Äîêóìåíò âçÿò èç êýøà ïîèñêîâîé ìàøèíû. Àäðåñ îðèãèíàëüíîãî äîêóìåíòà : http://www.naic.edu/~tghosh/crest/crest_proposal-LSWdraft_1-1.doc
Äàòà èçìåíåíèÿ: Sat Feb 7 20:14:36 2009
Äàòà èíäåêñèðîâàíèÿ: Mon Apr 11 00:00:58 2016
Êîäèðîâêà:

Ïîèñêîâûå ñëîâà: arp 220


CREST-PRASAC Puerto Rico Atmospheric, Space and Astronomy Center:


Section 1. List of participants

Section 2. Vision, Goals, and Thematic Basis

Section 3. Major research efforts.
3.1 AST: Astronomy
3.1.1 Pulsar studies
3.1.2 Hydrogen studies
3.1.3 VLBI studies
3.1.4 Molecular cloud studies
3.1.5 Planetary science-Near-earth asteroid studies
3.2 SAS: Space and Atmospheric Science
3.2.1 Lower atmosphere studies
3.2.2 Middle atmosphere studies
3.2.3 Upper atmosphere studies
3.2.4 Ionosphere as a plasma physics laboratory

Section 4. Education and Training
4.1 Preparation before graduate school
4.2 Curriculum (graduate) - emphasize relation between curriculum and
research
4.3. Research training and support
4.4 Professional development activities

Section 5. Organization, Management, and Institutional Commitment
5.1 Institutional commitment
5.2 Management plan

Section 6. Performance Assessment/Evaluation

Section 7. Recruiting and Outreach

Section 8. Recent Traineeship Experience

Section 9. International Collaboration

Section 10. Recruitment and Retention History





CREST-PRASAC Project Description


Section 1. List of participants

Each participant (PI: Principal investigator, co-PI, or SI: senior
investigator) is associated with one of the science thrusts (AST:
Astronomy; PS: Planetary Science; SAS: Space and Atmospheric Science)
and/or with project administration/management (AM).


Section 2. Vision, Goals, and Thematic Basis


The CREST-Puerto Rico (CREST-PRASAC) proposal is a partnership between the
Ana G. MÈndez University System (AGMUS) through Universidad Metropolitana
(UMET), the lead institution, the Arecibo Observatory (AO), a Cornell
University administrative facility, the University of Puerto Rico in
Mayaguez, Inter American University in BayamÑn and the Spanish Research
Council (CSIC). The goal of the Puerto Rico CREST program is to develop a
Center of Excellence and advance the state of the art of Astronomy,
Planetary Sciences and Atmospheric Sciences using the facilities of AO,
CSIC and partner institutions as well as to develop a curriculum at the
Ph.D level at UMET.

. The specific objectives of this program are: 1) to serve as a
research center of excellence for Astronomy, Atmospheric Science and
Planetary Science using the Arecibo Observatory facilities in Puerto Rico;
2) To develop a Ph.D curriculum at UMET in Astronomy and Atmospheric
Science in partnership with the CSIC and the AO; 3) To implement a research
training program in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
fields mainly in Astronomy and Atmospheric Science for undergraduate and
pre-college students as well as science teachers from Puerto Rico; 4) To
disseminate research results through publishing in peer-reviewed
periodicals, conferences and presentations at local, national and
international presentations.
The following is a brief description of the partner institutions for the
CREST project:

Universidad Metropolitana (UMET). The main Campus of Universidad
Metropolitana is in Cupey, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and three smaller
campuses with an enrollment of 8,317 undergraduate students and 1,811
graduate students.(1) It offers degrees in four major schools: Science and
Technology, Business Administration, Health Sciences, and Education. The
School of Education offers a degree at the PhD level in Education. The
enrollment in the School of Science and Technology is 725 students. It
offers bachelor's degrees in Chemistry, Computer Science, Biology, Cellular
Molecular Biology, Environmental Science and Applied Mathematics. It also
includes a School of Environmental Affairs that offers an MS degree in
Environmental Affairs.

Cornell University- Arecibo Observatory
The Arecibo Observatory operates on a continuous basis providing observing
time, electronics, computer, travel and logistic support to scientists from
all over the world. It is the site of the world's largest single-dish radio
telescope, and is recognized as one of the most important national centers
for research in radio astronomy, planetary radar and terrestrial aeronomy.

Spanish Research Council (CSIC)
The CSIC is the largest public research organization in Spain with over 126
institutes all over the country. The CSIC's mission is to promote,
coordinate, develop, and disseminate multidisciplinary scientific and
technological research in order to contribute to economic, social and
cultural development and the progress of knowledge. Furthermore, it aims to
train research personnel and provide advice to public and private
institutions in subjects within their area of expertise.



Section 3. Major Research Efforts

3.1 Astronomy (list principals here)
As the most sensitive telescope in the world for the 0.3-10 GHz
frequency range, Arecibo inspires many other types of astronomical
work. Historically it has often been used to investigate objects
discovered in other surveys, such as IRAS, 2MASS, SDSS: we expect this
to continue in future with searches for the radio counterparts of high-
energy gamma ray sources found by Fermi (known pre-launch as GLAST),
and the clarification of the nature of transient radio sources. More
recently there has been interest in mapping small regions of our
Galaxy in molecular lines for a variety of purposes, in exploring
pulsating ultra-cold dwarf stars, and in investigating giant pulses
from pulsars. On a different tack, the Observatory has archival
material from past observations, such as several years of monitoring
observations of OH/IR stars. The initial point of contact for any area
beyond those discussed in the sections above is the Arecibo
astronomer, Dr. B. M. Lewis.

3.1.1. Pulsar work (new hire, txt from Jim Cordes)
Finding Neutron Stars in Binary Systems and Fast Pulsars for
Gravitational-Wave Detection

A large-scale survey for pulsars has been operating since 2005 and
will continue for another five years. Its goals are to find pulsars
that can be later monitored to test General Relativity and for use in
an ensemble of pulsars for detecting gravitational waves. For
testing relativity, we need pulsars that are orbiting other neutron
stars or, potentially, black holes with periods of a few hours or
shorter. Only about nine such objects are known but statistical
studies indicate that there should be hundreds of these objects in the
Milky Way galaxy. The survey with Arecibo is the most sensitive for
the parts of the sky it can sample. The pulsar survey using the ALFA
system is extremely data intensive, requiring analysis of large
volumes of data, and follow-up observations using many different
techniques. As such, the survey provides many opportunities for
teaching methods in digital signal processing, data analysis and
hypothesis testing, algorithm development, high-performance computing,
astronomical techniques such as polarimetry and pulsar timing, and
related followup observations using telescopes operating across the
electromagnetic spectrum. The overall project is also a window into
theories of gravity, the most notable of which is General Relativity,
and gravitational waves.

Specific activities appropriate for a multi-institution approach
include essentially all aspects of the end-to-end pipeline of the
PALFA project, as described above. The PALFA Consortium consists of
about 40 members distributed around the world, with a concentration in
North America. The Consortium is open to new participants and
members of the Consortium are enthusiastic about working with them.
Having personnel at the Arecibo Observatory who are member of the
Consortium is a crucial component of the success of the overall
scientific research and training program.

3.1.2 Hydrogen work (Minchin)

3.1.3 Vlbi (Tapasi -[Chris])
Science using the VLBI Technique at Arecibo

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is a radio-technique in which
data recorded simultaneously at a number of radio antennas can be
combined to produce high-resolution images, emulating a telescope with
a size equal to the maximum separation between the antennas.

In addition to its single-dish operations, the Arecibo 305-m
telescope, equipped with a
VLBA4 backend and a Mark5A recording system, also participates in VLBI
observing with the various US and international VLBI networks. Plans
are in place to upgrade the above hardware in a timely fashion to keep
it on par with current developments in digital data acquisition and
recording systems. For eVLBI, instead of recording the data on to
disks, the data are sent directly to a correlator center, (currently
at JIVE in the Netherlands), allowing the imaging of various targets
of opportunity for which a quick return of the results is desired.
Thanks to recent improvements in Puerto Rican internet connectivity,
and a fruitful collaboration with the High Performance Computing
Facility of the UPR-Rio Piedras, eVLBI observations at Arecibo are
becoming a great success.

