Catherine A. Pilachowski - US grants

Proposal ID: AST 0227753
PI: Pilachowski, Catherine

Dr. Pilachowski is awarded funds to support a meeting of Site Directors of REU programs in Astronomy, to be held on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The purpose of the meeting is to bring together the Site Directors of the various REU Site Programs in Astronomy to share experiences and to discuss issues of relevance to all programs, with the hope of improving what are already outstanding programs for undergraduate students in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and related sciences.

PI: Pilachowski

Dr. Pilachowski is awarded funds at Indiana University to use the recently discovered "falling evaporative bodies" (FEBs) in young star systems to study the timescale for the formation of planets. FEBs are planetesimals whose orbits are perturbed by newly formed planets. The planetesimals are either ejected from the planetary system or sent inward on orbits that impact or graze the central star. Near the star, the planetesimals are heated and turned to gas, and can be detected by their transient spectral absorption features. The FEBs offer direct evidence of planets and planetesimals in the star system, and also provide information about the dynamics of the system and the composition of the planetesimals. Observations of FEBs in a sample of young stars with well-defined masses and ages may constrain the timescale of planet formation and/or the mechanism of orbital migration.

Dr. Pilachowski will examine late B and early A dwarf stars in young star clusters
ranging in age from a few million years up to 30 million years to explore the timescales over which planetesimals may be cleared out of young solar systems by the formation of planets and by orbital migration. The stars will be monitored spectroscopically using the 3.5-m Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO (WIYN) telescope and multi-object spectrograph. The PI will involve both graduate and undergraduate students in the work, and expects that this study of "comets" in extra-solar planetary systems is likely to attract broad public interest and to fire the imaginations of children.
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Proposal: 0519429
Principal Investigator: Catherine Pilachowski
Title: An Automated Fiber High Resolution Spectrograph for a Small Telescope

ABSTRACT:

An automated fiber high resolution echelle spectrograph (the FHiREbot spectrograph) will be built by Indiana University (IU) for use in unattended mode on IU's SpectraBot 1.3-m telescope. The spectrograph incorporates a 76 degree echelle grating with a white pupil design to achieve a spectral resolving power of R=60,000, sufficient to resolve thermal line profiles in solar-type stars, with simultaneous and complete spectral coverage from 390-680 nm, covering the Ca II K and H lines through the Li I feature at 670 nm. The format of the spectrograph will be fixed so that the spectra will be standardized and uniform. All spectra obtained will ultimately be processed through pipeline reductions and made available to the community in a spectral library.

Intellectual Merit: The primary reason to build this spectrograph is the need to conduct large surveys of relatively bright stars, both to obtain statistically significant or complete samples of stellar types and to enable efficient monitoring programs for stellar variability and asteroseismology. The specific scientific goal proposed is a complete survey of the 10,000 Hipparcos stars which are visible from the northern hemisphere and which have high-quality (better than 10%) parallax and proper motion data. These data will be used for studies of stellar properties and evolution, including detailed studies of stellar abundances throughout the HR diagram, studies of the evolution of angular momentum in stars, and studies of the changes of the Li abundance in stars with stellar evolution.

Broader Impacts: The FHiREbot spectrograph will significantly impact the broader community on two fronts: education and research infrastructure. Graduate students and undergraduate astronomy majors at IU will participate in the design and commissioning of the spectrograph; experience with instrumentation is an important component in undergraduate education. Undergraduates will use data from the spectrograph for Senior Honors theses, and graduate students will use FHiREbot for Ph.D. thesis research. More broadly, the archive of standardized spectra will be a resource for small undergraduate research projects carried out as part of our core undergraduate courses. Access to the database will not be restricted to IU, and curricular units on basic spectrum analysis developed for IU courses will be available to educators elsewhere for classroom use.

The impact on research infrastructure in astronomy is potentially large. US astronomers currently have limited access to high dispersion spectrographs, except on the largest telescopes where only limited time is available. Broad spectroscopic surveys are best carried out on moderate aperture telescopes (small telescopes do not collect enough light, and big telescopes cannot access large samples efficiently). The availability of FHiREbot on IU's automated SpectraBot telescope will provide an important piece of instrumentation infrastructure for US astronomers. The FHiREbot database of spectra will also be available to the community for use in scientific investigations.

REU SITE: An REU Site at Indiana University in Stellar Astrophysics and Beyond

ABSTRACT

AST 0452975 Deliyannis

The PI, Constantine Deliyannis and collaborators will continue the operation of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at Indiana University. The program brings incoming juniors seniors to Bloomington, IN for 10 weeks during the summer to undertake research with faculty and graduate student mentors. Students also participate in a weeklong observing run on the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO (WIYN) 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak, AZ. Research projects include studies of the properties of star clusters, searches for, and studies of, variable stars, and determination of the chemical composition of stars and star clusters. All students present their results at meetings of the American Astronomical Society.

The broader impact of this program includes the opportunity for promising young scientists to experience research in astronomy, and the resulting encouragement to pursue careers in science. The program aims to recruit underserved minorities and women, and provide them with research experience that can help as they move on to graduate school.

