Dr. Zeljko Ivezic (University of Washington) will test and influence theories of galaxy formation and evolution by developing a significantly improved understanding of the distribution and kinematics of stars in our Galaxy. To achieve this goal, Dr. Ivezic will make use of recent significant advances in the availability of accurate measurements of stellar colors, proper motion and radial velocity for unprecedented numbers of stars, and will apply robust statistical methods for estimating distance and metallicity as well as using novel methods for analysing and visualizing these voluminous and complex data sets. The ultimate goal of the planned studies is to synthesize these data sets into a comprehensive view of the Galaxy, to bridge the boundary between traditionally disconnected descriptions of spatial and kinematic distributions, and to place these results on the Milky Way structure into the context of galaxy formation and evolution models. The results of this research will be relevant not only to studies of the Milky Way, but to studies of galaxy formation and evolution in general.
The large value-added stellar catalogs and three-dimensional maps will foster novel applications of modern statistical methods to astronomical data analysis, such as automated search for overdensities in high-dimensional spaces. They will remain a cutting edge resource for at least a decade because other major stellar surveys are much shallower, or have not started yet.
The science-ready public catalogs and maps will offer many ways of producing smaller and well defined projects that are ideal for engaging undergraduate and graduate students in cutting-edge research. These stand-alone, but discovery-based, projects are excellent for introducing the scientific process to students without prior research experience. An immediate impact will come from the training of students from under-represented groups. Several undergraduate students will be involved in all phases of this research, including the publication process. These results will be made known outside of the professional astronomical community through an education and outreach web site devoted to this research, their inclusion in both graduate and undergraduate courses, and their presentation in both scientific and popular talks. In particular, the project web site, modeled after the SDSS Sky Server, will promote the exposure of high school students to current research by enabling them to (re)discover many of the scientific results expected from this project.