At present, Arecibo Observatory is also working towards acquiring an
auxiliary 12-m class radio telescope to be sited near the 305-m dish,
and used in support of "phase-referenced VLBI" with the main
telescope. The auxiliary antenna would be used to continuously track
the phase calibrator source, while the large antenna would move to the
calibrator only occasionally. The corrections for
ionospheric/tropospheric phase fluctuations are then derived from the
small-telescope data and applied to the data obtained with the 305-m
dish.


The above VLBI phase referencing technique makes it possible to study
weak radio sources by increasing the effective coherence time of the
observations from a few minutes to hours at a stretch. By this
approach, present-day VLBI offers the highest sensitivity radio
astronomical observations yet achieved, with noise levels presently
approaching 1 ?Jy/beam for arrays using the world's most sensitive
telescopes. Given its huge collecting area, the Arecibo telescope is
being increasingly used in experiments to detect radio emission from
very weak, highly compact, astronomical targets such as X-ray stars,
distant supernovae and their remnants, Gamma-Ray Bursts, and red-dwarf
and other stars.

Including Arecibo in a VLBI array increases both that network's
sensitivity and the astrometric precision attainable. In particular,
a wider range of stellar targets become detectable and this can be
exploited in various ways. One such is to look for extra-solar
planets from the modulation they induce in the position of the central
star. The VLBA is presently being used to look for planets around M-
dwarf stars using this method. With the presence of Arecibo, these
planet searches could be extended to Sun-like systems. Recently, the
parallaxes of a few stars in the Orion BN/KL region were measured from
8-GHz VLBA observations, and a 414±7 pc distance estimated; the number
and stellar type of objects, as well as the range of clusters suitable
for such measurements, would be increased if Arecibo were to be
included.

High-precision astrometry of pulsars over multiple epochs can provide
their basic astrometric parameters; positions, proper motions, and
annual trigonometric parallaxes. Due to the weakness of most pulsars,
with duty cycles typically <10%, the participation of Arecibo and
phase referencing is vital to the success in this exercise. In respect
of measured positions, VLBI estimates are tied to the reference frame
of the distant quasars, rather than to the Solar-system frame employed
by pulsar-timing position estimates. This allows fundamental reference
frame ties between the Solar-system and extragalactic (ICRF) frames
via measurements of recycled pulsars, which are highly stable
rotators.

Proper motion estimates allow pulsars to be traced back to their birth
sites and, for very young pulsars, associations with progenitor
supernova remnants (SNRs) can be established providing independent age
estimates for SNRs. Combined with pulsar distance estimates, proper
motion measurements lead to the derivation of space velocities,
allowing a study of the natal kicks imparted to pulsars at the time of
their birth. When a parallax measurement is possible, this yields a
model-independent estimate for the distance (and hence velocity) of
the neutron star. Such measurements, (i) calibrate models of the
Galactic electron distribution, (ii) constrain SN core collapse using
the velocity estimates, and (c) provide photospheric sizes for hot
neutron stars with optically observed thermal surface radiation, which
in turn, constrains the equation of state of matter at extreme
pressures and densities.

Arecibo and the GBT are currently searching for cm-wavelength lines
of prebiotic and other molecules in Ultra-Luminous InfraRed Galaxies
(ULIRGs). The project has been inspired by the recent Arecibo
detection of the prebiotic molecule, methanimine (CH2NH), in the
protypical ULIRG/megamaser galaxy, Arp 220 (Salter et al. 2008, AJ,
136, 389). Such galaxies are considered to be "extreme mergers" and
are heavily obscured at optical wavelengths. These molecular lines
invariably show large velocity widths, caused by line blending due to
spatial and velocity overlaps. Detailed studies of maser emission and
molecular absorption lines from these objects require phase referenced
VLBI observations. Sources with molecular-line detections from the
Arecibo-GBT search will be followed up by high-resolution VLBI imaging
by arrays including Arecibo.


3.1.4 Molecular clouds (Chris -[Minchin, Tapasi])
High Density Molecular Gas in the Milky Way and Other Galaxies
Over 140 molecules have been identified in space, mostly in the ISM of
our Milky Way Galaxy. The majority (both galactic and extragalactic)
have been discovered at millimeter wavelengths, molecules with small
moments of inertia being the most abundant cosmically, with their
rotational lines occurring at mm or shorter wavelengths. However,
although less abundant, many complex molecules have spectral lines in
the radio regime for wavelengths > 3 cm, where so-called "line
confusion" does not set a limit to their detectability. Many
transitions of small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pre-
biotic molecules, and even a number of transitions of the simplest
amino acid, glycine, and its precursor aminoacetonitrile fall within
the relatively unexplored spectral range between 1 and 10 GHz.
Detection prospects are further enhanced by the fact that many of the
cm-wave transitions can have inverted levels (Menten, 2004) and
amplify non-thermal background radio continuum emission, which is more
intense at cm than mm wavelengths, producing maser emission. Molecular
lines from colder gas can also be detected against radio continuum as
absorption lines. Hence, the molecular line surveys described here
probe colder, lower density gas and are complementary to those planned
for FIR and mm wavelengths using the HIFI instrument of the Herschel
Space Telescope and the ALMA interferometer.

Recent observations with the Arecibo 305-m dish (Salter et al. 2008)
have used its immense sensitivity to detect molecular species at
extragalactic distances. In a recent 1-10 GHz Arecibo spectral scan,
a number of prebiotic and other molecules have been detected in Arp
220, an Ultra Luminous Infra-Red Galaxy at a distance of 77 Mpc;
(ULIRG are galaxies with IR luminosity, LIR > 1012 L?). This Arp-220
spectral survey has, (a) made the first detection of the pre-biotic
molecule methanamine (CH2NH; Kirchoff et al., 1973 ) beyond the Local
Group (Fig. 1), (b) found four, previously-undetected, cm-wavelength
v2=1 transitions of HCN (Fig. 2), (c) detected three transitions of
excited OH that are new to Arp 220, (d) discovered an absorption
feature of either 18OH or Formic Acid (HCOOH), (e) detected all three
transitions of CH at 3.3 GHz (Fig. 3), (f) discovered 3-GHz, sub-mJy,
hydrogen recombination-line emission (by co-adding many adjacent
transitions; Fig. 4), and (g) revealed a possible absorption feature
from Methanol (CH3OH) which, if confirmed, would be its first
extragalactic detection of CH3OH in absorption.
[pic]
Figure 1. The blended emission line from the six transitions of the 110-111
multiplet of methanimine in Arp 220. The emission feature is presented in
the Arp-220 rest frame for an assumed heliocentric velocity of 5373 km/s.
The frequencies of the 6 transitions are indicated by vertical lines.

[pic]

Figure 2. These Arp 220 spectra present the first astronomical detections
of the v2 = 1 direct l-type absorption lines of HCN with vibrational levels
J = 4, 5 and 6. The non-detection of the J = 2 vibrational level (believed
due to foreground free-free absorption) is also included. The velocity
resolution is ~ 30 km/s. [pic][pic][pic]

Figure 3: The emission spectra of the three S-band transitions of the CH
molecule. From left to right, these are the J=1/2-1/2, F=0-1, F=1-1 and F=1-
0 transitions at rest frequencies of 3263.8, 3335.5 and 3349.2 MHz
respectively. The feature appearing at the right hand edge of the second
pane is the H125? hydrogen recombination line. The velocity resolution is
~30~km/s.

[pic]



Figure 4: The co-added hydrogen RRLs between H119? and H127? (3172.9 -
3853.7 MHz). The peak intensity is 600 ?Jy/beam and the rms noise is
50 ?Jy/beam. The velocity resolution is
~30 km.


The organic compound, CH2NH, can participate in the formation of
glycine (NH2CH2COOH; Dickerson 1978) either by (i) first combining
with HCN to form aminoacetonitrile (H2NCH2CN), with subsequent
hydrolysis (Strecker Synthesis; Xu et al., 2004) or (ii) directly
combining with formic acid (HCOOH; Feldman et al., 2005). Given the
known presence of water (H2O) and HCN in Arp 220, this represents the
first firm extragalactic detection of the complete ingredients for
any amino acid. Recent studies show that prebiotic chemistry, i.e.,
the formation of the molecular building blocks necessary for the
creation of life, occurs in interstellar clouds (Dickens et al., 1997;
Blagojevic et al., 2003; Belloche et al., 2008) long before clouds
collapse to form new solar systems containing planets. While the
origin of life is an open question, the discovery of prebiotic
molecules in a far-off galaxy with a high star formation rate adds a
new dimension to considerations of this problem.

