In this collaborative effort, Drs. Rebecca Koopmann (Union College), Sarah Higdon (Georgia Southern University), Thomas Balonek (Colgate University), and members of their consortium team will carry out an array of activities directed toward involving undergraduate students in real-world, cutting-edge research projects to collect, analyze, and, in some cases, publish data from the ALFALFA (The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey, where ALFA is an acronym for the Arecibo L-band Feed Array project. ALFALFA is large survey for neutral hydrogen in galaxies external to the Milky Way being carried out using the seven-beam ALFA receiver on the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope. ALFALFA is expected to detect over 20,000 galaxies over the next five years, resulting in a wide range of scientific applications. The program has four components: 1) An annual undergraduate ALFALFA team workshop will be held at Arecibo that will introduce students to the ALFA project and communicate science programs and observing and data analysis techniques; 2) Students, with the help of faculty mentors, will develop their own research programs and do their own observing using Arecibo, the world''s largest telescope; 3) Computer infrastructure for data analysis will be provided to smaller schools; and 4) Summer research positions will be provided to students on a competitive basis to help keep them on a science track. The program will have wide impact at 14 universities belonging to the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team consortium.
The program will advance discovery and promote learning among undergraduate and graduate students in a diverse array of university settings, both public and private, across the country. All team members will participate in the annual workshops and will be encouraged to present their results at scientific meetings. Infrastructure for research and education will be promoted via the collaboration between students and faculty and the observatory, which will stimulate undergraduate research at the smaller colleges. Curricular and outreach material for both undergraduate and K-12 application, developed at the participating institutions and in collaboration with the Director of the Angel Ramos Visitor Center at Arecibo, will be made publicly available. Women comprise a large fraction of the faculty involved in the program.
grant sponsors a consortium of 18 undergraduate-focused insitutions to promote undergraduate research within the major astronomy legacy ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) project, which is led by Drs. Riccardo Giovanelli and Martha Haynesat Cornell University. The ALFALFA project uses the AreciboObservatory, a U.S. national observatory in Puerto Rico, to survey the nearby Universe for galaxies containing atomic hydrogen gas. ALFALFA is detecting more than 30,000 galaxies out to a distance of 750 million light years. One of the main goals of the project is to discover low mass, 'starless' galaxies, which contain hydrogen gas but have not yet formed stars. The abundance of these 'dark' galaxies, their characteristics and location are key clues to understanding how galaxies form and evolve throughout the universe. ALFALFA also provides a wealth of information about the gas properties of galaxies in the nearby universe that can be used for many different projects. As part of this grant, the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team developed a successful collaborative model to educate and train students and faculty from a diverse set of institutions as they investigate scientific questions within a major astronomy survey. Over the six years of the grant, more than 183 undergraduates and 23 faculty members have participated in and contributed to the scientific output of the ALFALFA extragalactic survey and followup studies. Activities were funded collaboratively with AST-0725267 (summerresearch program) and AST-0725380 (computer infrastructure and conference/observing travel). This grant funded the cornerstone of the program, a workshop at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The annual workshop at Arecibo Observatory is designed to foster interactions and collaborative learning with faculty mentors, peers at other institutions, Arecibo Observatory staff, and ALFALFA scientists via lectures, observing sessions, and group work. Observing is the highlight of the workshop and the major reason the workshop is held at Arecibo. Few undergraduates have opportunities to visit a national observatory, particularly a radio astronomy observatory. Workshop observations are planned in the same way as any large collaboration project. Students read preparatory online material and work together on a proposal. The proposal is reviewed and officially granted observing time. Observations at the workshop contributed to the ALFALFA survey effort and to a Team collaborative project to follow up intriguing ALFALFA detections such as dark galaxy candidates. The active nature of the observing sessions allows the students to gain an understanding of ALFALFA observations that they would not have achieved working in isolation at their home institutions. During tours of the telescope, they interact directly with Arecibo staff members in small groups, gaining a profound appreciation and understanding of the facility. The workshop experience inspires further research participation by students: 88% of workshop attendees carried out a summer or academic year project and 44% of them were involved in more than one project. This program has extended research opportunities to undergraduates who otherwise would not have been able to participate. We reach undergraduates from a diverse set of institutions and backgrounds, introducing them to a world they may not know exists and broadening their prospectiveof potential careers, particularly STEM careers. Participation of women and minority students over the six years of our project has been at the 40% level. Graduate students engage with faculty and undergraduates from this diverse group, contributing to their development as scholars and teachers. Many students and faculty have presented their results at national meetings and they have contributed to 37 scientific publications. The model developed is applicable to other scientific collaborations. The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team investment in the development of faculty research and education skills at its set of institutions has raised awareness of astronomy on local campuses and in local communities. Faculty invite students and members of the public to participate in remote Arecibo observing sessions, extending access to a national observatory to a wider audience on campus and the public. They share their expertise and enthusiasm with local colleagues and their students in the classroom. Educational materials designed to introduce students to the project are publically available for wider distribution on ALFALFA web page http://egg.astro.cornell.edu/alfalfa/ugrad/index.php.
