This award is a Cooperative Agreement between Cornell University and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to operate the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) for a period of 60 months. The award is based on the response to a Request for Proposals (NSF-97-154) issued by NSF in September 1997, and on the subsequent review of proposals submitted in response to this request.
The primary research tool of the NAIC is the upgraded 305-m radio/radar telescope located near Arecibo, Puerto Rico, the largest and most powerful single radio telescope in the world. The Arecibo Telescope and associated instrumentation have been extremely productive in the areas of atmospheric and ionospheric studies, solar-system radar investigations, and a wide variety of radio astronomical research. Recent discoveries made with this instrument include the detection of the first planets found in a solar system other than our own.
The scientific research carried out at Arecibo is supported by the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Division of Atmospheric Sciences of the National Science Foundation, as well as by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