We are now extending our cm-wavelength molecular-line cens??es to
include other Galactic and extragalactic environments. Research
already initiated can be broadly sub-divided into:

i) A C-band search for similar molecular transitions to those found
in Arp 220 for other "Arp 220-like" galaxies using the Arecibo
305-m telescope and the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in
West Virginia. The Arecibo observations are complete, with
CH2NH, HCN, H2CO and excited-OH being detected in a number of
galaxies. Detections of the J = 4 v2=1 transition of HCN will be
followed up with further observations of the J = 2, 3, 5 and 6
lines, enabling an estimation of densities, temperatures and
optical depths for the emitting gas. We will also search for
correlations between the molecular constituents we detect and
megamaser activity, total radio emission, the presence of an
AGN, etc.

ii) High resolution mapping of the distribution of CH2NH and other
prebiotic molecules. Our Arecibo detection of CH2NH in Arp 220
suggests that it shows weak maser emission. Hence, it is
important to image this line at high angular resolution and
delineate the physical conditions for, the angular size of, and
the projected position of this prebiotic molecule. Given the non-
standard observing frequency for this red-shifted line (i.e.
5195 MHz), the 40-milliarcsecond resolution of the MERLIN array
in the U.K. is the best available option. A full-track of 16 hr,
with a velocity resolution of 28 km/s, and a 16-MHz total
bandwidth has been made, giving an estimated rms noise of 140
µJy/beam per channel. Orthogonal circular polarizations provide
the possibility of detecting circularly polarized emission,
which would help confirm masing in this line. Further high-
resolution observations of this line have also been made with
the eVLA. Similar imaging will be made of the molecular
detections in other ULIRGs from the Arecibo/GBT survey described
in (i) above.

iii) A cm-wave molecular line census of representative molecular
clouds in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way. The success
of the Arp-220 spectral scan highlighted the value of making
spectral scans for Galactic molecular line sources to establish
a more thorough chemical inventory over the radio band for them.
Moreover, the detection and identification of complex molecules
in different environments (i.e., warm star forming regions,
photon-dominated regions, circumstellar envelopes of evolved
stars, etc.) are essential for better understanding the possible
formation (and destruction) pathways for these molecules, and
for constraining chemical models (Ikeda et al. 2001). There is
also especial value in comparing the detailed ULIRG molecular
spectra with those of Galactic star-forming regions.

Pathfinder observations with the Arecibo WAPP spectrometer were
made in October 2008 for two Galactic regions; (a) NGC 2264-IRS
1, a star-forming region at a distance of 760 pc, located in the
Mon OB 1 molecular cloud complex. It is associated with
molecular outflows and dense molecular clumps (Schreyer et al.,
1997; Williams and Garland, 2002; Wolf-Chase et al., 2003; Ward-
Thompson et al., 2000). NGC 2264-IRS 1 contains several sub-mm-
wavelength continuum sources with masses from 10 to 50 M? (Ward-
Thompson et al., 2000), representing sources in the early stages
of massive star formation; (b) CRL 618, a carbon-rich, evolved
Proto-Planetary Nebula with a thick molecular envelope
surrounding a B0 star and an ultracompact H II region
(Cernicharo et al., 2001). Its distinct structures include
optical high-velocity bipolar outflows (Trammell, 2000), a low-
velocity, expanding torus of molecular emission, and an
extended, expanding AGB envelope (SÀnchez Contreras and Sahai,
2004).

In NGC 2264-IRS 1 initial data reduction has already detected
lines of OH, H2CO, H213CO, CH3OH and HC3N. However, perhaps the
most exciting discovery has been of strong maser emission in
CRL 618 for the 2?½, J=½, F=1-0 satellite line of OH. We are
now extending this study to a statistically-sound sample of
chemically-active regions. For this, a consortium of well-
known molecular scientists is being assembled, and further
Arecibo observations proposed using the recently-commissioned
Mock spectrometers in their single-pixel, ultra-broadband, high-
resolution mode.

The molecular-line topics detailed above will offer a multitude of
topics for potential doctoral thesis research. The anticipated future
development of a 1-10 GHz receiver at NAIC, plus an even wider-
bandwidth backend could eventually allow the whole frequency range to
be observable at a single shot. This will clearly have huge positive
implications for both Galactic and extragalactic line censuses and the
resulting astrochemistry
3.2 Planetary science (Nolan, Howell)

RADAR Characterization of Ever Smaller Near-Earth Asteroids: Following
up the discoveries of the Pan-STARRS Survey
We propose to observe near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) using the Arecibo
Planetary Radar system. With the advent of the Pan-STARRS NEA
detection program, the number of near-Earth asteroids available for
observations should increase by a factor of several. This will allow
us to measure the size distribution, optical albedo and surface
properties of asteroids down to diameters of 140 m, and to precisely
characterize their orbits. We will measure the threshold for binary
formation and constrain the internal structure of small NEAs. These
properties are critical to understanding the formation and evolution
of the solar system, as well as other planetary systems. Understanding
NEAs population is also necessary for estimating the flux of
meteorites, and to characterizing the impact hazard and developing
mitigation strategies.

Radar Observations of Near-Earth Asteroids
The Arecibo Planetary Radar system in Puerto Rico is the more
sensitive of the two active radar systems in the world by a factor of
20-30 (Ostro et al., 2002). The Arecibo planetary radar system obtains
delay-Doppler images of asteroids at up to 7.5-m resolution. These
images can in most cases be used directly to determine the size, basic
shape, and spin rate of an asteroid in a single night.

The Arecibo Observatory has a well established commitment to observing
targets of opportunity whenever possible, and flexible scheduling
strategies. Over the past 10 years, typically 20-25 near-Earth
asteroids are observed each year, with many of those usually scheduled
within days or hours of discovery. Near-Earth asteroids within 0.1 AU
are observable at very high signal-to-noise ratio. As they rotate and
move across the sky, the change in viewing geometry allows inversion
of the radar images to generate 3-D shape models. With multiple
observation dates, more detailed shape models can be generated as an
inverse problem (Hudson, 1993). These images are effectively a "flyby"
of a near-Earth asteroid at a fraction of the cost of a spacecraft
mission, allowing many more objects to be visited. Spacecraft images
provide detailed results for individual objects, but ground-based
observations are the only practical method that can be used to study
the population of near-Earth asteroids. In addition, radar imaging can
drastically reduce the risk of spacecraft observations by providing a
lower-resolution "preview" of the target, enabling us to constrain its
3D shape and characterize potential orbits in its vicinity.

Radar observations also provide detailed shape and size information
for the population, and is the only ground-based technique to directly
measure the sizes of objects. Thermal infrared observations can in
principle be used, but are more difficult to interpret under the
highly variable viewing geometries intrinsic to observations of small
NEAs. For these smaller objects, the albedo distributions (and thus
the size distribution) is not known and is expected to be different
than that for larger objects (e.g., Stuart and Binzel, 2004). The
resulting diameters of these small objects will require calibration by
radar. Radar is also the only ground-based technique that reveals
concavities: lightcurve studies produce a "gift-wrapped" shape, making
the objects look less complex than they really are. Radar observations
unambiguously identify binary objects in a single observing session,
rather than requiring weeks of lightcurve observations: since 1999,
when the Arecibo radar upgrade was complete, over half the NEO binary
discoveries have been made by radar. However, the first NEO triple
system, 2001 SN263 was not discovered until February 2008! There are
still discoveries to be made.

[pic]

Figure 1. Radar images of the 2001 SN263 triple-astgeroid system. Each
frame is a single day, spaced in 1-day intervals. The larger, outer
secondary orbits in 147 hours. the smaller, inner satellite orbits in 16.6
hours.

Rubble-pile structures, with no internal strength, abound in the NEA
population, and seem to form binary systems frequently. Radar studies
can give us detailed information on the shapes and dynamics of these
systems (Ostro et al., 2006, Scheeres et al., 2006). They probably
form by being spun up by non-gravitational forces such as YORP, as
revealed by Arecibo radar observations of 2000 PH5 (Taylor et al.,
2007). Torques applied by radiation forces at non-radial directions
can either spin an object up or slow it down, depending on the
geometry and obliquity (e.g., Bottke, et al., 2006). Studies are
underway to understand the details of this process, but in general it
seems to explain the frequency, size ratios and orbit characteristics
that are observed. The effects of the Yarkovsky and YORP processes
have revolutionized our understanding of not only NEAs, but also main-
belt asteroids, Kuiper-belt objects and solar system formation. These
forces also are important during planetary accretion and contribute to
the dynamics of debris disks. Asteroid binary systems are an important
part of this puzzle, and radar observations play a key role.

