentation. Many of these projects make use of major on-site facilities and instrumentation, and all are linked through an overarching radio science theme, providing a focus that allows students to readily relate to each other’s projects and build a mutually supportive community during the program. The program emphasizes student engagement in, and meaningful contribution to, genuine cutting edge fundamental research projects. Students are exposed to all stages of the research process, from the initial scientific question, to instrument conceptualization, all the way through to scientific interpretation of the data and publication of the results. The REU projects are ambitious, engaging and rewarding, with a sustained high rate of student co-authorship on refereed scientific publications and attendance at scientific conferences. Some projects are led by Haystack postdoctoral researchers, who gain valuable mentoring experience via the program.Students are provided with a series of lectures and presentations covering all aspects of the Haystack research portfolio, as well as topics such as scientific ethics, career development, workplace conduct, and issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. The participants also attend seminars and colloquia presented by visiting scientists and engineers, and participate in a variety of events that allow them to socially interact with their peers and researchers at Haystack Obervatory. The projects the students work on include a range of scientific topics such as observing black holes with the Event Horizon Telescope, development of a seismic software package for Antarctic glaciology discovery, sensing snow depth over sea ice using GPS reflectometry, measurements of traveling ionospheric disturbances, and optimizing the design of multi-input multi-output meteor radar networks. Emphasis is placed on preparing students for rewarding STEM careers, and historically this has resulted in a high percentage of participants from this program deciding to go to graduate school.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.