Award Abstract # 1852478
REU Site: Astronomy and Planetary Science in Flagstaff, Arizona

NSF Org: AST
Division Of Astronomical Sciences
Recipient: NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: February 8, 2019
Latest Amendment Date: February 8, 2019
Award Number: 1852478
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: James Higdon
AST
 Division Of Astronomical Sciences
MPS
 Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Start Date: March 1, 2019
End Date: February 28, 2022 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $130,846.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $130,846.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2019 = $130,846.00
History of Investigator:
  • David Trilling (Principal Investigator)
    david.trilling@nau.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Northern Arizona University
601 S KNOLES DR RM 220
FLAGSTAFF
AZ  US  86011
(928)523-0886
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: Northern Arizona University
AZ  US  86011-0001
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): MXHAS3AKPRN1
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): SPECIAL PROGRAMS IN ASTRONOMY
Primary Program Source: 01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1206, 1207, 9178, 9250, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 121900
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.049

ABSTRACT

This award provides renewed funding for one year for the longstanding Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Lowell Observatory. Ten student participants per year will be paired with NAU and Lowell scientists to conduct astrophysics research into a wide variety of topics, including lunar impact craters, cryogenic outer solar system ices, near-earth objects, and exoplanets. In addition, the students will attend biweekly seminars to learn more about professional astrophysics, responsible research conduct, and applying to graduate school. The Site will also introduce students to cutting-edge telescopes, including Lowell's Discovery Channel Telescope and the Naval Precision Optical Interferometer.

By offering high-quality research experiences to students at a critical stage of undergraduate education, the REU Site will contribute to increasing the nationwide pool of scientists and engineers. Participants will develop the research methods and analytical skills (mathematical, computational, and logical) necessary to process data, understand primary research, and to remain current with new developments in the field. The REU Site also has an active and highly developed plan to recruit underrepresented minorities into its program, which will expand STEM training opportunities to these groups.

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.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

Note:  When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

Behr, Patrick R. and Tribbett, Patrick D. and Robinson, Tyler D. and Loeffler, Mark J. "Compaction of Porous H 2 O Ice via Energetic Electrons" The Astrophysical Journal , v.900 , 2020 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abad3f Citation Details
Elmegreen, Bruce G. and Martinez, Zorayda and Hunter, Deidre A. "A Search for Correlations between Turbulence and Star Formation in THINGS Galaxies" The Astrophysical Journal , v.928 , 2022 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac559c Citation Details

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

The primary goal of this project is to provide frontline research experiences for undergraduate students in a range of topics in astronomy and planetary science. Our program emphasizes recruiting students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, using a variety of strategies. Students are paired with a mentor or mentor team, and topics range from earth and planetary geology, remote sensing, and instrumentation to stellar and extragalactic observational astronomy, computer science, and laboratory astrophysics. This project partially or completely supported 28 undergraduate students over three years, of whom nearly 70% were women or minorities or both. 

The intellectual merit of this project lies in the scientific results produced by students in this program. To date there are 2 published, refereed papers and 17 conference abstracts that REU students were the lead- or co-author on, and several more papers that have been submitted or are in preparation. These papers are on a range of topcis and published/presented in the leading journals and/or professional conferences.

The broader impact of this program is that we are training the next generation of STEM professionals. In our program students learn research skills but also participate in a range of professional development programs. These programs will help our students succeed and also prepare them to be leaders in STEM (academia, industry, national lab, etc.). Our program emphasizes recruiting and training students from traditiionally underrepresented backgrounds, which means that we are helping to create a more diverse STEM workforce in the years to come.


Last Modified: 07/03/2022
Modified by: David E Trilling

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.

Print this page

Back to Top of page