REU Site: Frontier Research and Training in Astronomy for the 21st Century

得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校希望继续其为期10周的暑期REU(本科生研究体验)项目，每年接待8名学生。学生将与天文学系的不同导师密切合作，在天文学的前沿领域进行理论和观测研究，包括恒星形成、太阳系和系外行星研究、恒星和星系演化、暗物质/能量天体物理学、宇宙学和天文仪器。学生们将可以使用麦克唐纳天文台和德克萨斯先进计算中心(TACC)的设施，这两个中心都隶属于德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校。重点放在夏季研究出版物上，所有学生将在冬季AAS会议上展示他们的研究。专业发展活动(例如，TACC的计算方法培训和麦当劳天文台为期一周的实践研究)也包括在内。其他活动将侧重于培养对代表不足的少数群体和第一代学生的信心。REU项目的学生将制作博客、短视频和StarDate电台节目，介绍他们的经历和研究。这些产品将在教师专业研讨会上分发给K-12教师，以进一步传播给德克萨斯州的学生。招生决定是全面的，并考虑学术准备和轨迹、毅力/主动性、研究参与度、社区参与度、对包容性校园的贡献以及其他因素。该计划有一个雄心勃勃的目标，即接受至少50%的女性和50%的URM进入该计划，并且不会明确从德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校内部招聘。这些导师经验丰富，并接受过德克萨斯科学发现教育研究所(DEDS)的有效辅导培训。导师队伍已经多样化，并致力于扩大在STEM领域的参与。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。

The University of Texas at Austin wishes to continue its 10-week summer REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program hosting 8 students each year. Students will work closely with a diverse group of mentors from within the Astronomy Department to conduct theoretical and observational research in frontier areas of astronomy, including star formation, Solar System and exoplanet studies, stellar and galaxy evolution, dark matter/energy astrophysics, cosmology, and astronomical instrumentation. The students will have access to the facilities of the McDonald Observatory and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), which are both affiliated with UT Austin. An emphasis is placed on summer research publication and all students will present their research at winter AAS meetings. Professional development activities (e.g., computational methods training from TACC and a week of hands-on research at McDonald Observatory) are also included. Other activities will focus on the development of confidence in underrepresented minorities (URM) and first-generation students. Students in the REU program will produce blogs, short videos, and StarDate Radio programs featuring their experiences and research. These products will be distributed to K-12 teachers at teacher professional workshops for further dissemination to students throughout Texas.Admission decisions are holistic and consider academic preparation and trajectory, grit/initiative, research engagement, community engagement, contributions to an inclusive campus, and other factors. The program has an ambitious goal of accepting at least 50% women and 50% URM into the program and will specifically not recruit from within UT Austin. The mentors are experienced and have received training in effective mentoring by the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science (TIDES). The pool of mentors is already diverse and committed to broadening participation in the STEM fields.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.