A Partnership in Observational and Computational Astronomy

South Carolina State University, Orangeburg SC

Investigators

Abstract

Dr. Donald Walter, Ms. Jennifer Cash, and Dr. Daniel Smith at South Carolina State University (SCSU) will partner with Dr. Steven Howell and scientists at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) as well as Dr. Mark Leising and scientists at Clemson University (CU) in a partnership to be known as POCA (A Partnership in Observational and Computational Astronomy). Through a multi-faceted program they plan to use the partnership as a means to fill the pipeline of African-American students pursuing advanced degrees in science, and particularly, astronomy. Archival data will be used to relate the periods of RV Tauri stars to several physical parameters, which help shape these objects into useful distance indicators in the Local Group. The partnership will also participate in a world-wide network studying gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow and a study of primordial lithium abundances. Additionally, they will use narrow-band H-alpha photometry to search for short-period, tidally locked binaries in the Galactic Halo. Finally, some of the group will use data from the Very Large Array and the Green Bank Telescope to investigate the role of magnetic fields in star formation. SCSU is a Historically Black College/University with 96% of the student population being African-American. Undergrads at SCSU and grad students from CU will take part in all of the proposed research. The opportunities for student research will exist year-round, and graduate students will be encouraged to become mentors to undergraduates. The program is also intended to boost the research foundation at the university by mentoring not only SCSU students but also faculty members. The program will also reach non-science majors through inquiry-based astronomy labs, and outreach programs will be used to share the science with the public and K-12 community.