This is a project to refurbish of an existing infrared camera (known as QUIRC) from the University of Hawaii for its installation in a 0.8m dedicated robotic infrared telescope, the InfraRed Imaging Survey (IRIS). This system will provide for time-domain studies of young deeply-embedded stars by looking for variable stars within star forming regions. These will include eclipsing binaries, eruptive variables and various irregular variables. The identified stars can then be followed up with spectroscopic observations at larger apertures. The camera will provide for an ambitious observational program monitoring the nearest star formation regions probing the early stages of stellar evolution. The project will involve significant student participation not only in instrumentation but also in an international collaboration between U.S., German and Chilean universities.
