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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

UPR PARTNERSHIP FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
(UPRPREAA)

We propose to establish a partnership for research and education in radio,
optical astronomy and astrophysics between The University of Puerto Rico
(UPR), the National Atmospheric and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) in Arecibo,
Gettysburg College and the University of California at Santa Barbara (Kavly
Institute) under the guidelines of NSF's PAARE Program. As a direct result
of this partnership the number of publications by Hispanic faculty and
undergraduate students will increase and the number of Hispanic students
entering graduate programs in astronomy and astrophysics will rise.

1. LIST OF PARTICIPANTS (FEMALE FACULTY ARE UNDERLINED)

1. Rafael Muller, PI Professor Physics and Electronics Dept.
UPR at Humacao
2-Juan Carlos Cersosimo Profesor Physics and Electronics Dept. UPR at
Humacao
3-Maira Lebron Santos Assistant Professor Phys Science Dept UPR
at Rio Piedras
4-Ernesto Esteban Professor Physics and Electronics Dept.
UPR at Humacao
5-Myrna Ayala Professor Dept of Education
UPR at Humacao
6-JosИ Alonso Professor Dept of Phys and Math
UPR at Cayey
7-Murray Lewis Head, Radio Astronomy
NAIC (Arecibo)
8-Tapasi Ghosh Senior Research Associate
NAIC (Arecibo)
9-Chris Salter Senior Research Associate
NAIC (Arecibo)
10- Ellen Howell Research Associate
NAIC (Arecibo)
11-Lawrence Marshall Professor Dept of Physics
Gettysburg College

The Steering Committee
1- Cathy Eastwood Dept of Physics and Astronomy Northern Arizona
University
2- Michael M. Davis Past Site Director NAIC (Arecibo)
Retired
3- Hector Arce Dept of Astronomy
Yale University

2. PROGRAM GOALS AND MISSION OF THE PARTNERSHIP

This program has as its main goals:
1- To establish long term collaborations that will result in more
research opportunities for Hispanic faculty and undergraduate students
at the UPR
2- To provide more educational opportunities and enrichment in astronomy
for Hispanic undergraduate students to increase the number of them
entering graduate school
The Mission of UPRPREAA is to establish a long-term collaborative research
and education partnership between the University of Puerto Rico, the
University of California at Santa Barbara (Kavly Institute), the NAIC at
Arecibo, and the Gettysburg College that will result in an increase in the
participation of Hispanics in research and in careers in astronomy. This
PAARE project will drive the start of new collaborations. The benefits of
this UPRPREAA program will reach a wider population by supporting an
outreach program for students and high school teachers in Astronomy and
Astrophysics.
The UPRPREAA program will facilitate access to researchers from the
University of Puerto Rico using the Arecibo Radio telescope in their
research and will also enable their students to learn and train in this
world-class facility. This partnership will open the doors of a unique
research and teaching facility for faculty and students at the Campuses of
the University of Puerto Rico, allowing them to exploit the facilities of
the Arecibo Observatory of NAIC (an NSF funded national center for
research). This partnership will become an instrument through which
students at the University of Puerto Rico will develop skills and increase
knowledge in physics, astronomy, electronics and computing.
Puerto Ricans are significantly under-represented among the nation's
astronomers and astrophysicists. The local availability of the world's
largest single-dish radio telescope, plus the collaboration of a leading
national radio astronomy Center with the University of Puerto Rico's
teaching and research facilities provides a remarkable opportunity to 'kick-
start' activities for training Puerto Rican students in skills and
knowledge that will fit them for important roles in science, engineering
and technology. The Puerto Rican students that participate in the Arecibo
experience will most likely enter the pipeline to graduate programs in
astronomy and astrophysics, and so increase the representation of this
minority group in the field.
Other areas of astronomy will be represented in this project. Optical
astronomy will be represented by a partnership with Arecibo and Gettysburg
College, making use of currently available optical facilities at Gettysburg
and Flagstaff, Arizona. Astrophysics will be represented by a relation with
the Kavly Institute at Santa Barbara, California.

3. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

1-To establish collaborative research projects in radio, optical
astronomy and
astrophysics
2- To bring on-board promising undergraduate and high school students by
means of
undergraduate research and science fair projects in astronomy and
astrophysics
3-Train undergraduate students in the construction of those dedicated
electronics
components used in astronomy
4-Offer the students involved in undergraduate research the opportunity
of gathering
data on site at the radio and optical facilities.
5-To strengthen the infrastructure for research and education in
astronomy at the UPR
6-To develop an effective outreach program in Astronomy and astrophysics
7-To promote UPRPREAA as a model of a successful collaboration





4. ACTIVITIES

UPRPREAA will undertake the following activities to fulfill its objectives
so as to enable faculty and students to enrich their research and
educational efforts in astronomy.
1- The Arecibo Observatory, the University of Puerto Rico and the
participants
from the Gettysburg College and the Kavly Institute are all committed
to the collaborative research projects (described in the collaborative
research projects section).

2-In addition to creating on-going collaborations during the
academic year,
UPRPREAA will support summer research work at Arecibo,
California, and
observing runs at Flagstaff by the faculty and students of the
University of
Puerto Rico (UPR), and these will also include gifted high school
students pursuing science fair projects.

3- UPRPREAA will also serve as a platform for the recruitment of
astronomy
faculty members at the UPR campuses, as positions are opened
through
retirement; the UPRPREAA will also serve to attract young, minority
astronomy faculty to UPR to join the partnership.

4-Importantly, the UPRPREAA will enable access by UPR faculty and
students
to all research and educational facilities of the Arecibo
Observatory, including
access to the library and instrumentation facilities, allowing
minority faculty and
students access to world-class facilities for their research and
education.

5-The UPRPREAA partnership will be enhanced trough the use of
videoconference
facilities at Arecibo, California and the various campuses of the
UPR.
Teleconferencing will be used as a real time communication link to
facilitate the
exchange of information directly among research partners and also
for all
educational purposes.

6- The staff, post-docs and graduates in residence at the Arecibo
Observatory, and
the partners at Gettysburg College and in California will provide
seminars to the
students at the UPR campuses on a regular basis using the
available
teleconference facilities. The UPRPREAA faculty at UPR campuses
will also
offer seminars via teleconference on the progress of their
research projects.

7- UPRPREAA will enable faculty and student exchange throughout the
academic year as needed and as possible to facilitate the
research partnerships

8- UPRPREAA will facilitate summer visits of students to the Arecibo

Observatory and other sites as needed for the research projects

9- UPRPREAA will fund courses in astronomy and astrophysics to be
offered to
interested undergraduates. It will also sponsor seminars and
workshops offered by
members of the partnership.

10- UPRPREAA will fund astronomy workshops for high school science
teachers
Targeting those from public schools that are the main feeders of
the UPR
campuses involved in the UPRPREAA. The workshops will include
presentations
of the research efforts of the partners and undergraduate
students with the
objective of encouraging teachers to motivate their students to
follow careers
in astronomy and astrophysics. One very important workshop will
take place
after the phase reference 11.3 meters antenna is up and
running (see radio
research program below), and school teachers can be trained in
data acquisition
in radio astronomy.
11-All partners will participate in an annual research and education
presentation
meeting conducted either at the Humacao UPR facilities or at
the Arecibo radio
telescope visitor's center facilities. This activity, which
will take place at the
same time as the meeting of the steering committee, will serve as a
focus for promoting the partnership among all science faculty in the
campuses and the staff at the NAIC facilities so as to, in one short
activity,
evaluate our progress, inform the broader community, and promote
UPRPREAA.

5- RESEARCH PROGRAM

The research and education activities will be centered on three main
areas: Radio astronomy, optical astronomy, and astrophysics
.
5.1 RADIO ASTRONOMY

HAAT -- the''Humacao-Arecibo Astrometric Telescope'' -- is a radio
telescope planned to fill two separate, yet complementary, roles in a long-
term collaborative partnership between UPR-Humacao and the Arecibo
Observatory. These are:
(1) To provide a unique research and teaching facility for the University
of Puerto Rico, allowing them to exploit the facilities of the Arecibo
Observatory of NAIC (an NSF-funded national center for research.) In this
guise HAAT would serve as an instrument with which students and staff at
UPR and other Puerto Rican universities can develop skills and gain
knowledge in physics, astronomy, electronics, and computing. This would
apply from the classroom, through the teaching and research laboratories,
to the use of the facilities of NAIC for full-scale research projects.
(2) NAIC itself sees the occasional use of HAAT as a phase reference
antenna for improving the performance of its 305 m antenna in VLBI programs
open to all scientists of the US and elsewhere.



