Undergraduate Student Education and Instrumentation Training Through Radio Astronomy

Northeast Radio Observatory Corp, Westford MA

Investigators

Abstract

Undergraduate students need challenging research activities in a discovery-based environment to help integrate their education with research and prepare them for graduate education in science and engineering or for technical careers in the national workforce. To help fulfill this goal, MIT Haystack Observatory has successfully developed an undergraduate educational program that applies radio astronomy to student research and training. The program includes: (a) introduction to radio astronomy techniques through hands-on use of a small radio telescope (SRT) that can be assembled and used by students for observations, (b) access to Haystack's 37-m radio telescope for individual student research and innovative laboratory projects, and (c) national dissemination of Web-based educational materials. Intellectual merit: This project extends and expand Haystack's program by networking small radio telescopes using Internet technology to form a radio interferometer that enables high-resolution observations of the Sun and other objects in the Universe. The interferometer project exposes students to the challenges of modern networking technology, precision timing, and sophisticated processing of distributed signals and data, as well as high-resolution measurements. It also encourages collaboration among students and faculty at different institutions. MIT Haystack Observatory is designing, testing, and demonstrating the radio interferometry system, preparing the necessary educational materials and disseminating them, and providing support for users. In addition, remote access to Haystack's 37-m radio telescope nationwide is being extended, and the educational materials to support research projects enhanced. Broader impact: The project enables students and faculty from a diverse set of institutions in all areas of the country, at a variety of educational levels, to participate in an area of astronomy that is not otherwise feasible, and it has applications in other science, mathematics, and engineering disciplines.