This project, creating a Data Capacitor and a Metadata/Web Services server, addresses two clear and widespread challenges: the need
-To store and manipulate large amounts of data for short periods of time (hours to several days) and
-For Reliable and unambiguous publication, discovery, and utilization of data via the Web.

The Data Capacitor, a 250 Terabyte short term data store with very fast I/O and the Metadata/Web Services server, a robust server, enable the institution and collaborators to adopt and depend upon the Web services for exchange of research data. Research and development efforts at IU will create the tools required for the Data Capacitor to be used to its fullest. Progress and research possibilities in many disciplines have been fundamentally changed by the abundance of data now so rapidly produced by advanced digital instruments. Scientists face the present challenge of drawing out from these data the information and meaning contained within. IU has established a significant cyberinfrastructure composed of high performance computing systems, archival storage systems, and advanced visualization systems spanning two main campuses in Indianapolis and Bloomington, and connected to national and international networks. This institution enhances its infrastructure in ways that will result in qualitative changes in the research capabilities and discovery opportunities of a broad array of scientist that work with large data sets. The Data Capacitor is expected to become a development platform and testbed for new cyberinfrastructure, as well as a proof of concept for large capacity, short-term storage devices. On the other hand, the Metadata/Web Services server enables the institution to establish a leadership position in standards-based data dissemination in many fields.

Broader Impact: The Data Capacitor enhances current practice in relevant scientific communities, enables technology transfer and commercialization, develops a 21st century workforce, and ensures public understanding of the value of science. Deliberate use of objective metrics in all areas of broader impact ensures that new discoveries, technology development, educational activities, and public information efforts translate into benefit for the scientific community and society as a whole. Women and underrepresented groups will be drawn into computing-intensive sciences and applications of computing.

AST 0453437 Pilachowski

This award supports a collaborative Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site program headed by Dr. Catherine Pilachowski, at Indiana University, Bloomington (IUB), and Dr. Orville Bignall at Tennessee State University (TSU). The program is entitled REACHing Minorities and Women: a TSU/IUB REU Site Partnership, with the acronym REACH meaning "Researchers Enhancing Activities and Curricula by Helping". The goal of this program is to educate future leaders in astronomy and physics, and in particular underrepresented minorities and women. The proposed REU site has academic year and summer programs for math and physics undergraduate students at TSU, and summer internships at IUB. The IUB/TSU partnership is intended to engage TSU majors in a year-round program to enhance their academic training and to provide them with the essential non-academic skill sets to ensure they are competitive, successful and desirous of continuing their education beyond the baccalaureate level.
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Astronomy (11) The goal of this project is to develop and to study the effectiveness of research-based science educational (RBSE) curricula in astronomy for entry-level undergraduate courses. The goals of RBSE curricula are threefold: (1) to teach that science is a process of discovery, not just a body of knowledge, (2) to increase positive attitudes towards science, and towards pursuing STEM careers, by giving students an opportunity to do authentic research, and (3) to develop important skills such as critical thinking, teamwork and goal-driven work skills that are important in any career path. The ultimate goal is to help instructors at other institutions, in astronomy and in other fields, to implement the developed curriculum, and to develop their own RBSE curriculum, either based upon their own research or from data archives such as the National Virtual Observatory.

The intellectual merit of the activity
RBSE is a method of instruction that models the processes of scientific inquiry and exploration used by scientists to discover new knowledge. It is "research-based" in the sense that it integrates scientific research with education. It brings the excitement of discovery into the classroom by getting students to actually do science, not just learn about it from lectures and activities far removed from the actual research process. Students participate in an authentic research project by completing observations on a research-class telescope, analyzing the data and interpreting their results. They collect and interpret information in response to their guided personal exploring and work together as collaborators in a cooperative rather than competitive environment.

RBSE is a natural integration of research and education because it teaches science as it is done. It incorporates several "best practice" teaching strategies which model scientific reasoning. These include focusing on an in-depth project, engaging in out-of class activities, using computers as a tool for data display and analysis, using student logs and concept maps for assessment, and using the Internet. This project is determining the most effective way to implement RBSE curricula in undergraduate classrooms. It is also assessing the student gains from participation.

The broader impacts of the activity
For many students, an introductory astronomy course represents their last formal exposure to science. RBSE gives students an opportunity to experience the rewards of research early enough to pursue science as a career. Even if students do not pursue STEM degrees, RBSE develops critical-thinking and teamwork skills that are necessary in any career, and it helps a large number of students understand the scientific process.

About 5,100 students at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College, and Indiana University are participating in the project . The curriculum is being developed to be "off the shelf," such that other undergraduate instructors may use it. Workshops for about thirty instructors per year are held at the national AAPT and AAS meetings to introduce the RBSE pedagogy and developed curriculum, and to develop a national network of educators participating in RBSE.