Analysis of radar observations is well-suited to involving
undergraduate students in research. Over the past 10 years, about15
undergraduates have completed 10-week REU projects involving asteroid
radar studies, and presented their work at major astronomy
conferences. The process of deriving a 3-D shape model from radar
images teaches the student about computer modeling methods, weighting
of diverse data sets, error analysis, image processing techniques, as
well as patience and perseverance. Many of these students have gone on
to graduate studies in astronomy or planetary sciences, inspired by
their previous research experiences.
3.2 Space and Atmospheric Sciences

3.2.1 Lower Atmosphere (Ierkic-RUM, Tepley)

Clouds and aerosols, their interaction with other constituents in the
lower atmosphere, and their long-term influence on climate, has become
an important focus for many atmospheric studies in recent years.
Several satellites recently have been launched to target better
observational data on cloud and aerosol structure, water vapor, cirrus
in the troposphere and stratosphere, as well as the spatial and
temporal distributions of ozone and its variability, to provide new
relevant information for atmospheric and climate models. In
particular the recent launch of the CALIPSO satellite employs a
downward looking lidar operating at 1064 nm and 532 nm with both
polarizations received from the backscatter in the green to estimate
the phase state changes of water in cirrus clouds.

The Arecibo lidar facilities are similar to those on CALIPSO where we
also use a powerful Nd:YAG laser that can transmit 1064, 532, and 355
nm simultaneously. [Additional lidars at Arecibo employ alexandrite
and dye laser technologies, and these also will be available for this
project (e.g. http://www.naic.edu/~craig/airglow-text.html)]. The
Nd:YAG is a 50 Hz system with pulse energies at the three wavelengths
of 1200, 600, and 140 mJ, respectively. Currently, each of the
backscattered wavelengths is received independent of the direction of
polarization. However, we are in the process of adding polarization
sensitive receiver channels to at least two of the three wavelengths
for cloud state measurements determined from depolarization ratios.

For this effort we propose to study the optical and radar backscatter
properties of tropical cloud formations using lidars and coherent
scatter radar facilities at Arecibo. This experimental work will be
complemented with the ongoing coherent scatter radar experimental work
and climate characterization efforts of our colleagues at the
University of Puerto Rico at MayagÝez (UPRM). Radiometric data
collected during the past several years include observations of
temperature, aerosol content, and various atmospheric constituents,
such as ozone and precipitable water. We also have a program to
observe the vertical structure of aerosol scatter at multiple
wavelengths using our frequency-agile lidars at Arecibo. The
wavelength variation of aerosol backscatter can be converted to obtain
particle size between roughly 0.03 and 9.0 ?m, the lower limit of
which overlaps with the largest range for CCN, providing a better
estimate of this parameter for the models.

Coherent scatter, UHF and VHF radar measurements of the troposphere
and stratosphere at Arecibo were routine several years ago [Cho,
1995], but recent efforts have been redirected toward other science
objectives. However, to support the objectives of this proposal, and
with the help of a talented graduate student, we intend to reactivate
this unique radar research program. Combined radar and lidar
techniques form a powerful tool to study the complex properties of
clouds and aerosols that are immersed within the background
atmosphere. For example, as shown in Figure A, with the Arecibo 430
MHz radar, we will measure the magnitude and direction of the ambient
winds (vectors) while the lidar observes the strength and spatial
structure of aerosols (color scale). We can, as well, observe the
ambient temperature and temperature fluctuations that are influenced
by variations in the wind field. Scales for lidar signal strength and
wind magnitude and direction are shown in the figure.























Figure A. Combining Rayleigh lidar and coherent scatter radar at Arecibo to
study the exchange properties between the stratosphere and troposphere.
[Figure courtesy of P. Castleberg and J. Cho, Arecibo, 1996]


Figure A shows an interesting feature that has an analogy in ionospheric
physics, that is, the phenomena known as Sporadic-E layers of ionization
that are influenced by the background tidal winds at altitudes near 100
km. Such layers form within an east-west shear in the vertical structure
of the neutral wind, where a westward wind above a certain region and an
eastward wind below it will compress ionization in the null generated
between the opposite flowing components of the wind. The acting force is
the so-called, Lorentz, or v x B force, where (in the absence of an
electric field) a downward force simply results from a westward wind
moving across the northward pointing magnetic field. An eastward wind
below the positive ions will exert an upward force on the ions, trapping
them within the vertical shear of the wind field.

In our analogy to high altitude Sporadic-E shown in Figure A, there is a
thin, sub-visible cirrus that forms near 15 km altitude beginning at
about 02:00 LT. It forms in a region where a generally westward wind is
above the cloud, and an eastward wind is below it. This can easily be
explained by the Lorentz force exerted by wind shear if the cloud
particles were charged, which is not unusual. Another feature to note in
the figure is the anvil of a thunderstorm that passed by the site earlier
in the evening, before midnight. With these tools, we intend to study
such features during the next several years, and also compare our results
with similar, downward looking lidar data obtained, such as those from
the CALIPSO satellite.

Together lidar and radar measurements at Arecibo form a powerful tool for
which researchers supported through this proposal and their students can
study the intricate properties of the lower atmosphere. For example,
immediately before any new experimental modes are established, lidar data
from previous measurements collected at Arecibo during the last decade
are available to study the temporal and spatial characteristics of
aerosol layers that often occur in the troposphere and stratosphere.
Such aerosol input is due to a variety of sources, not the least of which
is from Saharan dust, which maximizes during the summer months in the mid-
Atlantic and Caribbean regions. Recent modeling efforts have shown that
a reduction in solar illumination and a resultant decrease in sea surface
temperatures during Saharan dust events could be a responsible factor in
mitigating the development of hurricanes [Lau and Kim, 2007]. There are
several projects similar to these types of studies in which students
supported through this research might become involved.

Text from other version:
Dr. Mario Ierkic from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez will
implement "Observations of Atmospheric Dynamics over Arecibo-Puerto Rico."
The short term goal of this project is to upgrade the AO 430 MHz radar
facility to enable observations of the dynamics of the upper troposhere and
of the lower stratosphere over Arecibo - Puerto Rico. Arecibo can
contribute significantly to improve the understanding of the neutral
atmosphere. Relevant topics are: gravity wave generation by orographic
forcing; coupling of the atmospheric regions under normal and extreme
(hurricane) conditions; characterization of the seasonal behaviour of the
average intensity of the wind as well as its dispersion; sources, genesis,
evolution, and decay of turbulence; scattering mechanisms - (air) index of
refraction fluctuations and precipitation; relation of vertical wind
dynamics to atmospheric electrification. Arecibo observations will validate
wind wave fields produced by global circulation models, regional models
(e.g. RAMS), and simple analytical models. Conversely, the models will
produce forecasts whose virtues Arecibo will aid to identify. Arecibo is
located in the subtropical island of Puerto Rico, subject to a steady
breeze that has travelled for thousands of kilometers in the Atlantic. It
has the right dimensions (120 x 60 squared miles approximately) and mild
topographic features to be useful as a natural laboratory for studies of
the atmosphere. The AO is a world class facility with a very capable
scientific and engineering staff and hosting several powerful instruments -
Radars, Lidars, HF transmitters. This project aims to tune AO radar
capabilities to enable measurements of wind dynamics with excellent spatial
(75 meter) and temporal (30 second) resolutions in the approximate height
range 6 to 20 km. Attention will be directed to the constituents of the 430
MHz double beam radar system: transmitter, the two receivers, the data
collection hardware and software and the data analysis software. Simple
improvements in the AO transmitter should allow for smoother and continuous
operations. Careful attention to the receiving system, at the other end,
will enable to conduct useful observations even in the presence of strong
ground clutter. Improvements will be brought about by: 1.) increasing the
dynamic range of the receiver; 2.) sampling at IF instead of baseband; 3.)
refining quantization resolution using more capable ADCs; 4.) developing
new algorithms with corresponding software. This project will see that the
AO radar is fine tuned to conduct the best observations yet in the
troposphere and stratosphere. The work will proceed in collaboration with
AO scientific and engineering staff. This UPRM - AO interaction will spark
projects for several MS graduate students and will give opportunities for
research to undergraduate students. Several courses that the PI teaches
will benefit due to the access to AO facilities and its staff. Several
atmospheric scientists from institutions in the US, Europe and Japan will
take advantage of the improved AO radar system for their own research. This
project will take to new levels the PI´s ongoing (modest) collaboration
with Arecibo. Dissemination of the results will be accomplished via
journal publications, conferences MS theses, and class interactions. AO
radar data will be made available electronically.