5.1.1 SCIENTIFIC IMPACT OF HAAT

The 305-m Arecibo radio telescope is the worlds largest, most sensitive,
single-dish radio telescope. It is equipped with receivers between 47 MHz
and 10 GHz. In addition to its single-dish capabilities, the Arecibo 305-m
radio telescope also participates in Very Long Baseline Interferometry
(VLBI) observations with the VLBA, HSA, EVN and Global VLBI networks. At
present, all observing time on the 305-m telescope is granted via a highly
competitive peer review process, open to researchers world wide. Although
not unknown, opportunities for undergraduates to utilize it, or gain hands-
on experience in radio sciences by building equipment for it have been very
limited.
In order to broaden the range of scientific possibilities it offers its
users, while enhancing the educational and outreach facilities of the
Observatory, NAIC is currently in the process of acquiring an auxiliary
11.3-m radio telescope to be located nearby. Such an instrument would have
scientific capabilities that are both complementary to, and independent of,
the 305-m telescope that would be available for educational programs in
partnership with Puerto Rican educational institutions as described in this
proposal. We foresee the antenna being scheduled in support of Arecibo
user operations with the 305-m telescope for a maximum of ~10 % of its
time. All other time (apart from maintenance) would be available for
integration into the educational and research needs of UPR, and Public
Outreach ventures in collaboration with the UPR and the Observatory's
Visitor Center. We expect the antenna to become operational within 18
months after startup of this proposal (January 15, 2009), so the antenna
will be used for teacher's hands-on workshops during the third year of this
project. Thus, NAIC's involvement in the development of HAAT would be a
contribution from it to the training of Puerto Rican scientists, engineers
and technicians, and would enhance the options it offers its user base for
astronomy and planetary physics
Below, we detail some of the specific scientific and education activities
that can benefit from this auxiliary telescope, HAAT. The following
scientific directions will form the basis of a partnership between UPR, led
by its Humacao campus, and NAIC/ Arecibo Observatory.
One of the major aspects of this collaboration is the construction of a C-
band receiver for the phase-reference antenna. This collaborative project
will involve students from Humacao's Associate Degree Program in
Electronics Technology that will remain in residence at Arecibo for at
least one or two summer seasons under the guidance of an electrical
engineer from Humacao in the assembly of the receiver. The faculty at the
Humacao campus includes four electrical engineers. Funds are requested for
the summer salary and release time during two academic years for one
engineer from Humacao to supervise the construction of the device in
coordination with staff from Arecibo. Salary is requested also for one
electronics technician for the accomplishment of this educational activity
that will be most significant for the partnership.



5.1.2 Pre- Phase Referencing Research

Collaborators: J.C. Cersosimo (UPR-Humacao), Chris Salter (NAIC-AO), Tapasi
Ghosh (NAIC-AO)

There are various research projects that will precede HAAT and that belong
to the research effort that must be done in the 18 months prior to HAAT
becoming operational.

5.1.3 A Broad-impact VLBI Measurement of Trigonometric Parallaxes within
Star Clusters:

In an impressive work using the VLBA at 8 GHz, Menten et al. (2007, A&A,
474, 515) have determined the trigonometric parallax of several stars in
the Orion BN/KL region. This has allowed them to derive the most accurate
value so far for the distance to this
region, about an order of magnitude better than the previous value
determined from the optical parallax measurement of a single star in this
complex by Hipparcos. Luminosity-based distance estimates of star-forming
regions could be adversely affected
by poorly known extinctions, and the new radio technique of Menten et al.
is an important way to improve the estimation of distances, and hence
luminosities, with subsequent impact on star-formation theories.

5.1.4 Stellar (radio/optical) Astrometry:

In a white paper submitted to the NSF Exo Planet Task Force, Bower et al.
(arXiv:astro-ph/0704.0238v1) explore the possibility of ``Radio Astrometric
Detection and Characterization of Extra-Solar Planets". Utilizing the
better than 100-microarcsec positional accuracy routinely achieved with the
VLBA, they propose carrying out a Radio Interferometric Planet search
(RIPL) that will survey 29 low-mass, active (radio-loud) M-dwarf stars over
3 years. This would have sub-Jovian planet mass sensitivity at distances of
about 1~AU from the star.
They also note that, ``Radio astrometric planet searches occupy a unique
volume in planet discovery and characterization parameter space. The
parameter space of astrometric searches gives greater sensitivity to
planets at large radii than do radial velocity searches. For the VLBA and
the expanded VLBA, the targets of radio astrometric surveys are by
necessity nearby, low-mass, active stars, which cannot be studied
efficiently through the radial velocity method, coronography, or optical
interferometry.''

