This award supports the "21st Century Astronomy Ambassadors Program : A summer academy for high school students at University of Texas at Brownsville". The program supports high school students from the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley (TRGV) who will become actively involved in research of modern astronomy including gravitational wave (GW) astronomy at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB). The goal of the summer academy is to introduce young local high school students to physics and astronomy as an exciting field of study. Students who have an interest in science will gain exposure to university research and also a first hand knowledge of cutting edge research done by the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy (CGWA). Between 12-16 high school students will be given the opportunity to work directly with faculty and staff of the CGWA. The students will spend 30 hours a week at summer academy for a four week period. During the summer academy students will take theoretical classes as well as have laboratory hands-on experience. By the end of the summer the students will present their work in a forum where family, faculty and the media could be present. They are subsequently expected to get involved in research in association with the CGWA faculty members.
21st Century Astronomy Ambassadors Program – the Continuing Vista During 2005 and 2013, the Astronomy Ambassadors program provided high school students from the lower Rio Grande Valley region of Texas with the opportunity to develop the skills, habits and attitudes needed to conduct scientific research to assist in career planning. It was intended to generate interest among participants in pursuing future careers in scientific research, specifically in astronomy and astrophysics. The summer academy introduced, trained and motivated high school students into the fascinating cutting edge research areas in modern astronomy including gravitational wave astronomy. The program consisted of a mixture of lectures and hands-on training. Lectures were delivered by faculty members of the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB). The students worked in the laboratories at UTB to construct optical telescopes, radio antennas and learnt data analysis techniques in the hand-on sessions. The students were taken on field trips to national laboratories, e.g. Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) at Livingston in Louisiana in 2005 and to McDonald Observatory in Davis Mountain, Texas and Fort Davis station of the Very Long Baseline Array of radio telescopes for several years. The observations from the program has reinforced the fact that (i) hands-on laboratory experience, (ii) early induction into research labs and (iii) early mentoring by experts, are very important factors that enhance probability of high school graduates joining STEM fields and choosing scientific careers. Several past participants from the academy have pursued physics, astronomy or a closely related field and have shown promising success in their chosen careers. The participants of the program successfully delivered their role as ambassadors. They actively participated in many education and outreach public events that increased science awareness in the local community. A large percentage of participants said that they became interested because of ambassadors from the previous years. Over a period of 9 years, 88.15% of the academy participants were of Hispanic origin. More than 80% of the academy participants have chosen STEM careers. During 2006-2012, 15 students from the academy joined the physics program at UTB.
