The Milky Way's dominant star-forming structure, the 5 kiloparsec ring, remains largely unexplored. Using the new SEQUOIA multi-pixel array receiver on the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory 14-meter telescope, Dr. James Jackson and his colleagues at Boston University are conducting a new molecular line survey of the inner Galaxy -- the Boston University--Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory Galactic Ring Survey (GRS). During the course of this award, the group will complete four key science projects: 1. Cataloging molecular clouds and cloud cores discovered during the GRS. 2. Establishing kinematic distances to molecular clouds and their embedded infrared star-forming regions. 3. Determining the structure of the inner Milky Way, and especially that of the 5 kiloparsec ring. 4. Quantifying and testing models of the internal structure of molecular clouds. When complete, the GRS will be the definitive map of the molecular gas distribution in the inner Galaxy, and it will be a vital resource for generations of Galactic astronomers. ***
