USA Sky Partners: Expanding Access to Authentic Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Goleta CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). An important mission for professional astronomers is to provide an authentic astronomy research experience for US undergraduates, where they complete the program feeling that the ability to do science is part of their identity. To achieve this, Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) will create a new USA Sky Partners program where LCO provides access to their global robotic telescope network and partners with US colleges and universities that reach students from groups that are underrepresented in astronomy. The goals of this pilot project are three-fold: (1) Fully develop partnerships between LCO, Occidental College, and the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras that provide real astronomy research experiences for undergraduates at a Hispanic-serving university and a small liberal arts college in Los Angeles with a diverse student population. (2) Develop the online video and written materials required to implement the pilot student research program, in English and Spanish, and run the program at both university partner institutions. (3) Recruit additional institutional partners that reach underserved communities to join the partnership for a future proposal for a long-term full partnership. The student research program is an eight-week workshop that can be done separately or in conjunction with an introductory astronomy course. The observing experience utilizes the ten 0.4m telescopes in the LCO network. All that is required to observe with LCO telescopes is a computer with access to the internet and an allocation of telescope time. Observations are requested from a web browser and pipeline processed data are returned via the web-based archive when the observations are complete. The observatory scheduling is automated. With ten 0.4m telescopes dedicated almost entirely to education, students have a high success rate in obtaining observations, regardless of where they are physically located. Students will select targets to study, learn how to use LCO telescopes, write a brief proposal for their target, make observations, and learn how to write a paper as part of their research process. This Seminar has been developed and successfully used in high school environments as part of LCO’s Global Sky Partners program. The seminar adapted for undergraduates will give students success doing science even if they have no previous experience or access to telescope facilities. 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.