REU Site: Undergraduate Research in Computational Astrophysics

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support a new REU site for Undergraduate Research in Computational Astrophysics (URCA) at North Carolina State University. This program will support eight students for ten weeks of summer research per year, with computational projects involving numerical simulations, data analysis and modeling. The science applications will include supernovae and supernova remnants, interacting binary stars and accreting compact objects, gamma-ray bursters, accretion disks, stellar winds and jets, r-process nucleosynthesis, and neutrino astrophysics. These original, independent research projects will be complemented by a comprehensive introduction to scientific research that includes classroom lectures to build a solid background in the relevant astrophysics topics, hands-on training exercises in computational physics, and a structured training in scientific communication. Through this extensive training and close interaction with faculty mentors, the students will make real and lasting contributions in a research experience at the forefront of computational astrophysics. By targeting students who have completed a first year of university-level physics and calculus, but who might not yet have chosen science as a career path, this program seeks to increase the number and diversity of students entering careers in computational science.