5.1.5 Detection Experiments:

Present-day VLBI offers the highest sensitivity radio astronomical
observations yet achieved, with noise levels approaching 1 mJy/ beam being
attained with arrays using the world's most sensitive telescopes, and in
particular the Arecibo 305-m dish. Hence, the 305-m telescope is being
increasingly used in experiments to detect very weak, very compact,
astronomical targets, such as radio emission from X-ray stars, distant
supernovae and their remnants, Gamma-Ray Bursts, red-dwarf and other stars.
Again, for these sensitivity levels to be reached for targets of very low
intensity, it is essential that the observations use phase-referencing with
the 305 m antenna.

5.1.6 VLBI -- Phase Referencing:

Phase referencing in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations
has made it possible to study very weak radio sources by increasing the
effective coherence time for them from, at maximum, a few minutes to hours.
Currently, some 50 % of VLBI observations are carried out using the phase-
referencing technique.
However, phase referencing observations encounter limitations with the
Arecibo 305-m telescope. The Gregorian dome, located on a suspended
platform, has slow slew rates (24o/min in azimuth, 2o.4 /min in zenith
angle.) Hence, in a typical nodding-style, phase-referenced observation,
where the calibrator could be located 3o or more from the target, a
significant amount of observing time, often ™ 50 %, is wasted slewing
between the two sources, leading to a significant loss in signal-to-noise
ratio. However, phased-referenced VLBI observations could be performed
using the small telescope in which, this ``auxiliary'' telescope tracks the
phase calibrator, while the 305-m antenna observes the target most of the
time, and the effects due to ionospheric phase fluctuations can be derived
from the data coming from the small telescope and applied to the target
data from the 305-m dish.
A number of the four standard VLBI frequency bands below 10 GHz will in due
course be required to be serviced by the auxiliary antenna. While a
separate VLBI backend and recorder may be required for the auxiliary
antenna, it might be possible to time-share a single system, as is also
envisaged for the maser time/frequency standard
In searching for an economical solution to obtaining an ``auxiliary''
antenna at Arecibo for use in phase-referenced VLBI (and other roles) and
to be operated in partnership with the Humacao Campus of the UPR and NAIC,
we recently learned that NASA/Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex
(CDSCC) had moth-balled their 11.3-m antenna (DSS-33), earlier used as a
HALCA/VSOP earth station, and were looking for somebody who would be
interested in taking over the dish. This indeed looks a potentially
acceptable option for the auxiliary dish, and we have expressed our
interest to NASA and are in the process to bring it to Arecibo.
The effective area yields a point-source sensitivity of 0.023 K/Jy. The
similar values for aperture efficiency at X and Ku bands suggest that the
antenna will work well to at least a frequency of 15 GHz, meaning that it
will operate efficiently across the complete frequency range of the
upgraded 305-m telescope (327~MHz to 10~GHz).
With a system temperature of T deg K, this would give a system equivalent
flux density
if HAAT were to have a similar Tsys to a VLBA telescope at this wavelength,
then the baseline sensitivity for an 11-m to a VLBA antenna (1-() would be
~22 mJy/beam. This implies that, at the 5-( level, sources brighter than
about 110mJy/beam will be suitable for phase referencing. This includes the
majority of sources from the various sections of the VLBA Calibrator
Survey.

5.1.7 Phase-Referencing Research

Collaborators: J.C. Cersosimo (UPR-Humacao), Chris Salter (NAIC-AO), Tapasi
Ghosh (NAIC-AO)
The range of research projects will be extended once phase referencing with
the HAAT antenna becomes a reality, hopefully, about 18 months after the
start of UPRPREAA

5.1.8 A Broad-impact VLBI Measurement of Trigonometric Parallaxes within
Star Clusters

The inclusion of the Arecibo radio telescope with phase referencing will
permit us to study fainter, more distant, star forming regions, since the
detection sensitivity will be increased by a factor of four. Thus we
propose to study fainter, more distant star forming regions using the new
capability

5.1.8 Stellar Astrometry
Current measurement errors are limited by the number of nearby compact
sources that are well above the detection threshold of their observations
and which can be used as reference sources in their differential
measurements. The addition of Arecibo in such surveys would increase the
detection sensitivity by a factor of four, making it possible to venture
into the study of objects with one third of the mass of Jupiter as
companions of similar stellar types. As Arecibo's primary beam is much
smaller than other telescopes, and the slew rate slower, the availability
of HAAT for phase referencing would be highly beneficial for taking such
studies down to thermally emitting "radio" stars. We propose to extend the
astrometric measurements of compact sources using these new capabilities of
Arecibo with the phase reference antenna