3.2.2 Middle atmosphere (lower thermosphere and mesosphere) (Raizada,
Friedman, Tepley)

Even though most of the weather and climate related phenomena occur in
the lower part, troposphere, one cannot ignore the contribution of
upper regions through the coupling processes of different parts of the
atmosphere. Man made anthropogenic gases not only affect the
troposphere but also influence the upper atmosphere. The Mesosphere
and the lower thermosphere (MLT) region of the Earth's atmosphere
extends from 80 - 100 km region and acts as a natural laboratory for
studying dynamics, chemistry and temperature of this least explored
region. Arecibo provides a wide variety of instruments for remote
sensing of the MLT region. These include airglow instruments like
photometers, spectrometers and resonance lidars. Hence, these
instruments provide excellent tools for research and training purposes
for undergraduate students.

One of the interesting characteristics of the MLT region is the
existence of metals like sodium, potassium, calcium, iron etc. that
are deposited due to the meteor input. These metals act as tracers to
probe this part of the atmosphere using resonance techniques. By
exciting the resonance lines of these metals using tunable lasers and
monitoring the backscattered radiation, we can study the chemistry,
and dynamics of the MLT. Arecibo has two state of the art Nd:YAG and
one Alexandrite lasers along with two dye lasers that allow a complete
set of observations required for a comprehensive study of the middle
and lower thermosphere.

Some of the interesting topics that are have been studied are (a) the
coupling between the ions and neutrals by combining the incoherent
scatter radar and lidar observations with the aim of understanding
sporadic-E phenomena (Collins et al., 2004), (b) characterizing the
waves and tides using temperature measurements (Friedman and Chu,
2007), (c) characterizing different metal layers and relating them to
mesospheric chemistry (Tepley et al, 2003; Raizada et al. 2004)

However, not every mesospheric metal behaves in the same way as is
evident from the figure 1, which shows the temporal and altitude
variation of neutral Ca and K over Arecibo.
[pic]
dominant species. This behavior supports the idea that Ca is more
directly related to high speed meteors that ablate efficiently at
higher altitudes. It also suggests that Ca+ is short lived,
neutralizing faster to its neutral state compared with K+. Hence, the
simultaneous observations of Ca, Ca+ and K, along with ISR
measurements of electron density, will provide the necessary data to
fully comprehend this understudied chemical process.
Another unique characteristics of the neutral Ca is its significant
lack in the atmosphere, when compared to meteoric abundance. Thus,
multi metal measurements will shed more light on the meteoroid
ablation mechanisms along with their chemistry.

Tides, planetary and gravity waves are major players in the energy
budget of the middle atmosphere. MLT Doppler lidar has become a
critical tool in the study of such phenomena. The Arecibo Doppler
potassium lidar currently measures nocturnal MLT temperatures (see
Figure ##), and an upgrade to this lidar for daylight capability is
near completion. In addition to improving the ability of this lidar to
provide data for the study of tides and planetary waves, daylight
capability greatly enhances our ability to combine lidar with ISR
measurements and provide an independent method for obtaining ion-
neural collision frequency in the E-region of the ionosphere.

[pic]





3.2.3 Upper atmosphere (Waldrop(Univ. Ill), Gonzalez, Terra, Brum)


3.2.3.1 Thermospheric composition study

Neutral atomic oxygen, O, is a key species in Earth's upper
atmosphere, where it dominates thermospheric composition between ~200-
700 km. Knowledge of its density, [O], is required for spacecraft
operations in low earth orbit, for understanding the coupling between
the thermosphere and ionosphere, and for characterizing the dynamic
atmospheric response to drivers such as space weather or climate
change. However, ground-based remote sensing of neutral thermospheric
composition has been a notoriously difficult problem both in practice
and theory, such that routine and reliable estimates of thermospheric
[O] have not been available since in-situ (satellite) measurements
ended in 1981. The recent development of a new technique to estimate
[O] using the Arecibo ISR presents an excellent opportunity to
overcome these historical challenges and obtain routine estimates of
this key parameter. The technique uses highly precise measurements of
multiple ion density, temperature, and velocity available only from
the Arecibo ISR in order to evaluate the nearly-resonant charge
exchange coupling between neutral and ionized atomic hydrogen and
oxygen in the topside F-region ionosphere (Waldrop et al., 2006).
This simple approach is well suited for student involvement, and the
PRASAC program would incorporate student participation in this project
at all levels, from ISR data acquisition and routine [O] estimation to
the scientific analysis of the resulting estimates.

3.2.3.2 Atmospheric escape study

Measurement of the velocity distribution and abundance of exospheric
hydrogen (H) is key to the quantification of its rate of escape from
earth into the geocorona, a fundamental indicator for long-term
terrestrial atmosphere evolution. Although these quantities, which
are derived from calibrated measurements of H Balmer alpha emission
spectra at 656.3 nm, have been measured since 1983 at Arecibo
Observatory, sensitivity limitations have precluded a complete
understanding of the mechanism of H escape. The recent installment of
a CCD array detector on the Arecibo 656.3 nm Fabry-Perot
interferometer (FPI) offers a means to address this key issue in
conjunction with precise H+ measurement available from the Arecibo
ISR. Through the PRASAC program, students will investigate: (1)
potential correlations between H profile distortions by non-thermal
constituents and H+ abundance and flux, (2) climatological dependence
of the H escape flux mechanism, (3) long-term secular changes in H
abundance associated with global climate change, and (4) the response
of H and H+ coupling to magnetic storms.

3.2.3.3 Maintenance of night-time F-region study

A population of non-thermal oxygen atoms above 400 km ("hot O") has
been qualitatively invoked to explain a variety of aeronomical
discrepancies in the upper thermosphere and topside ionosphere, though
definitive detection of this population has remained elusive. Hot O
would increase the rate of the accidentally resonant charge exchange
coupling between ionospheric H+ and thermospheric O, enhancing
plasmaspheric O+ abundance and supplying a potentially important
source of ion heating. The temperature sensitivity of this ion-
neutral interaction may contribute to the nighttime maintenance of the
ionospheric F-region, which is currently, and inadequately, ascribed
to downward transport from the plasmasphere. The presence of hot O
should manifest as a perturbation in the emission line profile at 732
nm generated by O+ ions created through photoionization of O.
Previous measurements of the 732 nm emission line have yielded
discrepant results, and repeated observations at higher sensitivity
and spectral resolution are required. The recent upgrade to the FPI
at Arecibo Observatory now allows the required precision and
sensitivity to definitively address the problem of hot O and its role
in the maintenance of the night-time F-region. Under the PRASAC
program, students will be involved with both data acquisition and
analysis in order to directly evaluate the thermal distribution of O+
ions at Arecibo using both the FPI and simultaneous ISR observations.

3.2.4 Space plasma physics studies in the ionpshere (Isham-UI, Sulzer,
Gonzalez)


Experiments using a high power high frequency wave to excite certain
interactions in the ionosphere above the Arecibo Observatory have been
used for more than three decades to study a variety of phenomena.
NAIC is currently constructing a new facility to enable a new series
of experiments. These divide into two categories, those which study
the aeronomy of the upper atmosphere, and those which study a variety
of plasma interactions. All of these studies use diagnostic
instruments to study the effects caused by the HF power. For example,
nearly all make use of the 430 MHz incoherent scatter radar, and many
use the optical equipment available at the observatory. Scientists
often complement these instruments with others either brought to the
site or located remotely. The observatory functions as an
experimental center which provides numerous opportunities for faculty,
researchers, and students.

Aeronomy experiments use the power deposited by the HF wave to perturb
an ionospheric parameter and study the resulting effects. It is
possible to design experiments that enhance the passive capabilities
of the observatory. For example, energy deposited in the electrons of
the ionospheric plasma allow details of the thermal balance process
that could not so easily be seen without the perturbation provided by
the HF energy.

