This proposal will fund the development of detector arrays and analysis software for a new scientific instrument that will be used on the NSF-funded South Pole Telescope. Undergraduates, graduate students, and a post-doctoral researcher will work on different facets of this research and instrumentation project. Observations of the cosmic microwave background with this instrument promise to provide insights into the physics of inflation and will help us understand the reionization history of the universe. Another component of this award will develop a data analysis pipeline for the aforementioned instrument. Such a pipeline is a critical component of modern astronomical instruments since it can be used to test the robustness of scientific results. This is especially important for catching errors in the low signal-to-noise data that is expected from the observations made by the instrument.
The broader impacts of the award are centered on the restructuring of a graduate level course titled "Observations, Data Analysis, and Statistics". In addition to modernizing the course through the use of peer instruction and new techniques like clicker questions, the PI will incorporate real-world analysis of the Cosmic Microwave Background into the lessons. The proposed coursework will help develop the core skills that are used throughout the career of a research scientist. Materials developed for this course will be made available on the web so they can be used in other courses. Dr. Halverson and his team will also present public lectures at Fiske planetarium and other venues.