5.1.9 Using HAAT as an Independent Single Dish

Collaborators: Juan Carlos Cersocimo (UPR-Humacao), Chris Salter (NAIC-
AO)

Full-Stokes Galactic Plane continuum Survey with HAAT:
The 11.3-m HAAT telescope, together with existing Arecibo backends, will
enable the making of full-Stokes continuum surveys using the cooled dual-
channel receivers that will be built for use with the dish.
Full-Stokes continuum surveys of the wider Galactic plane at high
frequencies using HAAT would provide unique databases in a number of ways.
Firstly, they would yield full spatial frequency mapping at a number of
previously unmapped wavelengths, with competitive resolution for such
extended features as the Galactic background emission, HII region
complexes, and middle-aged to old supernova remnants (SNRs). Comparison
with the existing lower frequency surveys would allow accurate estimation
of the spectral index distribution over these features, providing the
ability to perform accurate thermal/non-thermal separation on angular
scales between 1deg. and < 10 arc min. This would allow the study of
energy injection to the interstellar medium (ISM), the energy losses of
relativistic particles associated with SNRs, and the mechanisms of vertical
transport & diffusion of energy from the disk of the Galaxy into the halo
and intergalactic space.

Simultaneously recorded linear polarization measurements are of especial
importance. The appearance of the polarized sky at wavelengths > 21 cm is
complex. Westerbork at 327 MHz for high Galactic latitudes and the
Canadian Galactic Plane Survey at 1.4 GHz have shown that there is little
relationship between total intensity and polarization structures. In fact
for diffuse Galactic synchrotron emission, the bulk of the area of the
Galactic Plane imaged on arc minute scales at L-band reveals highly
structured polarization features with no counterparts in Stokes I. Thus the
low-frequency polarized sky is dominated by propagation effects rather than
by intrinsic emission structure. This field of study is now moving from
phenomenology to astrophysics.
The signals produced by the Faraday Screen are rather weak, and the limited
surface brightness sensitivity of interferometers samples only the
strongest. Even for these, the derived rotation measures (RMS) are noisy
due to low signal-to-noise per channel. Moreover, the lack of zero-
spacings in interferometric observations leads to complications in
interpretation. The high brightness sensitivity of HAAT, coupled with a few
arc minute beam size at high frequencies, promises major advances in the
study of the magneto-ionic medium. At these frequencies the effects of
Faraday rotation become tiny and HAAT can measure linear polarization whose
position angles are essentially those intrinsic to the emission. These can
provide both intrinsic directions of magnetic fields, and a database
against which the lower frequency polarization distributions can be
definitively interpreted.
With an appropriate combination of observing frequency, bandwidth and
spectral resolution, it should be possible to perform Faraday tomography,
wherein the spectral polarized intensity modulations along a given sight-
line can be transformed to a set of polarized intensities as a function of
Faraday depth (i.e. RM). Thus, it should be possible to derive a polarized-
intensity data cube (quite like a spectral-line data cube) with two
dimensions being the sky coordinates and the third being RM. High-frequency
images from HAAT would be invaluable in pursuing this endeavor.
Away from the Galactic plane, the high latitude regions contain several
well-known non-thermal emission structures. Most notable is the North Polar
Spur (Loop 1), an object that contains rich, small-scale structure, both on
its main arc and in internal ridging. Above b = 45 deg, even low resolution
Dwingeloo measurements have shown this nearby old SNR to be > 70% linearly
polarized at 1.4~GHz. HAAT images at a few cm wavelength would directly
reveal magnetic field directions in this object who's RMS are low.
We should specifically mention the L-band Arecibo GALFA Continuum Transit
Survey (GALFACTS), which is being undertaken by an international consortium
of astronomers led by Prof. Russ Taylor (U. Calgary). This full-Stokes
survey of the whole sky observable with the 305-m telescope, covers the
frequency range of 1225 -- 1525~MHz, with 8192 frequency channels to study
both the total-intensity and polarized distribution of the celestial
radiation. At L-band, the effect of Faraday rotation on the linearly
polarized radiation is considerable, as the GALFACTS precursor survey
demonstrates complex structure both spatially and in frequency. A continuum
survey at much higher frequency, but similar resolution, would be
invaluable when combined with GALFACTS, both to allow thermal/non-thermal
separation, and to aid in Faraday tomography of the linear polarization
data. The same situation for enhancing synergy exists in respect to that
part of the Southern Galactic Plane Survey, an L-band continuum survey
being made with the Parkes that would be accessible to the HAAT antenna.