For plasma experiments, the ionosphere, the HF facility, the radar,
and the other instrumentation function as a laboratory without walls.
It is possible to study plasma waves without the limitations imposed
by the boundaries of a plasma chamber. These studies are usually
concerned with the process by which the energy is coupled from the HF
wave into various types of plasma waves and then into the particles of
the plasma. For example, the increase in electron temperature
mentioned above is the result of a sequence of such processes. The
aeronomy experiment uses the result for energy balance studies; the
plasma experiment studies the processes which result in the
temperature increase.

The six topics identified in the proposal for the new HF facility are
1. Aeronomy studies using accelerated electrons, 2. electron thermal
balance in the ionosphere, 3. studies of resonant Langmuir/ion
oscillations in the interaction region, 4. study of the electron
acceleration process, 5.structuring of field aligned irregularities at
sub-kilometer and meter scale lengths, and 6. studies using the HF
facility as an HF radar for various aeronomy applications.

HF experiments are very productive, not just from the usefulness of
the scientific results, but also for providing many opportunities for
student research. Graduate students are needed both for the science
itself and for such activities as instrument development and data
analysis, especially involving the development of computer programs
for finding geophysical parameters from the raw data, and for the
simulation of results relating the measurements to the theoretical
predictions. A list of publications that appeared in refereed
journals between 1980 and 1999 contains 254 publications by U.S.
authors directly addressing scienti?c issues in the ?eld of HF
modi?cation research. More than twenty students have written doctoral
theses associated with the previous HF facilities at Arecibo (out of
a total of nearly 100 aeronomy related PhD thesis).







Section 4. Education and Training

4.1 Preparation before graduate school

Providing research experience to undergraduates has proven to be an
educational tool that makes the undergraduate experience more effective
(Mogk, 1993; Tomovic, 1994). Research has been associated with multiple
benefits (Lopatto, 2003), and has been described as instrumental in
promoting a greater interest in careers in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (Fitzsimmons et al., 1990). Students who
become involved in undergraduate research experiences are said to persist
in pursuit of an undergraduate degree (Nagda et al., 1998). There are
studies that reveal that undergraduate research helps students from
underrepresented groups by increasing the retention of minority
undergraduates (Nagda, et al.,1998) and increase the rate of graduate
education in minority students (Hathaway et al., 2002). Research
experiences have proven to be successful with undergraduate students.
Zydney, Bennett, Shahid and Bauer (2002) conducted a study with 155 science
and engineering faculty that revealed that "the research experience
provided important educational benefits to the students. The faculty who
supervised undergraduates for a longer period of time and who modified
their research program to accommodate undergraduates perceived a greater
enhancement of important cognitive and personal skills."[i]. Karen Bauer,
in 2003, reported on a survey of 986 alumni who were involved in
undergraduate research experiences. Students who conducted research, when
compared to those with no research experience, "reported greater
enhancement of important cognitive and personal skills as well as higher
satisfaction with their undergraduate education. They were also more likely
to pursue graduate degrees"[ii]. The CREST-PRASAC will continue with the
good best practice of early research experiences for pre-college K-12
students and undergraduate from Puerto Rico.

The Undergraduate, Pre-College and Dissemination components of the project
CREST-PRASAC management will use the Model Institutions for Excellence
(MIE) best practices developed under the MIE Grant from 1995-2008 at UMET
in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The MIE was the product of a cooperative
agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) that supported the
development of an educational model for underrepresented, disadvantaged
minorities in the United States. UMET was one of the institutions selected
for this grant and developed a very successful undergraduate, pre-college
and dissemination component. Research experiences were used as the main
tool to motivate young Puerto Ricans to select STEM fields as their areas
of study at the undergraduate and graduate levels. One of the best
practices of the MIE model was the summer program that included 8-10 week
research immersion at stateside institutions across the country and abroad.
Over 600 students were impacted with this program, giving them solid
research experiences in STEM fields and the opportunity to disseminate the
research outcomes at local, national and international conferences. A
unique best-practice was the pre-college research component where high
school students were involved in research in a Saturday programs. More than
2,000 grades 10, 11 and 12 high school students were impacted with this
program. The sixteen-week semester program gave students experience guided
by undergraduate and graduate students that culminated with a research
symposium where students presented made oral and poster presentations. A
proceeding remains as the evidence of the pre-college symposium. This
program had outstanding results. Close to 100% of the participants were
transferred to undergraduate programs. 85% of the participants selected
STEM areas as their major in college. These two models will be the basis
for the undergraduate and pre-college components for the CREST-PRASAC.

PRE-COLLEGE RESEARCH COMPONENT

The second program for K-12 students will be the Saturday Academy for
grades 10, 11 and 12 students. This program is a best practice of the Model
Institutions for Excellence (MIE) Program and will impact a total of 180
high school students per year.
The main objective of the pre-college initiative of the CREST-PRASAC
is to motivate and enroll talented middle and high school students (grades
8th to 12th) in Puerto Rico in a research-oriented program in astronomy and
atmospheric sciences. This program will be implemented during the academic
semesters fall and spring and at research facilities at UT, UNE, and UMET,
all AGMUS campuses. The Saturday Academy, Pre-College Research Program for
Atmospheric Sciences and Astronomy will start with the selection of the
mentors and the research projects. A general call for proposals will be
issued one month before the start of each session during the fall and
spring. Mentors will implement at least three different projects with a
group of 10 students. The normal procedure to select the students will be:
The pre-college/undergraduate research coordinators will visit partner
middle and high schools to promote the program two months before the
program starts in January 2010. Target students will be those interested in
exploring science, astronomy, planetary sciences and atmospheric sciences.
The pre-college students interested in the program will submit a formal
application, available at http://crest.suagm.edu for an application
package. The application package also contains an essay of at least 300
words explaining the motives for their interest in the research program and
plans for their future education in college. Students will also need two
letters of recommendation from a math or science teacher. A selection
committee will be formed by the PI, the Co-PI and the Coordinator.
In the Fall and the Spring, the program will meet on Saturdays
for 16 weeks. Research mentors, faculty, graduate students and
undergraduates with research experience will develop research projects
working with groups of 10 pre-college students using the steps of the
research cycle. A close supervision by the PI and the coordinator of the
research process will guarantee the success of the project development and
outcomes.

The research mentors will be responsible for teaching the
students how to write abstracts of the research conducted and how to make
poster and oral presentations. At the end of each semester, a conference
will be held. The Pre-College Research Symposium will be organized by
project staff at SUAGM facilities where students will present their
research outcomes in posters or oral presentations. The Pre-College
Symposium agenda is an important activity to motivate students, parents,
mentors, faculty members, community educators, science and mathematics
teachers and the industrial community on the value of conducting research
work early in pre-college years. The two Pre-College Research Symposia per
year will enhance the knowledge transfer of the pre-college participants in
well-designed and professional PowerPoint presentations or computer-
generated posters. The typical structure of the Pre-college Research
Symposium includes: a poster session set-up, breakfast, registration, and
opening ceremony with a keynote speaker. The poster sessions and the oral
presentations will be evaluated by judges who may be faculty and/or
specialists within each area. An awards ceremony recognizing outstanding
work during the symposium, and a closing activity, will be part of the
symposium. All posters will be written in English and all oral
presentations will be in English to provide the necessary practice in the
language of science.

Previous pre-college programs have had effective outcomes with 100%
enrollment in college. A large number of students are selecting science,
technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields as their major in
college. Documentation of outcomes and research conducted at Universidad
Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico, can be found in the Pre-College
Research Symposia Proceedings (8).


4.2 Curriculum (graduate) -

Creation of Ph.D in Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences

The relationship between AGMUS and the SCIS has reached a level of
excellence at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For the past two
summers, over twenty-six undergraduates from AGMUS conducted research at
CSIC institutes in STEM fields. Three AGMUS graduates are working with CSIC
mentors in their Ph.D in Salamanca, Madrid and Granada. This number will
increase onefold with new applications for the CSIC 2009 graduate
scholarships. Relations at the administrative level are outstanding. The
President of CSIC, Dr. Rafael Rodrigo visited AGMUS on June 27, 2008, and
the Vice President of International Relations, Dr JosÈ SÀnchez Serrano has
visited AGMUS three times during the last two years. AGMUS and CSIC and the
Municipality of Vieques are working on the creation of a Biodiversity
Center in Vieques which will be in operation by the end of 2009.

