AstroCom NYC: A Partnership between New York City Astronomers

Cuny York College, Jamaica NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). AstroCom NYC is a program designed to improve the access of urban minority students to opportunities in astrophysical research by enhancing and solidifying partnerships between research astronomers in New York City. The partners are minority-serving institutions of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the astrophysics research departments of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) at the Flatiron Institute. A renewed program, which builds on the success of the original AstroCom NYC, will cement a lasting and sustainable partnership spanning all five boroughs of New York City to provide centralized, personalized mentoring as well as financial and academic support to CUNY undergraduates throughout their studies, plus the resources and opportunities to further CUNY faculty research with students. The partners have created a formal conduit for CUNY students (the majority of whom are poor, urban students from groups underrepresented in STEM) to participate in research in astronomy. The partners in AstroCom NYC have many years of experience mentoring undergraduates in research on galaxy properties and evolution, black hole physics, nearby and low-mass stars, numerical simulations and modeling, and observational astronomy from the radio to gamma rays. They are also well-qualified for the task of improving minority access to astrophysics research because of their strong working relationships, expertise and enthusiasm for mentoring students with diverse backgrounds, and the ready pool of participant candidates from within CUNY. AstroCom NYC serves as a model to urban areas with large and diverse minority populations, and the participants publish widely, present progress reports nationally, conduct faculty professional development, and serve on review panels based on their expertise in engaging diverse populations. 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.