5.2 RADAR+OPTICAL ASTRONOMY

Collaborators: Ellen Howell (NAIC-Arecibo), R.J. Muller (UPR at Humacao),
Lawrence Marshall (Gettysburg College)

Combining Radar and Optical Observations of Asteroids

New types of near-Earth asteroids are still being discovered. Moreover, the
optical surveys that are about to come on-line will discover new, and even
smaller asteroids at more than ten times the current rate over the next few
years. We therefore expect to continue to make surprising discoveries about
these objects. Radar observation of asteroids is a powerful tool to extract
information about their physical properties and orbits. Further, when their
echoes are strong enough, the Arecibo radar can achieve an imaging
resolution of about 10 meters.
Dr Ellen Howell, in collaboration with Dr Michael Nolan and Dr Chris Magri
(Univ. of Maine at Farmington), use extremely computer-intensive asteroid
shape-modeling software to generate models from the radar images. These
have been generated for five objects over the past two years, and several
more are in progress. Radar-derived models are ideal for refining
simplistic models and for constraining the rotational period of an object.
One astrometric radar measurement of an object increases the precision of
its orbit by an order of magnitude as compared to that from a set of
optical measurements. Nevertheless, the combination of an optical light
curve with a set of radar measurements is important in constraining a
model's shape, which in turn gives us insight into the asteroid's dynamics
and internal structure.
When the rotation period of the asteroid is obtained from its light curve,
its sub-Earth latitude can be determined from the Doppler width of its
radar echo. But the shape derived solely from a light curve cannot
elucidate any concave zones it may have on its surface. These are, however,
imaged by radar. The combination of optical light-curves with radar images
is very effective.
We propose to institute a Radar-Optical partnership to increase the number
of asteroids for combining radar observations from Arecibo with light
curves obtained from the Gettysburg College 0.4 m reflector and/or the NURO
0.8 m telescope at Anderson Mesa, east of Flagstaff, Arizona. Dr Ellen
Howell and collaborators will select asteroids and obtain radar data, while
Dr Rafael Muller and Dr Larry Marshall will obtain their light-curves.
The Gettysburg Telescope is available at short notice. Both Dr. Marshall
and Dr Muller have access to the NURO telescope (www.nuro.nau.edu) property
of Lowell Observatory. The photometric sky at 7200 feet above sea level at
Anderson Mesa allows for very precise light curves, with broadband color
photometry using BVRI filters. A single evening of continuous monitoring
can often yield useful results, while several nights usually suffice for a
definitive light curve. Both optical observers have access to 12 nights of
observing time at NURO per year. Software for data reduction, such as
MIRA, is readily available and easy to use. There are literally tens of
thousands of target objects bright enough for observation with our
telescopes.
This should be a very fruitful way to obtain observations, even at short
notice, for near-Earth asteroids that are only bright for a very short time
as they pass close to the Earth. We will also try to obtain color
photometry as possible to combine compositional information with the radar
properties: the composition is also critical when considering possible
mitigation strategies for potential Earth impactors.
[Asteroidal light-curve determination is an ideal student project, as it is
straight-forward, while letting the student carry out all the steps in
making a practical astronomical observation. Photometry projects may
require only a few nights of observing on a small-to-moderate aperture
telescope, and the data analysis is fairly direct and easy to learn. ]
























6. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAM

Collaborators: All UPR faculty, including the educational coordinator, Dr
JosИ Alonso (UPR Cayey Campus) and the evaluator, Dr. Myrna Ayala (UPR at
Humacao Campus), Dr. Murray Lewis ( NAIC)

6.1 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
We are committed to the mentoring of undergraduate students in research
activities as far as possible. Our previous experience at the departmental
level demonstrates that undergraduate research activity stimulates the
intellect, enhances creativity, and nurtures the development of new skills
among students. Those who have the opportunity to work in a research
environment are properly socialized and equipped with valuable information
to select graduate school and research topics. For example, in the last 5
years approximately 40% of the students in the Physics and Electronics
Department of the Humacao Campus have been involved in undergraduate
research experiences. Of those, two per year on average are following the
graduate path at Universities in the U.S; one each of the graduating
classes of 2006 and 2007 are following graduate programs in astronomy. This
proposal will allow us to do a better job mentoring students interested in
astronomy & astrophysics, and thus increase the number of minority students
that proceed to seek advanced degrees in the field