The next step in this fruitful relationship is the implementation of a
joint Ph.D program in two disciplines of radical importance for the CREST
Center, a Ph.D program in Astronomy and a second degree program in
Atmospheric Sciences. The graduate program will be a four-year joint
venture of two organizations. The first year of the program will be in
Puerto Rico, where graduate students will take courses in mathematics,
physics, astronomy and atmospheric sciences. The total number of credits
for the first year will be equal to twenty (20) graduate credits. All
students interested in pursuing a Ph.D degree at AGMUS must take a
qualifying exam after completing the first twenty (20) credits. Once the
qualifying exam is approved, the student will travel to Spain to work for
three additional years under the mentorship of CSIC researchers at the
Institutes in Madrid, Granada and Barcelona. The mentors will design a
dissertation project in their disciplines that will produce important
contributions to the state-of-the-art of Astronomy and Atmospheric
Sciences. Dissemination of outcomes of this program will be through peer-
reviewed publications and participation in national and international
conferences in the field. The recruitment of qualified students for the
program will be made in Puerto Rico. Students with a BS in mathematics,
Physics, Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences will be considered for the
degree. The recruitment process will be done in all universities on the
Island. The CSI"C is interested in recruiting students from the Americas,
especially from Latin countries. All students from Latin countries, Puerto
Rico included, are eligible for a CSIC graduate scholarship of up to three
years that pay 20,000 euros per year plus medical insurance. The target
recruitment for the first year will be twenty students, followed by a
similar number for each of the years of the award. Funding for additional
student will be one of the responsibilities of the PI who will write new
proposals to NSF for graduate education programs. The implementation of the
graduate program will be the responsibility of the PI and the Office of the
Chancellor of UMET through the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. One
researcher will be hired at UMET to implement the program and adjunct
faculty positions for three researchers from the AO will mentor the
students during their first years of the program in addition to the overall
management responsibility of the PI and the Co-PI. The first cohort of
students will start their programs in the Fall of 2010.


4.3. Research training and support

Summer Research Internships. Research experiences have proven to be
decisive events in Hispanic and minority STEM student academic career
development. The Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE) Project, an NSF-
sponsored program at UMET, demonstrated that for many of these students -
most of whom left home for the first time to go to an internship -
conducting research and collaborating with graduate students and supportive
research mentors provided the incentive to return and work harder to
improve their GPAs and make the decision to go to graduate school.
AGMUS has the experience of sending students to summer internship at
institutions in the US mainland and abroad is a program in partnership with
research mentors already included in the AGMUS network. It has placed more
than 600 students in summer internships. The following graph illustrates
student distribution by summer.














Students participating in this program will be encouraged to apply to
REU
programs early in the fall semester of each year of the grant. They will be
able to apply to REUs in the United States and at international sites where
there are important observatories such as MIT-Haystack Observatory, South
Africa, Italy, Finland, Sweden, among others. The application process will
be supervised by the PI. Students will apply at least to five different
REU programs. Students will be provided with support in their applications
and personal statements required by the REU programs. The process will be
supervised by the English consultant of the AGMUS Student Research
Development Center. It is expected that students will apply to programs
related to their field of interest. Summer research programs are well
organized at universities, research centers, industries, national
laboratories. Their main objective is to train undergraduates in astronomy
and atmospheric sciences. Students selected either by the mentors or
programs at the institutions in the US mainland or by the PI and Co-PI to
participate in the summer programs will travel to their selected sites and
will work in research for an average of a ten-week period.
Many universities in the United States have students who are
accustomed to application processes for admissions and for special
programs. This process presents two (2) challenges for students from Puerto
Rico. First, for most of STEM students this is a first-time process and
many do not understand the many steps required to submit an entire package
of applications for internships. Second, the process is in English, which
requires additional effort in preparing competitive essays. Proper
orientation can enable a higher acceptance rate and student success.
Students participating in the summer research program will present
their research outcome at the AGMUS Undergraduate Research Symposium, which
is held at UMET every September and at national conference as well as, the
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science
(SACNAS). Students will apply for travel grants (including funds for hotel
and airfare) to attend the SACNAS conference. Additionally, students with
research outcomes in Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences will be encouraged
to present at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the American
Meteorological Society (AMS) annual meetings.

4.4 Professional development activities

Section 5. Organization, Management, and Institutional Commitment
5.1 Institutional commitment

5.2 Management plan

The research plan of the CREST Proposal will be carry out with the
collaboration of scientists from AO, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez,
Inter American University at Bayamon and scientific staff of the CSIC.

Administrative Structure and Governance
Management Plan. CREST-PRP's headquarters will be at UMET. The PI will be
Dr. Juan F. Arratia, Executive Director of the Student Research Development
Center, an AGMUS student based organization. Dr. Arratia is a senior
administrator and mentor with experience implementing Cooperative
Agreements at UMET. Dr. Arratia was awarded the 2007 US Presidential Award
of Excellence in Science, Engineering and Mathematics Mentoring. The Co-PI
will be Dr. Sixto GonzÀlez, a senior scientist at the AO, Director of the
Atmospheric Science Department.

The PI, the Co-PI and the staff at UMET and the AO will coordinate all the
activities of the project agenda. The PI and the Co-PI will coordinate all
communication with the local government, municipalities, the high schools,
industry and commerce, professional organizations and non-profit
institutions. The PI's responsibilities include day-to-day operation of
the project, planning and implementation of all CREST-PRASAC activities,
reporting and direct interactions with the funding agency, external funding
development, and the institutionalization process. The Co-PI will assist
the PI in the implementation of the administrative and research activities
with scientists. The Co-PI's main responsibility will be the supervision
of the research agenda at the AO.
The administrative team has a strong mentoring background and is
committed to advising and providing support to STEM majors for the next
five years. In addition to the PI and Co-PI, the Project Management Plan
will be supported by an CREST's Advisory Board will be composed by
distinguished scientists and administration such as: Dr. Joe Salah, MIT-
Haystack Observatory, Dr. Michael Chartock, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory; Dr. Jerzy Leszczynski, Jackson State University, Dr. Jorge
Gardea-Torresdey, University of Texas, El Paso, Dr. Don Campbell, Cornell
University, and Dr. JosÈ SÀnchez Serrano, Spanish Research Council. The
Advisory Board will meet 1x/year to provide broad guidance and advice in
defining and implementing CREST-PRASAC goals, help build collaborative
arrangements with mainland and international universities, agencies, non-
profit organizations, foundations, and industries and develop external
funding sources.
The Implementation Team will be comprised of the PI and the Co-PI,
the scientists, the administrative director, the pre-college/undergraduate
research coordinator, and the evaluator. The Team will meet every two
months and implement daily CREST-PRASAC activities, carry out tasks and
activities outlined in the proposal, and coordinate project work.
The pre-college/undergraduate research Coordinator will assist the
mentors, PI and Co-PI in the proper implementation of the project research
agenda. This individual will support undergraduate and high school students
in their research projects, will be part of the Implementation Team, and
will be involved in all major activities. The pre-college/undergraduate
coordinator will recruit 900 pre-college and 150 undergraduate students
from Puerto Rico for the period of the grant. The coordinator will support
the high school students in their research projects and their transition
into college life as STEM majors and the undergraduates in their transition
into graduate school. They will be part of the Implementation Team and will
be active participants in all major activities. The Administration Director
will report to the PI and will assist the PI, the Co-PI and mentors in the
proper financial administration of all CREST-PRASAC activities. The program
administrator will be part of the Implementation Team. The Project
Evaluator will be in charge of the formal evaluation of all CREST-PRP
activities.

