REU Site: Research Experiences in Astronomy for Undergraduate Students at the Maria Mitchell Observatory

This award is for renewed funding of the Maria Mitchell Observatory (MMO) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Nantucket, Massachusetts. The REU program will be offered annually to six qualified applicants, who will perform state-of-the-art data analysis using a wide variety of space- and ground-based astronomical observations. The student projects include the general areas of: formation and evolution of stars, groups and clusters of galaxies, large-scale structure of the universe, cosmology, and star clusters. The MMO REU program will have a significant impact on the skills and career development of student participants by enhancing their capability to do research, to present their results at scientific meetings and in public settings, to write scientific papers, and to write observing proposals to use national and international telescope facilities. Hundreds of undergraduate students have participated in the REU program to date, the great majority of them women, and many have gone on to successful careers as astronomers at leading universities, observatories, and other organizations around the world. Indeed, roughly one of every 20 American women with a PhD in astronomy today acquired formative research experience at the MMO. This award will therefore contribute to developing a talented STEM workforce in the United States. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.