6.2 STUDENT AND FACULTY EXCHANGE


In the Student and Faculty Exchange program, undergraduate students and
faculty spend a summer month doing research at NAIC, at a university in the
US, and/or doing observing runs at telescopes in the US. Students and
faculty will participate as teams. Teams consist of at least a student and
his/her faculty mentor. The participation of students and mentors together
ensures the continuity of the efforts during the academic year. During the
exchange period the participants will have access to instrumentation and
library resources that are not available in their home institutions, and
the opportunity to learn new techniques and to exchange information with
collaborators. Faculty exchange will also be aimed at bringing more
experienced personnel from other institutions to UPR and providing minority
students and women students the opportunity to work in a minority
institution that has been successful in graduating women minority students
with science degrees.

6.3 WORKSHOPS

Workshops focused on our collective research agenda will be organized
yearly, aiming to discuss and evaluate this proposed multi-campus program
and to keep the participants in touch with the most updated, innovative and
relevant topics.

4. Seminars and Video conferencies

In order to keep the groups integrated and to disseminate the most relevant
results obtained from research topics, seminars and videoconferences will
be held monthly. All faculty participants involved in research and
education activities will participate in this activity.

5. Hands on workshops & open houses for high school teachers and students

Presentations on the research subjects of astronomy and astrophysics will
be given during our annual hands-on workshops and open houses for high
school teachers and students. Workshops for high school teachers will be
conducted at the facilities at NAIC putting emphasis on research subjects.
When the phase reference antenna becomes operational, hands-on workshops
will be conducted for high school teachers and students using the phase
reference antenna as a tool for learning data acquisition and analysis in
radio astronomy

6.6 WEBSITE FOR UPRPREAA

A website with our activities and main results will be prepared with the
aim of attracting motivated high school students.

7. MANAGEMENT PLAN

UPRPREAA will be administered from the Humacao Campus of the University of
Puerto Rico, an undergraduate institution serving close to 4500 students,
of whom 99% are Hispanic. Humacao is one of 11 campuses of the University
of Puerto Rico system. The Chancellor of the Humacao Campus of the UPR, Dr.
Hilda ColСn-Plumey will be the institutional authority. The PI of UPRPREAA
will be Dr. Rafael Muller, permanent faculty member of the Department of
Physics and Electronics of the Humacao Campus, with close to 10 years
experience administering Title II funds for in-service teacher training.
The PI in collaboration with the staff and faculty will be responsible for
the day-to-day implementation and operation of the program. The CO-PI will
be Dr Murray Lewis from NAIC (Arecibo).
Two other campuses of the University of Puerto Rico are represented in
UPRPREAA: Dr Mayra LebrСn, from Rio Piedras and Dr. JosИ Alonso, our
educational coordinator, from Cayey. The educational Coordinator will
report directly to the PI. Dr Myrna Ayala, from the education department at
Humacao (UPR) and with extensive experience evaluating science activities
and projects, will be in charge of assessment and evaluation, and will
respond directly to the PI. The evaluation plan is presented on page 14 .

The research and education groups will be composed of (Radioastronomy)
Chris Salter, Tapasi Ghosh, JC Cersosimo, Mayra LebrСn and Murray Lewis;
(Optical/Radar) Rafael Muller, Lawrence Marshall and Ellen Howell;
(Astrophysics) Ernesto Esteban



7.1 THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Advisory Committee will play an important role in our Collaboration as
a sounding board on the programs and procedures being adopted. The members
of the Committee are three distinguished astronomers from universities in
the USA (CVs have been included with proposal):



o Kathy Eastwood (University of Northern
Arizona)

o Michael M. Davis ( former director,
Arecibo, now retired)

o Rafael Arce ( Yale University)

They will participate in the annual meetings, both to review and present a
report to the PI on their perception of the program status as well as to
offer suggestions for improvements. The specific responsibilities of the
Advisory Committee are: to play a leadership role and participate in
strategic planning related to the ongoing development and maintenance of
the UPRPREAA, to assist UPRPREAA faculty in maintaining awareness of
current trends in research and education; to provide advice to faculty on
program design, content, and resources.

All the program participants will meet once a year in UPR-Humacao or at the
Arecibo Visitors Center during our annual meetings. In these two-day
meetings, the PI will present a progress report on the program, while all
the student and faculty collaborators will present the results of their
research and education efforts. They will have time to exchange ideas and
to evaluate and discuss the future direction of the effort. At the end of
the annual meeting the Advisory Committee will write a report with their
recommendations

Funds are requested to hire an Administrative Coordinator. The
Administrative Coordinator will be responsible for the administrative
aspects of the program in collaboration with the PI and the Educational and
Outreach Coordinator.