Flexible teaching modes such as RBSE engage the broad range of diverse, culturally derived orientations to learning. They are effective in allowing women and minorities, groups that are traditionally underrepresented in science, to find their voice and develop confidence in their ability to do science.

The Indiana Noyce Science Scholars: Teachers for a New Decade project partners faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education at Indiana University-Bloomington (IUB) with Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation, North Lawrence Community Schools, Monroe County Community School Corporation, North Daviess Community Schools and Paoli Community Schools in support of developing sixty individuals to become middle grades and high school science teachers over the course of five years. The project provides for two pathways to produce the STEM teachers: 1) a discipline-specific B.S./M.S. program in biology, chemistry, physics, and geology, in which qualified science majors earn both a baccalaureate degree in a STEM discipline and a master's degree in education, as well as science teacher licensure and 2) the Transition to Teaching (T2T) program, which is a vehicle for graduate science majors and career changes who hold degrees in science and engineering fields to meet the requirements for science teacher licensure in Indiana.

The conceptual framework for this Teachers for a New Decade project is summarized by "Six Principles for Teacher Education," which have been developed over multiple years by IUB faculty and speak to Knowledge, Meaningful Experience, Personalized Learning, Community, Critical Reflection, and Growth. This program is NCATE approved. The project includes a Noyce Mentor Coordinator who serves as a resource to Noyce Scholar-Teachers during their first year. This individual complements the teacher mentors in the schools by connecting them with relevant IUB faculty, thus ensuring responsiveness to content-driven needs of the fledgling Noyce Teachers. In addition to face-to-face mentoring, the project will utilize the "PBS TeacherLine Peer Connection" online induction delivery platform, which embeds research briefs along with short video podcasts modeling research-based best practice instructional strategies, along with Twitter or other real-time social media applications that are adaptable to coaching.

The formative aspect of the evaluation will examine: the extent to which faculty and administrators make use of results and materials from prior NSF projects and the research literature on minority recruitment and supports; the effectiveness of "cohort" and mentoring in scholar/teachers' retention and completion; and institutional capacity building and changes needed to recruit and support cross-disciplinary students entering STEM education. The summative evaluation will focus on: how the scholar/teachers' content knowledge and prior experiences influence their instructional decision-making; which components of the preparation program have the greatest impact on induction experiences; how the supervision and mentoring components facilitated the transition from pre-service into teaching; and how these aspects of the project influenced teacher retention of the scholar/teachers.

Core science departments at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), including Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics, are partnering to implement a spectrum of programs to increase the quantity, quality, and diversity of students earning degrees in the life, physical, and mathematical sciences, and who pursue further education and careers in these fields. The program emphasizes a strong peer support system for students through a community of STEM scholars, emphasizing collaboration and teamwork; engages faculty, with project goals tied to departmental goals; provides a multidisciplinary experience for students, including connections to faculty and students in other STEM disciplines and to professionals outside of academia; engages multiple service units of the university to mentor students at appropriate stages in their learning; assists departments to develop research-based pedagogies that enhance retention; and partners with high-tech employers in the Bloomington area to provide internships. A key component of the program is an estimated 120 scholarships provided to participating students. Both formative and summative evaluations of the impact and effectiveness of the program guide program implementation to meet the program's goals to retain and graduate STEM majors. Lessons learned from this program are being shared with other IUB programs and through presentation at national and disciplinary meetings. By retaining college STEM majors and by increasing the pool of students who choose to start in a STEM major, this project is contributing to the numbers, diversity, and preparedness of the nation's science workforce.

The researchers will study our Milky Way galaxy and the great star clouds of Sagittarius, which are easily visible on a dark summer night, low on the Southern horizon, from the anywhere in the United States. Their observation plan is to precisely measure the colors of stars in the brightest part of the Milky Way, including the bulge of stars near the center of our galaxy. Their scientific target is understanding the origin and history of formation of stars in the bulge. The investigators will use the Dark Energy Camera (currently most powerful on any telescope) on the 4m telescope at the Cerro Tololo observatory in Chile. They will produce a sequence of color images, from infrared, optical to ultraviolet wavelengths. The broader impact of this program has several components. Foremost is providing professional astronomers and public with tools to view the multi-color images online. The investigators will give the public access to the same data as are used by professional astronomers. The investigators will report the results via popular journal articles, public lectures and sky viewing events.

The collaboration will use these detailed images of the bulge of our Milky Way to map the structure of its stars, deduce their age and metal content, to shed light on the structure and formation history of the bulge stars. An additional bonus will be detailed images of over 30 globular star clusters in the six filters observed by the collaboration. Over time, the space motions of stars will be measured, enabling study of the stellar orbits that support the structure of the bulge. The bulge of stars surrounding the core of our galaxy was likely formed as the result of three processes, 1) rapid, violent merging within the first billion years after the Big Bang, 2) ongoing mergers of massive stellar clusters and 3) formation from the early disk of the Milky Way, by slower dynamical processes.

The collaboration's images and derived measurements, combined with additional studies, have the potential to transform our understanding of the formation of the Galaxy.