In this collaborative effort, Drs. Rebecca Koopmann (Union College), Sarah Higdon (Georgia Southern University), Thomas Balonek (Colgate University), and members of their consortium team will carry out an array of activities directed toward involving undergraduate students in real-world, cutting-edge research projects to collect, analyze, and, in some cases, publish data from the ALFALFA (The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey, where ALFA is an acronym for the Arecibo L-band Feed Array project. ALFALFA is large survey for neutral hydrogen in galaxies external to the Milky Way being carried out using the seven-beam ALFA receiver on the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope. ALFALFA is expected to detect over 20,000 galaxies over the next five years, resulting in a wide range of scientific applications. The program has four components: 1) An annual undergraduate ALFALFA team workshop will be held at Arecibo that will introduce students to the ALFA project and communicate science programs and observing and data analysis techniques; 2) Students, with the help of faculty mentors, will develop their own research programs and do their own observing using Arecibo, the world''s largest telescope; 3) Computer infrastructure for data analysis will be provided to smaller schools; and 4) Summer research positions will be provided to students on a competitive basis to help keep them on a science track. The program will have wide impact at 14 universities belonging to the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team consortium.
The program will advance discovery and promote learning among undergraduate and graduate students in a diverse array of university settings, both public and private, across the country. All team members will participate in the annual workshops and will be encouraged to present their results at scientific meetings. Infrastructure for research and education will be promoted via the collaboration between students and faculty and the observatory, which will stimulate undergraduate research at the smaller colleges. Curricular and outreach material for both undergraduate and K-12 application, developed at the participating institutions and in collaboration with the Director of the Angel Ramos Visitor Center at Arecibo, will be made publicly available. Women comprise a large fraction of the faculty involved in the program.
(UAT) is a consortium of 19 undergraduate-focused institutions. We promote undergraduate research within the major astronomy legacy ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) project, which is led by Drs. Riccardo Giovanelli and Martha Haynes at Cornell University. The ALFALFA project uses the Arecibo Observatory, a U.S. national observatory, in Puerto Rico, to survey the nearby Universe for galaxies containing atomic hydrogen gas. ALFALFA detected more than 30,000 galaxies out to a distance of 750 million light years. One of the main goals of the project is to discover low mass, 'starless' galaxies, which contain hydrogen gas but have not yet formed stars. The abundance of these 'dark' galaxies, their characteristics and location are key clues to understanding how galaxies form and evolve throughout the universe. ALFALFA also provides a wealth of information about the gas properties of galaxies in the nearby universe that can be used for many different projects. Activities were funded collaboratively with this grant (AST0725267 summer research program) and AST-0724918/0902211/12112005 (annual workshop at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and academic year research) and AST0725380 (computer infrastructure, and conference travel). The primary goal of this grant is to facilitate an intellectually engaging summer undergraduate research program centered on the ALFALFA Survey. It is designed to include the participation of a diverse group of students and faculty at schools across the country. The UAT advances discovery while promoting teaching, training, and learning via direct involvement of undergraduate research. Participation in summer research is a key part of how we motivate and retain the students during their time in academia. Membership of the UAT helps them succeed with their graduate school applications as their work is proof positive of their commitment to train and become professionals in the STEM field. Students are guided by their faculty mentors, and apply for UAT stipends. Students collaborate among different institutions during the summer, and report on their results through a research telecon. An important part of the research experience is presenting results to the community and the UAT provides support for students and faculty within the collaboration to travel to present at national meetings. We also encourage presentations at state, local, and on campus venues. During the 7-year lifetime of this award >100 students and 23 faculty mentors have participated in summer research, and contributed to the scientific return from the ALFALFA Survey. Having participated in an international science project and practiced the scientific method, they have refined their critical thinking, logic, and reasoning skills. These are extremely valuable, and applicable to all career paths.