8.0 Assessment and Evaluation plan

The program will allow students and faculty to increase their knowledge and
skills by actively undertaking research projects in astronomy and
astrophysics, and by improving the mentoring of undergraduates interested
in astronomy. Continuous formative evaluation will be completed throughout
the program, especially during the first two years to find out if:
1) education activities were developed and carried out as planned,
2) audiences were from various target groups (minority, women,
undergraduates and faculty), 3) students had the opportunity to work in a
team-based approach in research activities, 4) program content includes
research experiences and meets the stated objectives, and 5) the program is
on course to becoming a successful model for other programs in the United
States.
Objectives will be measured using data on advancing undergraduates,
students accepted at universities in the mainland, number of refereed
papers, interview of main staff, copies of brochures and other handout
materials, impact of web site, questionnaires by participants, discussion
of focus groups. Summative evaluations will be carried out at the end of
each year by focus groups of faculty and students, surveying students and
faculty participating in the program and analyzing copy of publications
(web page, brochures, etc.).This information will also be furnished to the
Steering Committee for their appraisal and evaluation at the annual
meeting.

The educational activities will be assessed to ensure that they are
effective and that they are consonant with the UPRPREAA objectives. It is
very important to evaluate the outreach activities to ensure that they
target the correct population and accomplish their objectives. We should
follow the evaluation plan to ensure that the UPRPREAA is a successful
model and that it strengthens the infrastructure for research and education
in astronomy at the University of Puerto Rico.


9.0 Dissemination


In order to promote an extensive dissemination of our combined research-
curriculum development, we will offer workshops, open houses, and
laboratory demonstrations for faculty and students of other universities,
schools and industry. The participants will visit our facilities or we will
communicate with them using the available videoconferencing facilities. The
information developed as a result of this program, including that in CD ROM
format, will be offered to the other units of the UPR system and to any
other institution interested in our results. Publications, presentations by
faculty and students, and the web page will make our results available to
the scientific and educational communities.



10.0 IMPAct of the Proposed Project


The impact of this project will be substantial. The UPR-HUMACAO is the
largest producer of undergraduate physics/chemistry and computational
mathematics majors on the island. Continuity from the B.S. level to
graduate school will be sustained. Undergraduates at UPR-HUMACAO and other
participating institutions will be given a unique opportunity to engage in
undergraduate research and to interact with mainland students
(undergraduate and graduate) at Arecibo with the unavoidable consequence of
being motivated to pursue graduate school. The faculty sense of self worth
is greatly enhanced by participating as co-investigators with leaders in
their fields.

New research capabilities will be made available, which has the prospect of
attracting even more faculty into research, thereby increasing the pool of
active scientists on the island. By involving faculty from other units of
UPR (UPR_Rio Piedras and UPR-Cayey) the extent of the collaboration will be
enhanced by at least 50%, and the number of students that participate in
this project will increase. This will serve two purposes: it will help
establish a credible research environment in the south-east part of the
island, and it will serve as a motivating factor in inviting local high
school students to campus for the purpose of demonstrating to them the
range and variety of research projects undertaken by undergraduates, some
of whom the high school students may even recognize.


10.1 BROADER IMPACT



The phase reference antenna is proposed here as a PAARE project. Its
intended use in augmenting VLBI observations generates precise locations
for radio sources. Thus future work may measure the precession (and hence
the distances) of pulsars over a wide swath of our Galaxy. So one future
use we forsee is in tying together the optical, radio, and Solar System
fundamental frames of reference. In particular, accurate pulsar timing
observations of milli-second pulsars produce positions in the Solar System
coordinate frame, while VLBI provides their astrometric radio positions
with respect to other radio sources. However a small number of pulsars also
have optical counterparts, which would enable all three systems to be
integrated.

The inverse of accurate position measurements of cosmic sources is accurate
knowledge of one's position on the Earth. Thus the HAAT antenna also has
utility in such non-astronomical contexts as geodesic observations of
continental plate drift, and the local definition of the vertical. The
potential implementation of a HAAT antenna has generated interest in the
geodesic community, which in turn may lead to a fresh community of users
and perhaps to a future PAARE-type proposal from that community. We have
some hopes that this community may help to instrument the antenna.