In the past, the photographic plate provided the data for most of optical astronomy. Undergraduate students in astronomy laboratory classes were, therefore, introduced to equipment like measuring engines and iris photometers. Now, however, most detectors are electronic. Most astronomical data resides in digital form and a new set of analytical tools has replaced the old. Improved access to these new tools by our undergraduate students will be provided. The Department has recently increased its emphasis on laboratory- based training so that students at all levels have exposure to the trials of real data. Newly-implemented laboratory courses concentrate not just on the analysis of data. Rather, the students learn to collect data and to understand what the data can yield as well as appreciate its limitations. The Astronomy Program Review Committee, appointed by the Chancellor to conduct a five- year review, strongly recommended that the laboratory programs of the department be continued and, even strengthened. The Department has recently upgraded its student observing facilities at the Leuschner Observatory, which include remote observing capabilities. An aggressive upgrading of on campus facilities with and emphasis on image processing as the tool of modern astronomy will be carried out. Students will be provided with the opportunity to gather their own observational data at the student observatory, to analyze it quantitatively, to draw their own conclusions and to understand the uncertainties. The concentration on image processing has many benefits: first of all, it is intuitive; people are visual creatures and the extraction of quantitative data from pictures presents few conceptual difficulties. Secondly, it is applicable to a wide range of astronomical problems in all wavelength regions. Lastly, it has applications which go far beyond astronomical uses.
