Discovery-Based Student Learning with the Haystack 37-m Radio Telescope

This project will support the development of a national program of undergraduate STEM education through hands-on access to a world-class astronomical instrument. The program will expose students to a broad range of core science and engineering topics and techniques by means of direct participation in real-world research. The potency of curiosity-driven learning will be exploited to educate and motivate both future researchers and students destined for careers in industries that depend on core STEM competencies.

This project funds a 2-year pilot study to implement student research projects at the 37-meter radio telescope of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory. During this pilot, a cost-effective remote observing capability for the antenna will be developed and tested, opening up access to the telescope to a diverse body of students from institutes of higher learning. Participation in this program will expose students and instructors to current problems in astronomy and astrophysics and allow the establishment of linkages between basic physics, mathematics, and engineering concepts and their application to solving real-world problems. Tutorials, instructional materials, and data reduction tools will be developed and improved with feedback from students and participating instructors. The student research carried out under this program will produce scientific data capable of advancing diverse areas of astrophysics, including astrochemistry, star formation, and stellar evolution. Examples of specific project topics include hydrogen recombination line spectra and astronomical masers. This program will provide an avenue to carry out original research to a wide range of students, including those at two-year colleges and non-research universities who do not presently have access to such opportunities. It will also provide an innovative means for college and university instructors to incorporate discovery-based research into STEM curricula. Educators of underrepresented groups have been recruited to participate, starting with the development and testing stages. Development work carried out under this project will provide opportunities for STEM students in the Research Experience for Undergraduates program.