Timetable for Implementation of Activities for the First Year of the
Cooperative Agreement - Year 2-5 will Follow a Similar Sequence of Events
and Activities

|Dates |Activity |
|October 2009 |Interview and contracting project staff and |
| |post-docs |
|October 2009 |Preparation of work plan and evaluation plan |
|November 2009 |Design of CREST-PRASAC web page |
|November 2009 |Implementation of research projects by |
| |scientists and post-docs |
|November 2009-May |Design Ph.D program in Astronomy and |
|2010 |Atmospheric Science |
|November 2009 |Design of schedules for AO visits by K-12 |
| |students and teachers |
|November-January |Recruitment for the pre-college research |
|2010 |program and hiring of research mentors |
|December 2009 |Quarterly Report to NSF |
|December 2009 |Annual Advisory Board Meeting |

|December 2009-March|Promotion of summer research internships for |
|2010 |undergraduates |
|January-May 2010 |Pre-college research training (Saturday |
| |Academy) |
|January-March 2010 |Recruitment of high school science and math |
| |teachers for AO summer school |
|March 2010 |Undergraduate Student selection process for |
| |summer research experience |
|March-May 2009 |Student travel orientation by PI and staff |
|March 2010 |Quarterly Report to NSF |
|May 2010 |Spring 2010 Pre-College Research Symposium |
|May-August 2010 |Recruitment of candidates for Ph.D programs |
|June 1, 2010 |Undergraduate Student travel to research |
| |internships sites |
|June 1-30, 2010 |AO summer school for science/math teachers |
|June-August 2010 |Summer research experience for undergraduate at|
| |sites |
|June 2010 |Quarterly and Annual Report |
|July 22-30, 2010 |PI visit to research sites and summer research |
| |scholars |
|August 2010 |Recruitment for the pre-college fall research |
| |program |
|August 2010 |Ph.D program starts; Pre-college research |
| |program starts |
|August 2010 |Mentor and student evaluation of summer |
| |research experience |
|September 2010 |Oral and/or poster presentation of research |
| |outcomes at XXI Undergraduate Research |
| |Symposium in San Juan, Puerto Rico |
|September 2010 |Quarterly Report |
|October |Undergraduates research scholars and post-docs |
|2010-January 2011 |present at national conference |
|December 2010 |Winter Pre-College Research Symposium |
|December 2010 |Quarterly Report |



Section 6. Performance Assessment/Evaluation

Evaluation Plan
The evaluation plan will be carried out by an experienced evaluator Dr.
Jason Kim from Systemic Research, Inc. Key indicators will be measured
throughout the project implementation by the external evaluator to assure
the overall project goals and objectives are reached. Constant
communication between the PI, Co-PI and the evaluator will assure on-time
feedback and appropriate actions by the CREST administration. A database
will be designed to record CREST pre-college and undergraduate performance
and follow-up, and progress in project activities.

The formative evaluation will focus on the process and will collect
continuous feedback from participants in the program in order to revise the
program as needed. This will be done through observations made by the
External evaluator, informal talks with participants, and group discussions
with focus groups to gain feedback. The summative assessment will measure
the overall impact of the project, and outline improvements made under the
award period.

The evaluation plan will document the strategies, lessons learned,
and best practices to achieve the program goals. The evaluation report
will demonstrate and disseminate the student, teacher and scientists'
progress and project program performance to CREST members, NSF, and other
stakeholders.


Section 7. Recruiting and Outreach

Visiting Program of K-12 and Teachers to the Arecibo Facility

The training program in Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences and Planetary
Sciences will consist of motivating pre-college students and teachers from
public and private schools from the Puerto Rico Educational System. The pre-
college component will fund a visiting program to the Arecibo facilities
where entire classes with the teachers from K-12 will spend one day at the
AO, starting with an overview of astronomical, atmospheric sciences and
planetary sciences given by the AO scientific staff and members of the
Astronomy Society of Puerto Rico, plus a visit to the world's largest
single dish antenna. This program that will start in January 2010 will
impact 1200 K-12 students per year is designed with the purpose to transfer
the AO into an open laboratory for K-12 students and teachers from Puerto
Rico.

TEACHER TRAINING
The development of a Center of Excellence to advance the learning of
Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences will impact directly high school science
teachers. One-hundred twenty science teachers will be selected from public
and privates schools across the Puerto Rico to attend training workshops in
Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences that will be offered at the Arecibo
Observatory in one-week sessions during June. A total of 600 teachers
(120/year) will be directly impacted by those summer training activities

Dissemination activities. Dissemination of activities will consist of the
following: 1) publications of research outcome by PI, Co-PI, Scientists of
the Center and students, in peer-review journals, 2) organization of
undergraduate and pre-college research symposia; 3) undergraduate summer
essay publication; 4) dissemination of CREST-PRASAC activities through
web page, bulletins, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and flyers; 5) CREST-
PRASAC model documentation; 6) presentation of CREST model and outcomes
in local, national and international conferences by PI, the Co-PI and
scientists.

Section 8. Recent Traineeship Experience

Section 9. International Collaboration

Section 10. Recruitment and Retention History


Results of Prior NSF Support
Dr. Juan F. Arratia has served as Principal Investigator of the Model
Institutions for Excellence Project with the following NSF support:
Grant: Cooperative Agreement DMS - 9988401 (10/1/2000 - 9/30/2003) for
$7.5 million
Grant: HRD-0348742 April 1, 2004-March 31, 2008 for $2.4 million.
A summary of the results from this prior NSF support are as follows:
. developed new undergraduate programs in: chemistry, cellular and
molecular biology, environmental science, natural & tropical resources,
applied mathematics, and environmental health.
. established an engineering transfer program for UMET students at
Universidad del Turabo and several US mainland engineering schools.
. increased the number of Ph. D faculty in STEM fields at UMET from 5 to
20.
. developed 6 research/instructional laboratories, introduced fiber optics
networking, and acquired approximately $4 million in equipment and
supplies for UMET laboratories.
. established a Student Research Support Center to enhance student academic
achievements; the professional staff supporting students increased from 0
to 4.
. increased the number of STEM majors conducting research from 25/yr (1995)
to 125 (2003).
. established international REU programs for 15 UMET STEM majors in Chile,
Japan, Australia, Venezuela, Canada, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands,
PanamÀ, Brazil, Egypt, Slovakia, Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand, and
Italy.
. established a summer REU site at UMET for ten MIE scholars from UTEP,
Spelman College and Oglala Lakota College.
. established a national undergraduate research symposium with over 300
participants per year.
. expanded the number of scholarships to STEM majors from 24 in 1996 to 85
in 2008.
. established a pre-college program serving 2,000 students from 178 schools
(grades 10-12).
. established the pre-college Saturday Adventure Research Training for 250
students per year.
. established a pre-college research symposium offered 2x/year for an
average of 250 local participants with an average of 60 projects per year.
. attracted better academically-prepared entering freshmen; GPA increased
from 2.9 to 3.2
. increased STEM enrollment from 242 in 1995-96 to 627 in Fall 2007, a 259%
increase
. increased the number of BS graduates from 10 in 1995 to 40 in 2008.
. increased the number of STEM students accepted into graduate programs
from none in 1996 to an average of 10 per year; 30% of BS graduates enter
graduate school.
. developed collaborations with over 40 universities on the mainland, 15
national and regional research labs and centers and foreign research
organizations. These relationships have resulted in faculty exchanges and
enhanced opportunities for student research at all SUAGM institutions.
. invested over $8.5 million to upgrade UMET's laboratories (NSF/UMET
contributions).
. established and equipped 12 new STEM laboratories and constructed a new
science amphitheater at a cost of $1 million.
. upgraded and maintains computer network for students and faculty at a
cost of $3.5 million.
. raised $12 million for SUAGM scholarship endowment from private and
corporate sponsors.
. implemented policies to increase faculty salaries, reduce teaching loads,
and increase scholarships.
. Developed and documented educational models to enhance STEM majors'
success.






























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-----------------------
Figure 1: The upper panel shows the distribution of neutral Ca while the
lower panel displays the neutral K density variation with time and altitude
for the night of 11 July 2002 (Adapted from Raizada et al., 2004).

From this figure, two significant features are observed.
First, there is the occurrence of a high altitude Ca layer measured in the
103 - 109 km region, accompanied by a very weak K layer. The initial
observed Ca layer density was about 20 - 25 cm-3 that later increased to
values exceeding 70 cm-3 near 00:30 hrs. During this period a weak K layer
developed with densities of the order of ~ 10 cm-3. Next, with Ca/K > 1 at
high altitudes, we found that this ratio changes below 95 km and K becomes
the


Figure ##: (a) January mean nocturnal temperature structure in the MLT over
Arecibo, measured by the K Doppler lidar. (b) Wave analysis results of the
January MLT thermal structure showing dominance of the semidiurnal tide.
(from Friedman et al., 2009)

Reference:
Friedman, Zhang, Chu and Forbes (2009), Longitude Variations of the Solar
Semidiurnal Tides in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere at Low Latitudes
Observed from Ground and Space, J. Geophys. Res., under review.

[pic]


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